Intel Core i5-3550 vs Intel Core i7-975

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-3550 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-975
Intel Core i5-3550 Intel Core i7-975

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i5-3550 and the Intel Core i7-975 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i5-3550 4 core processor released in Q2/2012 with the Intel Core i7-975 which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2008.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24)
Intel Core i 3000 (31) CPU group Intel Core i7 900 (7)
3 Generation 1
Ivy Bridge S Architecture Bloomfield
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-3550 is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.30 GHz (3.70 GHz). The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-975 clocks with 3.33 GHz (3.60 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i5-3550 Characteristic Intel Core i7-975
4 Cores 4
4 Threads 8
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
3.30 GHz Frequency 3.33 GHz
3.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.60 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

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 i5-3550 Characteristic Intel Core i7-975
-- 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 2500 GPU no iGPU
0.65 GHz GPU frequency --
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
7 GPU Generation --
22 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
6 Compute units --
48 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 2500 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 32 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i5-3550, while the Intel Core i7-975 supports a maximum of 24 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i5-3550 Characteristic Intel Core i7-975
DDR3-1600 Memory DDR3-1066
32 GB Max. Memory 24 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 3
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 1.00 MB
6.00 MB L3 Cache 8.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i5-3550 has a TDP of 77 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-975 is 130 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i5-3550 Characteristic Intel Core i7-975
77 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 130 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-3550 has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 22 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-975 is at 9.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 45 nm.

Intel Core i5-3550 Characteristic Intel Core i7-975
22 nm Technology 45 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2
LGA 1155 Socket LGA 1366
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q2/2012 Release date Q4/2008
213 $ Release price 1059 $
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-3550 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 (83%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-3550 (97%)
Intel Core i7-975 (90%)

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 i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
783 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
607 (78%)

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 i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2741 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
4C 8T @ 3.33 GHz
2460 (90%)

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 i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
724 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
4C 8T @ 3.60 GHz
635 (88%)

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 i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2237 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
4C 8T @ 3.33 GHz
2225 (99%)

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 i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
4785 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
4C 8T @ 3.33 GHz
3396 (71%)

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.
Intel Core i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1402 (88%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
4C 8T @ 3.33 GHz
1598 (100%)

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 i5-3550 Intel Core i5-3550
Intel HD Graphics 2500 @ 1.15 GHz
110 (100%)
Intel Core i7-975 Intel Core i7-975
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-3550 Intel Core i7-975
Unknown Unknown

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