Intel Core i5-3550S vs Intel Core i3-1215UL

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-3550S CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i3-1215UL
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i3-1215UL

CPU comparison

Intel Core i5-3550S or Intel Core i3-1215UL - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i5-3550S has 4 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.70 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-3550S was released in Q2/2012.

The Intel Core i3-1215UL has 6 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.40 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-1215UL was released in Q3/2022.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Intel Core i3 (205)
Intel Core i 3000 (31) CPU group Intel Core i 1200P/1200U (21)
3 Generation 12
Ivy Bridge S Architecture Alder Lake U
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-3550S is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (3.70 GHz). The Intel Core i3-1215UL has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.50 GHz (4.40 GHz).

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic Intel Core i3-1215UL
4 Cores 6
4 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz (3.70 GHz) A-Core 2.50 GHz (4.40 GHz)
2x Golden Cove
-- B-Core 0.90 GHz (3.30 GHz)
4x Gracemont

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic Intel Core i3-1215UL
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Intel HD Graphics 2500 GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics 64 (Alder Lake)
0.65 GHz GPU frequency 0.30 GHz
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.10 GHz
7 GPU Generation 13
22 nm Technology 10 nm
3 Max. displays 4
6 Compute units 64
48 Shader 512
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory 32 GB
11.0 DirectX Version 12.1

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 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 64 (Alder Lake)
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i5-3550S supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-1215UL can connect up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic Intel Core i3-1215UL
DDR3-1600 Memory DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
32 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 4.50 MB
6.00 MB L3 Cache 10.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
16 PCIe lanes 28
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 55.1 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i5-3550S has a TDP of 65 W, that of the Intel Core i3-1215UL is 15 W.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic Intel Core i3-1215UL
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- TDP (PL2) 55 W
-- TDP up 28 W
-- TDP down 12 W
-- Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-3550S has a 6.00 MB cache, while the Intel Core i3-1215UL cache has a total of 14.50 MB.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic Intel Core i3-1215UL
22 nm Technology 10 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, AVX2
LGA 1155 Socket BGA 1744
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2012 Release date Q3/2022
197 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


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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.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
Intel HD Graphics 2500 @ 1.15 GHz
110 (10%)
Intel Core i3-1215UL Intel Core i3-1215UL
Intel Iris Xe Graphics 64 (Alder Lake) @ 1.10 GHz
1091 (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 i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
781 (100%)
Intel Core i3-1215UL Intel Core i3-1215UL
6C 8T @ 4.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
2528 (100%)
Intel Core i3-1215UL Intel Core i3-1215UL
6C 8T @ 3.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
722 (100%)
Intel Core i3-1215UL Intel Core i3-1215UL
6C 8T @ 4.40 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 i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
2082 (100%)
Intel Core i3-1215UL Intel Core i3-1215UL
6C 8T @ 3.10 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
4512 (100%)
Intel Core i3-1215UL Intel Core i3-1215UL
6C 8T @ 3.10 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i3-1215UL
Unknown Unknown

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