A9-9420e vs i7-3720QM

Place in the ranking	1511	2703
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i7	AMD Bristol Ridge
Power efficiency	7.51	4.40
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Stoney Ridge (2016−2019)
Release date	29 April 2012 (12 years ago)	1 June 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$378	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	8	2
Base clock speed	2.6 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3.6 GHz	no data
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256K (per core)	1 MB
L3 cache	6 MB (shared)	no data
Chip lithography	22 nm	28 nm
Die size	160 mm²	124.5 mm²
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	90 °C
Number of transistors	1,400 million	1200 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e 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	no data
Socket	FCBGA1224,FCPGA988	BGA
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

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

Security technologies

Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 4000	AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge)
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.25 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e.

PCIe version	3.0	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.

i7-3720QM 3.64
+413%

A9-9420e 0.71

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.

i7-3720QM 5671
+412%

A9-9420e 1107

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i7-3720QM 610
+529%

A9-9420e 97

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.64	0.71
Integrated graphics card	1.18	1.48
Recency	29 April 2012	1 June 2018
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Chip lithography	22 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	15 Watt

i7-3720QM has a 412.7% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 27.3% more advanced lithography process.

A9-9420e, on the other hand, has 25.4% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 6 years, and 200% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3720QM is our recommended choice as it beats the A9-9420e in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3720QM and A9-9420e, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.