Xeon E3120 vs i5-2520M

Place in the ranking	2202	2541
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Server
Series	Intel Core i5	no data
Power efficiency	3.81	1.30
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	no data
Release date	1 February 2011 (13 years ago)	1 July 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120 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)	no data
Threads	4	no data
Base clock speed	2.5 GHz	3.16 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	no data
Bus type	DMI 2.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 5 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	25	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256K (per core)	no data
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	6 MB L2 Cache
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Die size	149 mm²	no data
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	72 °C
Number of transistors	624 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120 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)	no data
Socket	PPGA988	LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
FMA	+	-
AVX	+	-
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
FSB parity	no data	-

Security technologies

Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	no data
Maximum memory size	16 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21.335 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 3000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.3 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	2	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120.

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.

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.

i5-2520M 1.41
+58.4%

Xeon E3120 0.89

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.

i5-2520M 2239
+59%

Xeon E3120 1408

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.41	0.89
Recency	1 February 2011	1 July 2008
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	65 Watt

i5-2520M has a 58.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 40.6% more advanced lithography process, and 85.7% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-2520M is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3120 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i5-2520M is a notebook processor while Xeon E3120 is a server/workstation one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2520M and Xeon E3120, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.