Pentium D 960 vs i3-330M

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i3-330M
2010
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
0.64
+25.5%
Pentium D 960
2006
2 cores / 2 threads, 130 Watt
0.51

Core i3-330M outperforms Pentium D 960 by a significant 25% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking27682886
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i3no data
Power efficiency1.730.37
Architecture codenameArrandale (2010−2011)Presler (2005−2007)
Release date7 January 2010 (14 years ago)23 April 2006 (18 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$49$523

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960 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 speed2.13 GHz3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed0.13 GHz3.6 GHz
Bus typeDMI 1.0no data
Bus rate1 × 2.5 GT/sno data
Multiplier16no data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)16 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)2 MB (per die)
L3 cache3 MB (shared)0 KB
Chip lithography32 nm65 nm
Die size81+114 mm22x 81 mm2
Maximum core temperature90 °C for rPGA, 105 °C for BGAno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data69 °C
Number of transistors382 million376 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage rangeno data1.2V-1.3375V

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketBGA1288,PGA988LGA775,PLGA775
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2no data
FMA+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology--
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
Demand Based Switchingno data-
PAE36 Bit32 Bit
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data
FSB parityno data-

Security technologies

Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT--
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3-800, DDR3-1066DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size8 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth17.051 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel ProcessorsOn certain motherboards (Chipset feature)
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency667 MHzno data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960.

PCIe version2.0no data
PCI Express lanes16no 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.

i3-330M 0.64
+25.5%
Pentium D 960 0.51

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.

i3-330M 1020
+26.4%
Pentium D 960 807

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.64 0.51
Recency 7 January 2010 23 April 2006
Threads 4 2
Chip lithography 32 nm 65 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 130 Watt

i3-330M has a 25.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, 100% more threads, a 103.1% more advanced lithography process, and 271.4% lower power consumption.

The Core i3-330M is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium D 960 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i3-330M is a notebook processor while Pentium D 960 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-330M and Pentium D 960, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i3-330M
Core i3-330M
Intel Pentium D 960
Pentium D 960

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.3 298 votes

Rate Core i3-330M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.7 46 votes

Rate Pentium D 960 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i3-330M or Pentium D 960, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.