Core i7-3720QM vs Core i7-6700HQ

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Aggregated performance score

Core i7-6700HQ
2015
4 cores / 8 threads
4.22
+14.7%
Core i7-3720QM
2012
4 cores / 8 threads
3.68

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 15% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking12811390
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Core i7
Architecture codenameSkylake (2015−2016)Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date1 September 2015 (8 years ago)29 April 2012 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$378$378
Current price$604 (1.6x MSRP)$454 (1.2x MSRP)

Technical specs

Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads88
Base clock speed2.6 GHz2.6 GHz
Boost clock speed3.5 GHz3.6 GHz
L1 cache256 KB64K (per core)
L2 cache1 MB256K (per core)
L3 cache6 MB6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nm22 nm
Die size122 mm2160 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C105 °C
Number of transistorsno data1,400 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplierNoNo

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM 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 configuration11
SocketFCBGA1440FCBGA1224,FCPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt45 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2Intel® AVX
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFi++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX-no data
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access++
SIPP-no data
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switchingno data-
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+
StatusDiscontinuedDiscontinued

Security technologies

Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Secure Key++
MPX+no data
Identity Protection++
SGXYes with Intel® MEno data
OS Guard+no data
Anti-Theftno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM are enumerated here.

AMD-V++
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3, DDR4DDR3
Maximum memory size64 GB32 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth34.1 GB/s25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support--

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 530Intel HD Graphics 4000
Max video memory64 GBno data
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.05 GHz1.25 GHz
InTru 3D++

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported33
eDP++
DisplayPort++
HDMI++
DVI+no data
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support+no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096x2304@24Hzno data
Max resolution over eDP4096x2304@60Hzno data
Max resolution over DisplayPort4096x2304@60Hzno data
Max resolution over VGAN/Ano data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX12no data
OpenGL4.5no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes1616

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.

i7-6700HQ 4.22
+14.7%
i7-3720QM 3.68

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 15% based on our aggregated benchmark results.


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.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i7-6700HQ 6529
+14.8%
i7-3720QM 5689

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 15% in Passmark.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-6700HQ 1087
+81.5%
i7-3720QM 599

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 81% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-6700HQ 3418
+69%
i7-3720QM 2023

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 69% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

Benchmark coverage: 20%

i7-6700HQ 5419
+12.4%
i7-3720QM 4821

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 12% in Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i7-6700HQ 20190
+6.9%
i7-3720QM 18879

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 7% in Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core.

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i7-6700HQ 7092
+6.8%
i7-3720QM 6642

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 7% in 3DMark06 CPU.

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

Benchmark coverage: 18%

i7-6700HQ 7.7
+1.9%
i7-3720QM 7.85

Core i7-3720QM outperforms Core i7-6700HQ by 2% in wPrime 32.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

i7-6700HQ 7
+10.7%
i7-3720QM 7

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 11% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i7-6700HQ 676
+10.8%
i7-3720QM 610

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 11% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i7-6700HQ 144
+14.3%
i7-3720QM 126

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 14% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

i7-6700HQ 1.64
+11.6%
i7-3720QM 1.47

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 12% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core.

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-6700HQ 3.8
+15.2%
i7-3720QM 3.3

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 15% in TrueCrypt AES.

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-6700HQ 4618
+5.8%
i7-3720QM 4365

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 6% in WinRAR 4.0.

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-6700HQ 157
+7.3%
i7-3720QM 147

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 7% in x264 encoding pass 1.

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-6700HQ 42
+13.6%
i7-3720QM 37

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 14% in x264 encoding pass 2.

Geekbench 3 32-bit single-core

Benchmark coverage: 5%

i7-6700HQ 3422
i7-3720QM 3898
+13.9%

Core i7-3720QM outperforms Core i7-6700HQ by 14% in Geekbench 3 32-bit single-core.

Geekbench 3 32-bit multi-core

Benchmark coverage: 5%

i7-6700HQ 12734
i7-3720QM 14452
+13.5%

Core i7-3720QM outperforms Core i7-6700HQ by 13% in Geekbench 3 32-bit multi-core.

Geekbench 2

Benchmark coverage: 5%

i7-6700HQ 12333
+13.7%
i7-3720QM 10848

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 14% in Geekbench 2.

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

Benchmark coverage: 4%

i7-6700HQ 7210
+16.5%
i7-3720QM 6190

Core i7-6700HQ outperforms Core i7-3720QM by 16% in 3DMark Fire Strike Physics.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 4.22 3.68
Integrated graphics card 2.59 1.17
Recency 1 September 2015 29 April 2012
Chip lithography 14 nm 22 nm

The Core i7-6700HQ is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-3720QM in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-6700HQ and Core i7-3720QM, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-6700HQ
Core i7-6700HQ
Intel Core i7-3720QM
Core i7-3720QM

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