Pentium 2129Y vs i3-2120
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2288 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | 93 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.14 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | no data | Intel Pentium |
| Power efficiency | 1.80 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) |
| Release date | 20 February 2011 (13 years ago) | 1 September 2012 (12 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $95 | $150 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 1.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 1.1 GHz |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 5 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB (shared) | 2 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 22 nm |
| Die size | 131 mm2 | 118 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 69 °C | 105 °C |
| Number of transistors | 504 million | 1,400 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y 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 | FCBGA1023 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 10 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| My WiFi | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | - |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Flex Memory Access | + | + |
| Demand Based Switching | no data | - |
| FDI | + | + |
| Fast Memory Access | + | + |
Security technologies
Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y 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 Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y are enumerated here.
| VT-d | - | - |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 21 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 2000 | Intel® HD Graphics for 3rd Generation Intel® Processors |
| Quick Sync Video | + | - |
| Clear Video HD | + | - |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.1 GHz | 850 MHz |
| InTru 3D | + | - |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 2 | 3 |
| eDP | no data | + |
| DisplayPort | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
| SDVO | no data | + |
| CRT | no data | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y.
| 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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 20 February 2011 | 1 September 2012 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 22 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 10 Watt |
i3-2120 has 100% more threads.
Pentium 2129Y, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, a 45.5% more advanced lithography process, and 550% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y. We've got no test results to judge.
Note that Core i3-2120 is a desktop processor while Pentium 2129Y is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-2120 and Pentium 2129Y, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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