Processor N97 vs Xeon E3-1220L

Place in the ranking	2188	1544
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Server	Laptop
Power efficiency	6.81	27.52
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Alder Lake-N (2023)
Release date	3 April 2011 (13 years ago)	3 January 2023 (1 year ago)

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97 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	4	4
Base clock speed	2.2 GHz	2 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.4 GHz	3.6 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	96 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB (shared)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	10 nm
Die size	131 mm²	no data
Maximum core temperature	78 °C	105 °C
Number of transistors	504 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97 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	FCLGA1155	Intel BGA 1264
Power consumption (TDP)	20 Watt	12 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	+	no data
FDI	-	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4, DDR5 4800 MHz Single-channel
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

Intel UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) ( - 1200 MHz)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97.

PCIe version	2.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	20	9

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.44	3.49
Recency	3 April 2011	3 January 2023
Physical cores	2	4
Chip lithography	32 nm	10 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	20 Watt	12 Watt

Processor N97 has a 142.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, 100% more physical cores, a 220% more advanced lithography process, and 66.7% lower power consumption.

The Processor N97 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3-1220L in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E3-1220L is a server/workstation processor while Processor N97 is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1220L and Processor N97, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.