Atom x5-E3940 vs i7-720QM
Aggregate performance score
Atom x5-E3940 outperforms Core i7-720QM by a moderate 18% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2426 | 2307 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i7 | 5x Intel Atom |
| Power efficiency | 2.19 | 11.64 |
| Architecture codename | Clarksfield (2009−2010) | Apollo Lake (2014−2016) |
| Release date | 23 September 2009 (15 years ago) | 30 August 2014 (10 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $546 | no data |
Detailed specifications
Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940 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 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 1.6 GHz | 1.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 1.8 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 1.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 2.5 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 12 | no data |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 56K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 2 MB (shared) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 296 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 103 °C |
| Number of transistors | 774 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940 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 (Uniprocessor) | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | FCPGA988,PGA988 | Intel BGA 1296 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 45 Watt | 10 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | no data |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| PAE | 36 Bit | no data |
Security technologies
Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | + |
| EDB | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 | DDR3-1866 |
| Maximum memory size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 21.335 GB/s | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | None | Intel HD Graphics 500 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940.
| PCIe version | 2 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 4 |
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.04 | 1.23 |
| Recency | 23 September 2009 | 30 August 2014 |
| Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 45 Watt | 10 Watt |
i7-720QM has 100% more threads.
Atom x5-E3940, on the other hand, has a 18.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 221.4% more advanced lithography process, and 350% lower power consumption.
The Atom x5-E3940 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-720QM in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-720QM and Atom x5-E3940, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
