i7-3820 vs Xeon E3-1231 v3

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1332	1502
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	3.36	2.32
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	Xeon (Desktop)	no data
Power efficiency	5.25	2.64
Architecture codename	Haswell-WS (2013−2014)	Sandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)
Release date	11 May 2014 (10 years ago)	February 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$240	$400

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E3-1231 v3 has 45% better value for money than i7-3820.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820 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	8
Base clock speed	3.4 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.8 GHz	3.8 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	5 GT/s
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	10240 KB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Die size	160 mm2	294 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	67 °C
Number of transistors	1,400 million	1270 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820 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	FCLGA1150	FCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	-	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
SIPP	+	-
Smart Response	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	no data	-
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	+
OS Guard	+	no data
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	-
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	64.23 GB
Max memory channels	2	4
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	51.2 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820.

PCIe version	3.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	40

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	4.44	3.63
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	130 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1231 v3 and Core i7-3820, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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