i3-7020U vs i7-3740QM

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-3740QM
2012
4 cores / 8 threads, 45 Watt
3.59
+120%
Core i3-7020U
2018
2 cores / 4 threads, 15 Watt
1.63

Core i7-3740QM outperforms Core i3-7020U by a whopping 120% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15172093
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Core i3
Power efficiency7.5510.28
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Kaby Lake (2016−2019)
Release date3 September 2012 (12 years ago)10 April 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$378$281

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U 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)2 (Dual-core)
Threads84
Base clock speed2.7 GHz2.3 GHz
Boost clock speed3.7 GHz2.3 GHz
Bus typeno dataOPI
Bus rate5 GT/s4 GT/s
Multiplierno data23
L1 cache64K (per core)128 KB
L2 cache256K (per core)512 KB
L3 cache6 MB (shared)3 MB
Chip lithography22 nm14 nm
Die size160 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature105 °C100 °C
Number of transistors1,400 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketFCBGA1224,FCPGA988FCBGA1356,FC-BGA1356,FPBGA1356
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
My WiFi++
Turbo Boost Technology2.0-
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access++
Smart Responseno data+
Demand Based Switching-no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4
Maximum memory size32 GB32 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s34.134 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4000Intel HD Graphics 620
Max video memoryno data32 GB
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Videono data+
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.3 GHz1 GHz
InTru 3D++

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported33
eDP++
DisplayPort++
HDMI++
DVIno data+
SDVO+no data
CRT+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution supportno data+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data4096x2304@60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes1612

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.

i7-3740QM 3.59
+120%
i3-7020U 1.63

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.

i7-3740QM 5700
+121%
i3-7020U 2583

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.

i7-3740QM 595
i3-7020U 736
+23.7%

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.

i7-3740QM 1976
+32.6%
i3-7020U 1490

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.

i7-3740QM 4951
+38%
i3-7020U 3588

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.

i7-3740QM 19798
+145%
i3-7020U 8083

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.

i7-3740QM 3.5
+150%
i3-7020U 1.4

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.

i7-3740QM 4680
+144%
i3-7020U 1920

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.  

i7-3740QM 39
+148%
i3-7020U 16

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.  

i7-3740QM 154
+92.3%
i3-7020U 80

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.59 1.63
Integrated graphics card 1.18 2.43
Recency 3 September 2012 10 April 2018
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 8 4
Chip lithography 22 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 15 Watt

i7-3740QM has a 120.2% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

i3-7020U, on the other hand, has 105.9% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 5 years, a 57.1% more advanced lithography process, and 200% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3740QM is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-7020U in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3740QM and Core i3-7020U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-3740QM
Core i7-3740QM
Intel Core i3-7020U
Core i3-7020U

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