Pentium N3540 vs i7-860

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1982	2660
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.19	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Intel Pentium
Power efficiency	1.88	9.60
Architecture codename	Lynnfield (2009−2010)	Bay Trail-M (2013−2014)
Release date	8 September 2009 (15 years ago)	22 May 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$229	$251

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 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	2.8 GHz	2.16 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	2.66 GHz
Bus rate	2.5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	224 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	2 MB L2 Cache
Chip lithography	45 nm	22 nm
Die size	296 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	100 °C
Number of transistors	774 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 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	FCLGA1156,LGA1156	FCBGA1170
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	7.5 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data
Smart Connect	no data	+

Security technologies

Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3L-1333
Maximum memory size	16 GB	8 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	21.32 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	N/A	Intel HD Graphics for Intel Atom Processor Z3700 Series
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	896 MHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

2

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX

no data

11.2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	4
USB revision	no data	3.0 and 2.0
Total number of SATA ports	no data	2
Number of USB ports	no data	5

Synthetic benchmark performance

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

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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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	1.89	0.76
Recency	8 September 2009	22 May 2014
Threads	8	4
Chip lithography	45 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	7 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-860 and Pentium N3540, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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