i7-2620M vs Xeon E5540

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2035	2142
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.64	no data
Market segment	Server	Laptop
Series	no data	Intel Core i7
Power efficiency	2.07	4.13
Architecture codename	Gainestown (2009−2010)	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date	30 March 2009 (15 years ago)	20 February 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$30	$346

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M 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	2.53 GHz	2.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.8 GHz	3.4 GHz
Bus type	no data	DMI 2.0
Bus rate	no data	4 × 5 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	27
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	4 MB
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Die size	263 mm2	149 mm2
Maximum core temperature	76 °C	100 °C
Number of transistors	731 million	624 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M 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	2	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA1366	FCBGA1023,PPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® AVX
AES-NI	-	+
FMA	-	+
AVX	-	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Flex Memory Access	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	+	-
PAE	40 Bit	no data
FDI	no data	+
Fast Memory Access	no data	+

Security technologies

Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	144 GB	16 GB
Max memory channels	3	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	21.335 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	N/A	Intel HD Graphics 3000
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Clear Video HD	no data	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.3 GHz
InTru 3D	no data	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	no data	2
eDP	no data	+
DisplayPort	-	+
HDMI	-	+
SDVO	no data	+
CRT	no data	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	16

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	1.75	1.53
Recency	30 March 2009	20 February 2011
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	4
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	35 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5540 and Core i7-2620M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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