Pentium D 960 vs i3-550

Primary details

Comparing Core i3-550 and Pentium D 960 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2446	2870
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.06	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	1.31	0.37
Architecture codename	Clarkdale (2010−2011)	Presler (2005−2007)
Release date	30 May 2010 (14 years ago)	23 April 2006 (18 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$101	$523

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i3-550 and Pentium D 960 have a nearly equal value for money.

Detailed specifications

Core i3-550 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 cores	2 (Dual-core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	2
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	3.6 GHz
Bus rate	2.5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	16 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB (per die)
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	65 nm
Die size	81 mm2	2x 81 mm2
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	69 °C
Number of transistors	382 million	376 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	no data	1.2V-1.3375V

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-550 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 configuration	1	1
Socket	FCLGA1156	LGA775,PLGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-550 and Pentium D 960. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
PAE	36 Bit	32 Bit
FDI	+	no data
FSB parity	no data	-

Security technologies

Core i3-550 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 i3-550 and Pentium D 960 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-550 and Pentium D 960. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	16.38 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)
Clear Video HD	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-550 and Pentium D 960 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-550 and Pentium D 960.

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.

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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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	1.01	0.51
Recency	30 May 2010	23 April 2006
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	130 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-550 and Pentium D 960, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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