i3-7120 vs i5-480M

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking2577not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i5Intel Core i3
Power efficiency2.26no data
Architecture codenameArrandale (2010−2011)Kaby Lake (2016−2019)
Release date11 January 2011 (13 years ago)17 July 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$81$117

Detailed specifications

Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120 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)
Threads44
Base clock speed2.66 GHz4 GHz
Boost clock speed2.93 GHz4 GHz
Bus typeDMI 1.0DMI 3.0
Bus rate1 × 2.5 GT/s8 GT/s
Multiplier2040
L1 cache128 KB128 KB
L2 cache512 KB512 KB
L3 cache3 MB (shared)3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm14 nm
Die size81+114 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature105 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data65 °C
Number of transistors382+177 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketBGA1288,PGA9881151
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt51 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2no data
AES-NI-+
FMA+-
AVX-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology1.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
TSX-+
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
PAE36 Bitno data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-no data
EDB+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size8 GB64 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth17.051 GB/s38.397 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® ProcessorsIntel HD Graphics 630
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency766 MHzno data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes1616

Pros & cons summary


Recency 11 January 2011 17 July 2017
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 51 Watt

i5-480M has 45.7% lower power consumption.

i3-7120, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 6 years, and a 128.6% more advanced lithography process.

We couldn't decide between Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that Core i5-480M is a notebook processor while Core i3-7120 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-480M and Core i3-7120, 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 i5-480M
Core i5-480M
Intel Core i3-7120
Core i3-7120

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.


3.7 255 votes

Rate Core i5-480M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.4 5 votes

Rate Core i3-7120 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i5-480M or Core i3-7120, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.