Intel Core i3-3120ME vs AMD EPYC 72F3

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-3120ME CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD EPYC 72F3
Intel Core i3-3120ME AMD EPYC 72F3

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i3-3120ME and the AMD EPYC 72F3 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i3-3120ME 2 core processor released in Q3/2012 with the AMD EPYC 72F3 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2021.
Intel Core i3 (205) Family AMD EPYC (129)
Intel Core i 3000M (29) CPU group AMD EPYC 7003 (29)
3 Generation 3
Ivy Bridge H Architecture Milan (Zen 3)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i3-3120ME is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.40 GHz. The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The AMD EPYC 72F3 clocks with 3.70 GHz (4.10 GHz), has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 16 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i3-3120ME Characteristic AMD EPYC 72F3
2 Cores 8
4 Threads 16
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
2.40 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.10 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.90 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i3-3120ME Characteristic AMD EPYC 72F3
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU no iGPU
0.65 GHz GPU frequency --
0.90 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
7 GPU Generation --
22 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
16 Compute units --
128 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
11.0 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 16 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i3-3120ME, while the AMD EPYC 72F3 supports a maximum of 4096 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 204.8 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i3-3120ME Characteristic AMD EPYC 72F3
DDR3-1600 Memory DDR4-3200
16 GB Max. Memory 4096 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 204.8 GB/s
Yes ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache --
3.00 MB L3 Cache 256.00 MB
2.0 PCIe version 4.0
16 PCIe lanes 128
8.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 252.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i3-3120ME has a TDP of 35 W. The TDP of the AMD EPYC 72F3 is 180 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i3-3120ME Characteristic AMD EPYC 72F3
35 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 180 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up 200 W
-- TDP down 165 W
105 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i3-3120ME has 3.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 22 nm. The cache of AMD EPYC 72F3 is at 256.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 7 nm.

Intel Core i3-3120ME Characteristic AMD EPYC 72F3
22 nm Technology 7 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
BGA 1023 Socket SP3
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2012 Release date Q1/2021
-- Release price 2468 $
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i3-3120ME (31%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i3-3120ME (7%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
462 (31%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 AMD EPYC 72F3
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
1512 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
1055 (8%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 AMD EPYC 72F3
8C 16T @ 3.90 GHz
13080 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
1629 (6%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 AMD EPYC 72F3
8C 16T @ 3.90 GHz
27253 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
424 (100%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 AMD EPYC 72F3
8C 16T @ 4.10 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
846 (100%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 AMD EPYC 72F3
8C 16T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
Intel HD Graphics 4000 @ 0.90 GHz
230 (100%)
AMD EPYC 72F3 AMD EPYC 72F3
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-3120ME AMD EPYC 72F3
Unknown Unknown

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