EPYC 7742 vs i3-2120

Place in the ranking	2305	46
Place by popularity	98	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.14	3.35
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	no data	AMD EPYC
Power efficiency	1.80	18.44
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Zen 2 (2017−2020)
Release date	20 February 2011 (13 years ago)	7 August 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$95	$6,950

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

EPYC 7742 has 2293% better value for money than i3-2120.

Detailed specifications

Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742 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)	64 (Tetrahexaconta-Core)
Threads	4	128
Base clock speed	3.3 GHz	2.25 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.3 GHz	3.4 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	no data	22.5
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	4 MB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	32 MB
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	256 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	7 nm, 14 nm
Die size	131 mm²	192 mm²
Maximum core temperature	69 °C	no data
Number of transistors	504 million	4,800 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742 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	2 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA1155	TR4
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	225 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742. 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)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
Precision Boost 2	no data	+

Security technologies

Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742 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 Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4 Eight-channel
Maximum memory size	32 GB	4 TiB
Max memory channels	2	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	204.763 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 2000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no data

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.

i3-2120 1.24

EPYC 7742 44.02
+3450%

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.

i3-2120 1956

EPYC 7742 69663
+3462%

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.

i3-2120 497

EPYC 7742 1204
+142%

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.

i3-2120 1024

EPYC 7742 11782
+1051%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.24	44.02
Recency	20 February 2011	7 August 2019
Physical cores	2	64
Threads	4	128
Chip lithography	32 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	225 Watt

i3-2120 has 246.2% lower power consumption.

EPYC 7742, on the other hand, has a 3450% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, 3100% more physical cores and 3100% more threads, and a 357.1% more advanced lithography process.

The EPYC 7742 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-2120 in performance tests.

Note that Core i3-2120 is a desktop processor while EPYC 7742 is a server/workstation one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-2120 and EPYC 7742, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.