Home / CPU Comparison / Intel Core i3-2120 or AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE: What's better?

Intel Core i3-2120

vs

AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of Intel Core i3-2120 and AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

Intel Core i3-2120

Higher Technology: 32 nm (32 nm vs 45 nm)
Newer PCI Express Version: 2.0 (2.0 vs Gen 2)
Newer Launch Date: February 2011 (February 2011 vs January 2011)

AMD Phenom II X4 975 BE

More Total Cores: 4 (2 vs 4)

Basic

Intel

Label Name

AMD

February 2011

Launch Date

January 2011

Desktop

Platform

Desktop

i3-2120

Model Name

Phenom II X4 975 BE

Sandy Bridge

Code Name

Deneb

Generation

Phenom II X4 (Deneb)

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

3.30 GHz

Basic Frequency

3.6 GHz

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX

Instruction Set Extensions

Yes

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Yes

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

L1 Cache

128 KB (per core)

L2 Cache

512 KB (per core)

L3 Cache

6 MB (shared)

Bus Frequency

2000 MHz

3 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Cache

FCLGA1155

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

AMD Socket AM3

Multiplier

18.0x

Multiplier Unlocked

Yes

Intel AES New Instructions

32 nm

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

45 nm

65 W

TDP

125 W

2.0

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

Gen 2

Max Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

64-bit

Instruction Set

An instruction set architecture (ISA) defines the instructions a processor can execute. Common architectures include x86-64, ARM and RISC-V. The ISA determines software compatibility, while optional instruction extensions add specialized capabilities.

Yes

Intel 64

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Transistor Count

758 million

Memory Specifications

DDR3 1066/1333

Memory Type

DDR3

32 GB

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Dual-channel

5 GT/s

Bus Speed

21 GB/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

ECC Memory Support

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

Yes

Intel Flex Memory Access

GPU Specifications

Intel® HD Graphics 2000

GPU Name

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

850 MHz

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

1.10 GHz

Graphics Frequency

Number of Displays Supported

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel Quick Sync Video

Miscellaneous

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.