Intel Core i3-540 vs Intel Core i7-950
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CPU comparison with benchmarks
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| Intel Core i3-540 | Intel Core i7-950 | |
CPU comparisonIn this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i3-540 and the Intel Core i7-950 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.
We compare the Intel Core i3-540 2 core processor released in Q1/2010 with the Intel Core i7-950 which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2009. |
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| Intel Core i3 (205) | Family | Intel Core i7 (298) |
| Intel Core i3 500 (4) | CPU group | Intel Core i7 900 (7) |
| 1 | Generation | 1 |
| Clarkdale | Architecture | Bloomfield |
| Desktop / Server | Segment | Desktop / Server |
| -- | Predecessor | -- |
| -- | Successor | -- |
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CPU Cores and Base FrequencyThe Intel Core i3-540 is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.06 GHz. The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-950 clocks with 3.06 GHz (3.33 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. |
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| Intel Core i3-540 | Characteristic | Intel Core i7-950 |
| 2 | Cores | 4 |
| 4 | Threads | 8 |
| normal | Core architecture | normal |
| Yes | Hyperthreading | Yes |
| No | Overclocking ? | No |
| 3.06 GHz | Frequency | 3.06 GHz |
| -- | Turbo Frequency (1 Core) | 3.33 GHz |
| -- | Turbo Frequency (All Cores) | -- |
Internal GraphicsGraphics (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. |
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| Intel HD Graphics (Westmere) | GPU | no iGPU |
| 0.50 GHz | GPU frequency | -- |
| 0.73 GHz | GPU (Turbo) | -- |
| 5 | GPU Generation | -- |
| 32 nm | Technology | |
| 2 | Max. displays | |
| 12 | Compute units | -- |
| 24 | Shader | -- |
| No | Hardware Raytracing | No |
| No | Frame Generation | No |
| 2 GB | Max. GPU Memory | -- |
| 10.1 | DirectX Version | -- |
Hardware codec supportA 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. |
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| Intel HD Graphics (Westmere) | GPU | no iGPU |
| No | Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) | No |
| No | Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) | No |
| Decode | Codec h264 | No |
| No | Codec VP9 | No |
| No | Codec VP8 | No |
| No | Codec AV1 | No |
| Decode | Codec AVC | No |
| No | Codec VC-1 | No |
| No | Codec JPEG | No |
Memory & PCIeUp to 16 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i3-540, while the Intel Core i7-950 supports a maximum of 24 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s enabled. |
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| Intel Core i3-540 | Characteristic | Intel Core i7-950 |
| DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 | Memory | DDR3-1066 |
| 16 GB | Max. Memory | 24 GB |
| 2 (Dual Channel) | Memory channels | 3 |
| 21.3 GB/s | Max. Bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s |
| Yes | ECC | No |
| 0.50 MB | L2 Cache | 1.00 MB |
| 4.00 MB | L3 Cache | 8.00 MB |
| 2.0 | PCIe version | -- |
| 16 | PCIe lanes | -- |
| 8.0 GB/s | PCIe Bandwidth | -- |
Thermal ManagementThe Intel Core i3-540 has a TDP of 73 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-950 is 130 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution. |
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| Intel Core i3-540 | Characteristic | Intel Core i7-950 |
| 73 W | TDP (PL1 / PBP) | 130 W |
| -- | TDP (PL2) | -- |
| -- | TDP up | -- |
| -- | TDP down | -- |
| -- | Tjunction max. | -- |
Technical detailsThe Intel Core i3-540 has 4.50 MB cache and is manufactured in 32 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-950 is at 9.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 45 nm. |
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| Intel Core i3-540 | Characteristic | Intel Core i7-950 |
| 32 nm | Technology | 45 nm |
| Monolithic | Chip design | Monolithic |
| x86-64 (64 bit) | Instruction set (ISA) | x86-64 (64 bit) |
| SSE4.1, SSE4.2 | ISA extensions | SSE4.1, SSE4.2 |
| LGA 1156 | Socket | LGA 1366 |
| VT-x, VT-x EPT | Virtualization | VT-x, VT-x EPT |
| No | AES-NI | No |
| Windows 10, Linux | Operating systems | Windows 10, Linux |
| Q1/2010 | Release date | Q2/2009 |
| 117 $ | Release price | 305 $ |
| show more data | show more data | |
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4C 8T @ 3.06 GHz (3.33 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!
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Rate these processors
Average performance in benchmarks
⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
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.
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Intel Core i3-540
2C 4T @ 3.06 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
4C 8T @ 3.33 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-540
2C 4T @ 3.06 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
4C 8T @ 3.06 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-540
2C 4T @ 3.06 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
4C 8T @ 3.33 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-540
2C 4T @ 3.06 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
4C 8T @ 3.06 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-540
2C 4T @ 3.06 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
4C 8T @ 3.06 GHz |
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CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)
The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
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Intel Core i3-540
2C 4T @ 3.06 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
4C 8T @ 3.06 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-540
Intel HD Graphics (Westmere) @ 0.73 GHz |
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Intel Core i7-950
@ 0.00 GHz |
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Devices using this processor |
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| Intel Core i3-540 | Intel Core i7-950 |
| Unknown | Unknown |
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