Core i3-2120 vs i5-2300
Description
Both models i3-2120 and i5-2300 are based on Sandy Bridge architecture.
"Sandy Bridge codename was originally ""Gesher"". The development began in 2005 and four years later, the first Sandy Bridge CPU was presented. The most prominent features are Intel Turbo Boost 2.0, AES encryption and SHA-1 hashing acceleration, Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) 256-bit instruction set and the ability to have up to 8 physical cores or 16 logical cores through Hyper-Threading."
Using the multithread performance as a reference, the i3-2120 gets a score of 53.5 k points while the i5-2300 gets 79.5 k points.
Summarizing, the i5-2300 is 1.5 times faster than the i3-2120 . To get a proper comparison between both models, take a look to the data shown below.
"Sandy Bridge codename was originally ""Gesher"". The development began in 2005 and four years later, the first Sandy Bridge CPU was presented. The most prominent features are Intel Turbo Boost 2.0, AES encryption and SHA-1 hashing acceleration, Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) 256-bit instruction set and the ability to have up to 8 physical cores or 16 logical cores through Hyper-Threading."
Using the multithread performance as a reference, the i3-2120 gets a score of 53.5 k points while the i5-2300 gets 79.5 k points.
Summarizing, the i5-2300 is 1.5 times faster than the i3-2120 . To get a proper comparison between both models, take a look to the data shown below.
Specs
CPUID
206a7
206a7
Core
Sandy Bridge
Sandy Bridge
Base frecuency
3.3 GHz
2.8 GHz
Boost frecuency
3.3 GHz
3.1 GHz
Socket
LGA 1155
LGA 1155
Cores/Threads
2/2
4/4
TDP
65 W
95 W
Cache L1 (d+i)
2x32+2x32 kB
4x32+4x32 kB
Cache L2
2x256 kB
4x256 kB
Cache L3
3072 kB
6144 kB
Date
February 2012
May 2011
Mean monothread perf.
24.23k points
24.53k points
Mean multithread perf.
53.48k points
79.46k points
Non-optimized benchmark
The benchmark in Mode 0 (FPU) measures cpu performance with non-optimized software. It uses the basic µinstructions from the i386 architecture with the i387 floating point unit. This mode is compatible with all CPUs so it's practical to compare very different CPUs
Monothread
i3-2120
i5-2300
Test#1 (Integers)
2.7k
2.52k (x0.93)
Test#2 (FP)
7.4k
7.01k (x0.95)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.82k
3.77k (x0.99)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.99k
4.22k (x1.41)
TOTAL
16.91k
17.53k (x1.04)
Multithread
i3-2120
i5-2300
Test#1 (Integers)
6.36k
9.46k (x1.49)
Test#2 (FP)
16.87k
26.25k (x1.56)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
9.4k
14.1k (x1.5)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.91k
3.13k (x1.08)
TOTAL
35.53k
52.93k (x1.49)
AVX optimized benchmark
The benchmark in mode II (AVX) is optimized to used 256 bits registers beside the first version of the Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX). The first AVX compatible CPU was released in 2011.
Monothread
i3-2120
i5-2300
Test#1 (Integers)
9.07k
8.65k (x0.95)
Test#2 (FP)
8.25k
7.8k (x0.95)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.99k
3.92k (x0.98)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.92k
4.16k (x1.42)
TOTAL
24.23k
24.53k (x1.01)
Multithread
i3-2120
i5-2300
Test#1 (Integers)
20.86k
32.45k (x1.56)
Test#2 (FP)
19.51k
29.25k (x1.5)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
10.09k
14.64k (x1.45)
Test#1 (Memory)
3.03k
3.12k (x1.03)
TOTAL
53.48k
79.46k (x1.49)
Performance/W
i3-2120
i5-2300
Test#1 (Integers)
321 points/W
342 points/W
Test#2 (FP)
300 points/W
308 points/W
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
155 points/W
154 points/W
Test#1 (Memory)
47 points/W
33 points/W
TOTAL
823 points/W
836 points/W
Performance/GHz
i3-2120
i5-2300
Test#1 (Integers)
2748 points/GHz
2791 points/GHz
Test#2 (FP)
2499 points/GHz
2516 points/GHz
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
1210 points/GHz
1263 points/GHz
Test#1 (Memory)
886 points/GHz
1343 points/GHz
TOTAL
7343 points/GHz
7912 points/GHz
Monothread performance graph
Monothread performance graphics gives the performance vs time. They are useful to measure the time it takes to the CPU to reach the maximum performance.
Usually, CPU's performance will be steady during these tests but if it has a slow frequency strategy, the first samples will show a lower score.
Usually, CPU's performance will be steady during these tests but if it has a slow frequency strategy, the first samples will show a lower score.
Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]
Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]
Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]
Multithread performance graph
Multithread graphs measure the performance against a heavy load during certain time.
If CPU's TDP doesn't limit the frequency and the machine is properly cooled, performance should remain steady vs time. Otherwise, the performance score will oscillate or decrease over time.
If CPU's TDP doesn't limit the frequency and the machine is properly cooled, performance should remain steady vs time. Otherwise, the performance score will oscillate or decrease over time.
Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]
Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]
Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]
Hardlimit Benchmark Central - Ver. 3.11.4