Pentium 3550M vs i3-2310M

Place in the ranking	2647	2588
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i3	Intel Pentium
Power efficiency	2.08	2.15
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Haswell (2013−2015)
Release date	1 February 2011 (13 years ago)	1 September 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	$134

Detailed specifications

Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M 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	2.1 GHz	2.3 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.1 GHz	2.3 GHz
Bus type	DMI 2.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 5 GT/s	5 GT/s
Multiplier	21	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	256K (per core)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Die size	149 mm²	118 mm²
Maximum core temperature	85C (PGA); 100C (BGA)	100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	105 °C
Number of transistors	624 million	1,400 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M 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 (Uniprocessor)	1
Socket	FCBGA1023,PPGA988	FCPGA946
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	37 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
FMA	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
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

Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	16 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21.335 GB/s	25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 3000	Intel HD Graphics for 4th Generation Intel Processors
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	1.1 GHz
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	2	3
eDP	+	+
DisplayPort	+	+
HDMI	+	+
VGA	no data	+
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	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.

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.

i3-2310M 0.77

Pentium 3550M 0.84
+9.1%

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.

i3-2310M 1222

Pentium 3550M 1330
+8.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.77	0.84
Integrated graphics card	0.66	0.77
Recency	1 February 2011	1 September 2013
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	37 Watt

i3-2310M has 100% more threads, and 5.7% lower power consumption.

Pentium 3550M, on the other hand, has a 9.1% higher aggregate performance score, 16.7% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 2 years, and a 45.5% more advanced lithography process.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-2310M and Pentium 3550M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.