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Core i3-2120 vs i5-2520M


Description
Both models i3-2120 and i5-2520M 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 i5-2520M gets 50.2 k points.

Summarizing, the i3-2120 is 1.1 times faster than the i5-2520M . 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
Architecture
Base frecuency
3.3 GHz
2.5 GHz
Boost frecuency
3.3 GHz
3.2 GHz
Socket
LGA 1155
BGA1023
Cores/Threads
2/2
2/2
TDP
65 W
35 W
Cache L1 (d+i)
2x32+2x32 kB
2x32+2x32 kB
Cache L2
2x256 kB
2x256 kB
Cache L3
3072 kB
3072 kB
Date
February 2012
February 2011
Mean monothread perf.
24.23k points
24.13k points
Mean multithread perf.
53.48k points
50.23k 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
i5-2520M
Test#1 (Integers)
2.7k
2.69k (x1)
Test#2 (FP)
7.4k
7.28k (x0.98)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.82k
3.84k (x1.01)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.99k
3.05k (x1.02)
TOTAL
16.91k
16.86k (x1)

Multithread

i3-2120

i5-2520M
Test#1 (Integers)
6.36k
6.08k (x0.96)
Test#2 (FP)
16.87k
16.15k (x0.96)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
9.4k
8.87k (x0.94)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.91k
3.06k (x1.05)
TOTAL
35.53k
34.15k (x0.96)

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
i5-2520M
Test#1 (Integers)
9.07k
9.04k (x1)
Test#2 (FP)
8.25k
8.03k (x0.97)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.99k
4.06k (x1.02)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.92k
2.99k (x1.02)
TOTAL
24.23k
24.13k (x1)

Multithread

i3-2120

i5-2520M
Test#1 (Integers)
20.86k
19.82k (x0.95)
Test#2 (FP)
19.51k
18.12k (x0.93)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
10.09k
9.23k (x0.91)
Test#1 (Memory)
3.03k
3.06k (x1.01)
TOTAL
53.48k
50.23k (x0.94)

Performance/W
i3-2120
i5-2520M
Test#1 (Integers)
321 points/W
566 points/W
Test#2 (FP)
300 points/W
518 points/W
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
155 points/W
264 points/W
Test#1 (Memory)
47 points/W
88 points/W
TOTAL
823 points/W
1435 points/W

Performance/GHz
i3-2120
i5-2520M
Test#1 (Integers)
2748 points/GHz
2826 points/GHz
Test#2 (FP)
2499 points/GHz
2510 points/GHz
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
1210 points/GHz
1269 points/GHz
Test#1 (Memory)
886 points/GHz
935 points/GHz
TOTAL
7343 points/GHz
7540 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.


Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com

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.


Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com

Hardlimit Benchmark Central - Ver. 3.11.4