i3-540 vs Xeon E3-1220 v2

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1643	2480
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	1.43	0.11
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	4.04	1.26
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Clarkdale (2010−2011)
Release date	14 May 2012 (12 years ago)	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$220	$45

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E3-1220 v2 has 1200% better value for money than i3-540.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540 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	4	4
Base clock speed	3.1 GHz	3.06 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.5 GHz	0.07 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	2.5 GT/s
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	4 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Die size	160 mm2	81 mm2
Maximum core temperature	no data	73 °C
Number of transistors	1,400 million	382 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540 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	1
Socket	FCLGA1155	FCLGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)	69 Watt	73 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	+	-
PAE	no data	36 Bit
FDI	no data	+
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32.77 GB	16.38 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	21 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	no data	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors
Clear Video HD	no data	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540.

PCIe version	3.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	16

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	3.00	0.99
Recency	14 May 2012	7 January 2010
Physical cores	4	2
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	69 Watt	73 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1220 v2 and Core i3-540, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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