i3-2120 vs Xeon E5620

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Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5620
2010
4 cores / 8 threads, 80 Watt
2.26
+83.7%
Core i3-2120
2011
2 cores / 4 threads, 65 Watt
1.23

Xeon E5620 outperforms Core i3-2120 by an impressive 84% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking18272322
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.080.14
Market segmentServerDesktop processor
Power efficiency2.671.79
Architecture codenameWestmere-EP (2010−2011)Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date16 March 2010 (14 years ago)20 February 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$35$95

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i3-2120 has 75% better value for money than Xeon E5620.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120 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 speed2.4 GHz3.3 GHz
Boost clock speed2.66 GHz3.3 GHz
Bus rateno data5 GT/s
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache12 MB (shared)3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm32 nm
Die size239 mm2131 mm2
Maximum core temperature78 °C69 °C
Number of transistors1,170 million504 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120 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 configuration21
SocketFCLGA1366,LGA1366FCLGA1155
Power consumption (TDP)80 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
AES-NI+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology1.0-
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Demand Based Switching+no data
PAE40 Bitno data
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+

Security technologies

Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120 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 E5620 and Core i3-2120 are enumerated here.

VT-d+-
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size288 GB32 GB
Max memory channels32
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s21 GB/s
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel HD Graphics 2000
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.1 GHz
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120.

PCIe version2.02.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

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.

Xeon E5620 2.26
+83.7%
i3-2120 1.23

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.

Xeon E5620 3592
+83.6%
i3-2120 1956

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.

Xeon E5620 367
i3-2120 497
+35.4%

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.

Xeon E5620 1468
+43.5%
i3-2120 1023

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 2.26 1.23
Recency 16 March 2010 20 February 2011
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 8 4
Power consumption (TDP) 80 Watt 65 Watt

Xeon E5620 has a 83.7% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

i3-2120, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 11 months, and 23.1% lower power consumption.

The Xeon E5620 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-2120 in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E5620 is a server/workstation processor while Core i3-2120 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5620 and Core i3-2120, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5620
Xeon E5620
Intel Core i3-2120
Core i3-2120

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Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon E5620 or Core i3-2120, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.