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Core i5-2400 vs i3-2120


Description
Both models i5-2400 and i3-2120 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 i5-2400 gets a score of 84.4 k points while the i3-2120 gets 53.5 k points.

Summarizing, the i5-2400 is 1.6 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
Architecture
Base frecuency
3.1 GHz
3.3 GHz
Boost frecuency
3.4 GHz
3.3 GHz
Socket
LGA 1155
LGA 1155
Cores/Threads
4/4
2/2
TDP
95 W
65 W
Cache L1 (d+i)
4x32+x4x32 kB
2x32+2x32 kB
Cache L2
4x256 kB
2x256 kB
Cache L3
6144 kB
3072 kB
Date
January 2011
February 2012
Mean monothread perf.
25.49k points
24.23k points
Mean multithread perf.
84.36k points
53.48k 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
i5-2400
i3-2120
Test#1 (Integers)
2.72k
2.7k (x0.99)
Test#2 (FP)
7.6k
7.4k (x0.97)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.98k
3.82k (x0.96)
Test#1 (Memory)
4.47k
2.99k (x0.67)
TOTAL
18.78k
16.91k (x0.9)

Multithread

i5-2400

i3-2120
Test#1 (Integers)
10.37k
6.36k (x0.61)
Test#2 (FP)
28.84k
16.87k (x0.59)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
15.08k
9.4k (x0.62)
Test#1 (Memory)
4.67k
2.91k (x0.62)
TOTAL
58.95k
35.53k (x0.6)

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
i5-2400
i3-2120
Test#1 (Integers)
9.16k
9.07k (x0.99)
Test#2 (FP)
8.2k
8.25k (x1.01)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.95k
3.99k (x1.01)
Test#1 (Memory)
4.17k
2.92k (x0.7)
TOTAL
25.49k
24.23k (x0.95)

Multithread

i5-2400

i3-2120
Test#1 (Integers)
34.74k
20.86k (x0.6)
Test#2 (FP)
31.07k
19.51k (x0.63)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
14.86k
10.09k (x0.68)
Test#1 (Memory)
3.69k
3.03k (x0.82)
TOTAL
84.36k
53.48k (x0.63)

Performance/W
i5-2400
i3-2120
Test#1 (Integers)
366 points/W
321 points/W
Test#2 (FP)
327 points/W
300 points/W
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
156 points/W
155 points/W
Test#1 (Memory)
39 points/W
47 points/W
TOTAL
888 points/W
823 points/W

Performance/GHz
i5-2400
i3-2120
Test#1 (Integers)
2695 points/GHz
2748 points/GHz
Test#2 (FP)
2411 points/GHz
2499 points/GHz
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
1163 points/GHz
1210 points/GHz
Test#1 (Memory)
1228 points/GHz
886 points/GHz
TOTAL
7497 points/GHz
7343 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