i3-12100E vs i7-4940MX

Place in the ranking	1352	850
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i7	no data
Power efficiency	7.13	14.15
Architecture codename	Haswell (2013−2015)	Alder Lake-S (2022)
Release date	20 January 2014 (10 years ago)	4 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,096	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	4 (Quad-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	8	8
Base clock speed	3.1 GHz	3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	4.2 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	80K (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	10 nm
Die size	177 mm²	163 mm²
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	100 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,400 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Socket	FCPGA946	1700
Power consumption (TDP)	57 Watt	60 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
TSX	+	+
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
FDI	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	-
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4, DDR5 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 4600	Intel UHD Graphics 730
Max video memory	1.7 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.35 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
VGA	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E.

PCIe version	3	5.0
PCI Express lanes	16	20

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i7-4940MX 4.46

i3-12100E 9.31
+109%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i7-4940MX 6830

i3-12100E 14250
+109%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

i7-4940MX 1247

i3-12100E 2205
+76.8%

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

i7-4940MX 4077

i3-12100E 7680
+88.4%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	4.46	9.31
Integrated graphics card	1.84	4.15
Recency	20 January 2014	4 January 2022
Chip lithography	22 nm	10 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	57 Watt	60 Watt

i7-4940MX has 5.3% lower power consumption.

i3-12100E, on the other hand, has a 108.7% higher aggregate performance score, 125.5% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 7 years, and a 120% more advanced lithography process.

The Core i3-12100E is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-4940MX in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i7-4940MX is a notebook processor while Core i3-12100E is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4940MX and Core i3-12100E, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.