Athlon Silver 7120U vs i3-3120M

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Aggregate performance score

Core i3-3120M
2012
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.07
Athlon Silver 7120U
2022
2 cores / 2 threads, 15 Watt
1.98
+85%

Athlon Silver 7120U outperforms Core i3-3120M by an impressive 85% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking24251940
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i3no data
Power efficiency2.8912.49
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Mendocino (Zen 2) (2022−2023)
Release date30 September 2012 (12 years ago)20 September 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$160no data

Detailed specifications

Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U 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 cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads42
Base clock speed2.5 GHz2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed2.5 GHz3.5 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
L1 cache64K (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)512 KB (per core)
L3 cache3 MB (shared)2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm6 nm
Die size118 mm2100 mm2
Maximum core temperature90C (PGA); 105C (BGA)no data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-no data

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U 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 configuration11
SocketFCBGA1023,FCPGA988FP6
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXXFR, FMA3, SSE 4.2, AVX2, SMT
AES-NI-+
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
My WiFi+no data
Turbo Boost Technology-no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
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 i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U 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 i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR5 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size32 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4000AMD Radeon 610M ( - 1900 MHz)
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.1 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported3no data
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-
SDVO+no data
CRT+no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes164

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.

i3-3120M 1.07
Athlon Silver 7120U 1.98
+85%

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.

i3-3120M 1699
Athlon Silver 7120U 3145
+85.1%

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.

i3-3120M 399
Athlon Silver 7120U 968
+143%

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.

i3-3120M 820
Athlon Silver 7120U 1599
+95%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.07 1.98
Integrated graphics card 1.18 2.85
Recency 30 September 2012 20 September 2022
Threads 4 2
Chip lithography 22 nm 6 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 15 Watt

i3-3120M has 100% more threads.

Athlon Silver 7120U, on the other hand, has a 85% higher aggregate performance score, 141.5% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 9 years, a 266.7% more advanced lithography process, and 133.3% lower power consumption.

The Athlon Silver 7120U is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-3120M in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3120M and Athlon Silver 7120U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i3-3120M
Core i3-3120M
AMD Athlon Silver 7120U
Athlon Silver 7120U

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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