Pentium N3540 vs i5-2500

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1694	2612
Place by popularity	99	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.66	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Intel Pentium
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Bay Trail-M (2013−2014)
Release date	9 January 2011 (13 years ago)	22 May 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$85	$251

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 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	4 (Quad-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	4	4
Base clock speed	3.3 GHz	2.16 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.7 GHz	2.66 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	224 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)	2 MB L2 Cache
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Die size	216 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	100 °C
Number of transistors	1,160 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 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	LGA1155	FCBGA1170
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	7.5 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Smart Connect	no data	+
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3L-1333
Maximum memory size	32 GB	8 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	21.32 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 2000	Intel® HD Graphics for Intel Atom® Processor Z3700 Series
Quick Sync Video	+	+
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	896 MHz
InTru 3D	+	-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

2

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX

no data

11.2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	4
USB revision	no data	3.0 and 2.0
Total number of SATA ports	no data	2
Number of USB ports	no data	5

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.

Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	2.66	0.78
Recency	9 January 2011	22 May 2014
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	7 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2500 and Pentium N3540, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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