i7-870 vs i5-3550

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i5-3550
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 77 Watt
3.02
+52.5%
Core i7-870
2009
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
1.98

Core i5-3550 outperforms Core i7-870 by an impressive 53% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking16421942
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.560.24
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i5 (Desktop)no data
Power efficiency3.711.97
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Lynnfield (2009−2010)
Release date29 April 2012 (12 years ago)8 September 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$205$305

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-3550 has 133% better value for money than i7-870.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads48
Base clock speed3.3 GHz2.93 GHz
Boost clock speed3.7 GHz3.6 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s2.5 GT/s
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache6 MB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm45 nm
Die size160 mm2296 mm2
Maximum core temperature67 °C73 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)67 °Cno data
Number of transistors1,400 million774 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870 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
SocketFCLGA1155FCLGA1156,LGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)77 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXIntel® SSE4.2
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.01.0
Hyper-Threading Technology-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Demand Based Switchingno data-
PAEno data36 Bit
FDI+no data

Security technologies

Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870 are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size32 GB16 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s21 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics 2500N/A
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.15 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported3no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870.

PCIe version3.02.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

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.

i5-3550 3.02
+52.5%
i7-870 1.98

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.

i5-3550 4800
+52.8%
i7-870 3141

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.

i5-3550 642
+35.2%
i7-870 475

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.

i5-3550 1910
+22.9%
i7-870 1554

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i5-3550 5191
+29.5%
i7-870 4007

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i5-3550 6405
+8.9%
i7-870 5881

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i5-3550 6
+9.6%
i7-870 5

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i5-3550 1.56
+31.1%
i7-870 1.19

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i5-3550 2.7
+429%
i7-870 0.5

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i5-3550 3375
i7-870 3923
+16.2%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i5-3550 33
+12.8%
i7-870 29

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i5-3550 164
+35.4%
i7-870 121

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

i5-3550 5870
+27.9%
i7-870 4590

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.02 1.98
Recency 29 April 2012 8 September 2009
Threads 4 8
Chip lithography 22 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 77 Watt 95 Watt

i5-3550 has a 52.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 23.4% lower power consumption.

i7-870, on the other hand, has 100% more threads.

The Core i5-3550 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-870 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-3550 and Core i7-870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-3550
Core i5-3550
Intel Core i7-870
Core i7-870

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Community ratings

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