Pentium 2020M vs i3-2312M

Place in the ranking	2669	2548
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i3	Intel Pentium
Power efficiency	1.98	2.34
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date	1 September 2011 (13 years ago)	1 September 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	$134

Detailed specifications

Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M 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	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.1 GHz	2.4 GHz
Bus type	DMI 2.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 5 GT/s	5 GT/s
Multiplier	21	no data
L1 cache	128 KB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB	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	85 °C	90 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	85 °C	no data
Number of transistors	624 million	1,400 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M 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	PPGA988	FCPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M. 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	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FDI	+	+
Fast Memory Access	+	+

Security technologies

Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-
Anti-Theft	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M. 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	Intel HD Graphics 3000	Intel® HD Graphics for 3rd Generation Intel® Processors
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	1.1 GHz
InTru 3D	+	-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	2	3
eDP	+	+
DisplayPort	+	+
HDMI	+	+
SDVO	+	+
CRT	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M.

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.

i3-2312M 0.76

Pentium 2020M 0.90
+18.4%

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.

i3-2312M 1159

Pentium 2020M 1380
+19.1%

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.

i3-2312M 356

Pentium 2020M 397
+11.5%

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.

i3-2312M 826
+22.4%

Pentium 2020M 675

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.76	0.90
Recency	1 September 2011	1 September 2012
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm

i3-2312M has 100% more threads.

Pentium 2020M, on the other hand, has a 18.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and a 45.5% more advanced lithography process.

The Pentium 2020M is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-2312M in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-2312M and Pentium 2020M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.