i3-1215U vs Pentium N3540

Aggregate performance score

Pentium N3540
2014
4 cores / 4 threads, 7 Watt
0.76
Core i3-1215U
2022
6 cores / 8 threads, 15 Watt
6.84
+800%

Core i3-1215U outperforms Pentium N3540 by a whopping 800% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking26431017
Place by popularitynot in top-10021
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel PentiumIntel Alder Lake-M
Power efficiency9.5943.15
Architecture codenameBay Trail-M (2013−2014)Alder Lake-U (2022)
Release date22 May 2014 (10 years ago)23 February 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$251no data

Detailed specifications

Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U 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)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads48
Base clock speed2.16 GHz1.2 GHz
Boost clock speed2.66 GHz4.4 GHz
L1 cache224 KB80K (per core)
L2 cache2 MB1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache2 MB L2 Cache10 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nmIntel 7 nm
Maximum core temperature100 °C100 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+

Compatibility

Information on Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U 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
SocketFCBGA1170FCBGA1744
Power consumption (TDP)7.5 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI-+
FMA-+
AVX-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technology-no data
Hyper-Threading Technology-+
TSX-+
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Smart Connect+no data
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDB++
Secure Key++
OS Guardno data+
Anti-Theft-no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U are enumerated here.

VT-d-+
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3L-1333DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size8 GB64 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth21.32 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel® HD Graphics for Intel Atom® Processor Z3700 SeriesIntel® UHD Graphics for 12th Gen Intel® Processors
Quick Sync Video++
Graphics max frequency896 MHz1.1 GHz
Execution Unitsno data64

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported24

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX11.212.1
OpenGLno data4.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U.

PCIe version2.04.0
PCI Express lanes420
USB revision3.0 and 2.0no data
Total number of SATA ports2no data
Number of USB ports5no 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.

Pentium N3540 0.76
i3-1215U 6.84
+800%

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.

Pentium N3540 1200
i3-1215U 10858
+805%

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.

Pentium N3540 192
i3-1215U 1847
+862%

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.

Pentium N3540 548
i3-1215U 4894
+793%

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.

Pentium N3540 1364
i3-1215U 7879
+478%

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.

Pentium N3540 4752
i3-1215U 19430
+309%

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.

Pentium N3540 21.92
i3-1215U 3.41
+543%

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.

Pentium N3540 2
i3-1215U 11
+478%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

Pentium N3540 157
i3-1215U 809
+417%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made 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 (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Pentium N3540 42
i3-1215U 218
+418%

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.

Pentium N3540 0.5
i3-1215U 2.79
+458%

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.

Pentium N3540 0.3
i3-1215U 11.6
+3900%

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.  

Pentium N3540 11
i3-1215U 50
+350%

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.  

Pentium N3540 54
i3-1215U 199
+267%

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.

Pentium N3540 1210
i3-1215U 7944
+557%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.76 6.84
Recency 22 May 2014 23 February 2022
Physical cores 4 6
Threads 4 8
Power consumption (TDP) 7 Watt 15 Watt

Pentium N3540 has 114.3% lower power consumption.

i3-1215U, on the other hand, has a 800% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, and 50% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

The Core i3-1215U is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium N3540 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Pentium N3540 and Core i3-1215U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Pentium N3540
Pentium N3540
Intel Core i3-1215U
Core i3-1215U

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Community ratings

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