i3-3120ME vs Xeon E3-1230

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1594	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.98	no data
Market segment	Server	Laptop
Power efficiency	3.82	no data
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date	3 April 2011 (13 years ago)	1 August 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$428	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	8	4
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.4 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Die size	216 mm2	118 mm2
Maximum core temperature	69 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,160 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME 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	LGA1155	Intel BGA1023
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME. 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	+	+
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 E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	unknown Dual-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 HD 4000

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	20	no data

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	3 April 2011	1 August 2012
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	4
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	35 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1230 and Core i3-3120ME, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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