Celeron N4120 vs i7-3520M

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Aggregate performance score

Core i7-3520M
2012
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.80
+14.6%
Celeron N4120
2019
4 cores / 4 threads, 6 Watt
1.57

Core i7-3520M outperforms Celeron N4120 by a moderate 15% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking20172118
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Gemini Lake
Power efficiency4.8724.76
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Gemini Lake Refresh (2019)
Release date3 June 2012 (12 years ago)4 November 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$346no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 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)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads44
Base clock speed2.9 GHz1.1 GHz
Boost clock speed3.6 GHz2.6 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
L1 cache64K (per core)no data
L2 cache256K (per core)4 MB
L3 cache4 MB (shared)4 MB
Chip lithography22 nm14 nm
Die size118 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature105 °C105 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 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
SocketFCBGA1023,FCPGA988FCBGA1090
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt6 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXIntel® SSE4.2
AES-NI++
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data-
My WiFi+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0-
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access+no data
Smart Responseno data-
Demand Based Switching-no data
GPIOno data+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB++
Secure Key++
MPX-+
Identity Protection++
SGXno dataYes with Intel® ME
OS Guardno data+
Anti-Theft+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4
Maximum memory size32 GB8 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4000Intel UHD Graphics 600
Max video memoryno data8 GB
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.25 GHz700 MHz
Execution Unitsno data12
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported33
eDP++
DisplayPort++
HDMI++
MIPI-DSIno data+
SDVO+no data
CRT+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution supportno data+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096x2160@30Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096x2160@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data4096x2160@60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.4

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120.

PCIe version3.02.0
PCI Express lanes166
USB revisionno data2.0/3.0
Total number of SATA portsno data2
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Portsno data2
Number of USB portsno data8
Integrated LANno data-
UARTno 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.

i7-3520M 1.80
+14.6%
Celeron N4120 1.57

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.

i7-3520M 2867
+15.1%
Celeron N4120 2490

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.

i7-3520M 574
+79.4%
Celeron N4120 320

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.

i7-3520M 1168
+51.1%
Celeron N4120 773

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.

i7-3520M 4855
+125%
Celeron N4120 2159

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i7-3520M 10467
+62.7%
Celeron N4120 6432

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.

i7-3520M 4134
+21.5%
Celeron N4120 3403

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i7-3520M 15.43
+13.8%
Celeron N4120 17.56

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.

i7-3520M 3
+25.4%
Celeron N4120 3

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.

i7-3520M 1.46
+65.9%
Celeron N4120 0.88

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.

i7-3520M 1.7
Celeron N4120 1.8
+5.9%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.80 1.57
Integrated graphics card 1.18 0.87
Recency 3 June 2012 4 November 2019
Physical cores 2 4
Chip lithography 22 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 6 Watt

i7-3520M has a 14.6% higher aggregate performance score, and 35.6% faster integrated GPU.

Celeron N4120, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 7 years, 100% more physical cores, a 57.1% more advanced lithography process, and 483.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3520M is our recommended choice as it beats the Celeron N4120 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3520M and Celeron N4120, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-3520M
Core i7-3520M
Intel Celeron N4120
Celeron N4120

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Community ratings

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