Intel Core i9-12900HX vs Intel Core i3-3120ME

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i3-3120ME
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i3-3120ME

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i9-12900HX and the Intel Core i3-3120ME and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i9-12900HX 16 core processor released in Q2/2022 with the Intel Core i3-3120ME which has 2 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2012.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family Intel Core i3 (205)
Intel Core i 12000H (23) CPU group Intel Core i 3000M (29)
12 Generation 3
Alder Lake H Architecture Ivy Bridge H
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
Intel Core i9-13900HX Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-12900HX is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.30 GHz (5.00 GHz). The processor can compute 24 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i3-3120ME clocks with 2.40 GHz, has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic Intel Core i3-3120ME
16 Cores 2
24 Threads 4
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? No
2.30 GHz (5.00 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
A-Core 2.40 GHz
1.70 GHz (3.60 GHz)
8x Gracemont
B-Core --

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 i9-12900HX Characteristic Intel Core i3-3120ME
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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 UHD Graphics 770 GPU Intel HD Graphics 4000
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.65 GHz
1.55 GHz GPU (Turbo) 0.90 GHz
11 GPU Generation 7
10 nm Technology 22 nm
3 Max. displays 3
32 Compute units 16
256 Shader 128
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
12 DirectX Version 11.0

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 UHD Graphics 770 GPU Intel HD Graphics 4000
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 No
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 128 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i9-12900HX, while the Intel Core i3-3120ME supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic Intel Core i3-3120ME
LPDDR5-5200, LPDDR4X-4266, DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory DDR3-1600
128 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
83.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
No ECC Yes
14.00 MB L2 Cache --
30.00 MB L3 Cache 3.00 MB
5.0 PCIe version 2.0
20 PCIe lanes 16
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i9-12900HX has a TDP of 55 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i3-3120ME is 35 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic Intel Core i3-3120ME
55 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 35 W
157 W TDP (PL2) --
86 W TDP up --
45 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 105 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-12900HX has 44.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of Intel Core i3-3120ME is at 3.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 22 nm.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic Intel Core i3-3120ME
10 nm Technology 22 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
BGA 1744 Socket BGA 1023
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q2/2022 Release date Q3/2012
606 $ Release price --
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-12900HX to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i3-3120ME to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900HX (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME (21%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900HX (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME (6%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
1861 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
462 (25%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
15474 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
1055 (7%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
2425 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
424 (17%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
14620 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
846 (6%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.55 GHz
794 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
Intel HD Graphics 4000 @ 0.90 GHz
230 (29%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
35642 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
1629 (5%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
1902 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
18845 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
736 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
7197 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
274 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
2894 (100%)
Intel Core i3-3120ME Intel Core i3-3120ME
2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i9-12900HX Intel Core i3-3120ME
Unknown Unknown

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