i3-12100 vs Pentium 997
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-12100 outperforms Pentium 997 by a whopping 1577% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2863 | 877 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Pentium | no data |
| Power efficiency | 2.84 | 13.51 |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 1 September 2012 (12 years ago) | 4 January 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $134 | no data |
Detailed specifications
Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 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 | 2 (Dual-core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 2 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 1.6 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1.6 GHz | 4.3 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 2.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 4 × 5 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 16 | no data |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 2 MB (shared) | 12 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | 131 mm2 | 163 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | 100 °C |
| Number of transistors | 504 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 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 |
| Socket | FCBGA1023 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 17 Watt | 60 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| FMA | + | - |
| AVX | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| My WiFi | - | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | - | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | + |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
| Anti-Theft | - | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | - | + |
| VT-x | - | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | 16 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 21.335 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel® HD Graphics for 2nd Generation Intel® Processors | Intel UHD Graphics 730 |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Clear Video HD | - | + |
| Graphics max frequency | 1 GHz | 1.4 GHz |
| Execution Units | no data | 24 |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 2 | 4 |
| eDP | + | no data |
| DisplayPort | + | - |
| HDMI | + | - |
| SDVO | + | no data |
| CRT | + | no data |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.53 | 8.89 |
| Recency | 1 September 2012 | 4 January 2022 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 4 |
| Threads | 2 | 8 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 17 Watt | 60 Watt |
Pentium 997 has 252.9% lower power consumption.
i3-12100, on the other hand, has a 1577.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 9 years, and 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads.
The Core i3-12100 is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium 997 in performance tests.
Be aware that Pentium 997 is a notebook processor while Core i3-12100 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Pentium 997 and Core i3-12100, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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