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Intel Core i5-2500S

Intel Core i5-2500S: Review and Relevance in 2025

Should you consider Sandy Bridge for a budget build?

1. Key Specifications: Architecture and Performance

The Intel Core i5-2500S was released in 2011 as part of the Sandy Bridge platform. Despite its age, it can still be found in older PCs and on the second-hand market. Let's examine its key parameters:

- Architecture: Sandy Bridge (2nd generation Core).

- Process technology: 32 nm.

- Cores/Threads: 4 cores, 4 threads (no Hyper-Threading).

- Base frequency: 2.7 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz.

- TDP: 65 W (energy-efficient version of the regular i5-2500).

- Cache: 6 MB L3.

- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 2000 (integrated, but weak for modern tasks).

Performance:

- Geekbench 6 (2025): 573 (single-core), 1376 (multi-core).

For comparison, the modern budget Intel Core i3-13100 scores ~1800/6000 in the same test.

Key features for its time:

- Support for AVX instructions, improving media content work.

- Turbo Boost technology for automatic overclocking.

- Energy efficiency (TDP of 65 W compared to 95 W of the i5-2500).

2. Compatible Motherboards

Socket: LGA 1155 — an outdated standard, motherboards for it have not been produced since 2013.

Chipsets:

- H61, B65, Q67: Basic models without overclocking, minimum ports.

- H67, P67, Z68, Z77: Overclocking support (only for processors with K multiplier), more USB/SATA.

Choosing tips in 2025:

- New boards are not available; only used options can be found (price: $20–50).

- Popular models: ASUS P8Z68-V, Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV.

- Check the condition of capacitors and PCIe slots (they may be worn out).

Tip: If you need HDMI or USB 3.0, look for boards with Z68/Z77 chipsets — they often have these ports.

3. Supported Memory

- Type: Only DDR3 (DDR4/DDR5 not supported).

- Frequencies: Up to 1333 MHz (officially), but many boards allow overclocking to 1600 MHz.

- Maximum capacity: 32 GB (depends on motherboard).

Recommendations:

- Use dual-channel mode (2×8 GB DDR3-1600) for better performance.

- Price of new DDR3 (2025): $30–50 for a 16 GB kit (but easier to buy used for $15–25).

4. Power Supply: Calculations and Recommendations

With a TDP of 65 W and no discrete graphics card, a power supply unit (PSU) rated at 300–400 W will be sufficient for the system.

Examples of configurations:

- Office PC (i5-2500S + SSD + integrated graphics): 250 W.

- Gaming PC (i5-2500S + GTX 1650): 400 W.

Tips:

- Choose models with an 80+ Bronze certification (Corsair CX450, EVGA 500 BQ).

- Price of new PSU: $40–60.

5. Pros and Cons of i5-2500S

Pros:

- Low power consumption.

- Sufficient performance for basic tasks.

- Inexpensive (used costs $10–20).

Cons:

- No support for DDR4, PCIe 3.0, NVMe (only through adapters).

- Weak single-core performance for modern games.

- Risk of buying a worn-out processor.

6. Use Cases

- Office Tasks: Document work, browsing, Zoom — the processor can handle it, but there may be lags when launching 10+ tabs simultaneously.

- Multimedia: Watching videos in 1080p, basic editing in Shotcut — it will suffice, but rendering 4K will be torturous.

- Gaming: Only older titles (CS:GO, GTA V on low settings) or cloud gaming (GeForce NOW).

Real example:

A user built a PC with an i5-2500S, GTX 1050 Ti, and 16 GB DDR3. In GTA V, they get 45–55 FPS on medium settings (1080p).

7. Comparison with Competitors

AMD FX-4300 (2012):

- Pros: Cheaper, overclockable.

- Cons: Higher TDP (95 W), worse IPC.

- Geekbench 6: ~500/1200.

Intel Core i3-10100 (2020):

- Pros: Support for DDR4, PCIe 3.0, 2x performance.

- Cons: Price ($100–120 for used).

Conclusion: In 2025, the i5-2500S falls short compared to even budget newcomers, but it wins on price.

8. Practical Assembly Tips

- Where to buy: Aliexpress, eBay, local flea markets (check for functionality).

- SSD is a must: Kingston A400 240 GB ($25) will speed up the system.

- Cooling: The standard cooler will suffice, but replace the thermal paste (Arctic MX-4 — $5).

- Upgrade: It’s better to look towards LGA 1200/AM4 platforms.

9. Final Conclusion: Who is the i5-2500S For?

This processor should only be considered in two cases:

1. Budget build under $100: For internet use, office work, and movie watching.

2. Upgrading an old PC: If you already have an LGA 1155 motherboard and DDR3.

Alternative for 2025: For $150–200, you can build a system with an Intel Core i3-12100F + H610, which will be three times faster.

Conclusion: The Intel Core i5-2500S is an example of a "workhorse" that has outlived its prime but can still serve in extremely limited scenarios. Only buy it if the budget is tight and the requirements for the PC are minimal.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

January 2011

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i5-2500S

Code Name

Sandy Bridge

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

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

2.70 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

3.70 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.70 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

CPU Socket

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

LGA1155

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.

32 nm

TDP

65 W

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.

2.0

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.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR3 1066/1333

Max Memory Size

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

32 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

5 GT/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).

21 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

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.

GPU Specifications

GPU Name

Intel® HD Graphics 2000

Graphics Base Frequency

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

850 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.10 GHz

Number of Displays Supported

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

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

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Instruction Set Extensions

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

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

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.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

6 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel Flex Memory Access

Yes

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

573

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1376

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

738

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

2010

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1637

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3383

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core M-5Y70

650 +13.4%

Core i7-2760QM

616 +7.5%

Core i5-2500S

573

Pentium G2120

538 -6.1%

Core i3-2125

499 -12.9%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2448L

1692 +23%

Xeon E5606

1523 +10.7%

Core i5-2500S

1376

Athlon X4 870K

1194 -13.2%

Core i5-3230M

1077 -21.7%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Celeron G4930

776 +5.1%

Core i3-6100E

754 +2.2%

Core i5-2500S

738

Xeon E5-1603 v3

721 -2.3%

Xeon E7-8891 v2

695 -5.8%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E3-1225 v3

2335 +16.2%

Ryzen 3 PRO 2200GE

2156 +7.3%

Core i5-2500S

2010

Core i5-4430S

1888 -6.1%

EPYC 7282

1735 -13.7%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Athlon Gold 3150C

1706 +4.2%

FX-9370

1682 +2.7%

Core i5-2500S

1637

Xeon E7-8880 v3

1612 -1.5%

Core i7-3632QM

1578 -3.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Pentium Gold G5400

3725 +10.1%

Core i3-4340

3545 +4.8%

Core i5-2500S

3383

Core i5-6260U

3213 -5%

Pentium G4600T

3055 -9.7%

Intel Core i5-2500S