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Intel Core i5-3340

Intel Core i5-3340: Review of an Outdated but Durable Processor for Budget Tasks (April 2025)

Introduction: Who Needs the "Dinosaur" Ivy Bridge in 2025?

Despite its respectable age (released in 2013), the Intel Core i5-3340 continues to find applications in niche scenarios. This processor is a typical representative of the era when DDR3 was the standard, and multicore technology was just gaining traction. In 2025, it should be considered only for ultra-budget builds, upgrading old PCs, or specific tasks like a media center. Let's see if it stands a chance in the age of DDR5 and 5 nm process technologies.

1. Key Specifications: Architecture and Performance

Ivy Bridge Architecture (22 nm)

The processor is based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture—a successor to Sandy Bridge. Key improvements include:

- Reduced power consumption due to the transition to a 22 nm process.

- Support for PCIe 3.0 (up to 16 lanes), still relevant in 2025 for basic graphics cards.

- Integrated Intel HD Graphics 2500—weak for gaming but capable of handling 1080p video.

Performance in Numbers

- 4 cores / 4 threads (no Hyper-Threading).

- Base frequency of 3.0 GHz, turbo mode up to 3.3 GHz.

- Geekbench 6: 1168 (Single-Core), 3512 (Multi-Core).

For comparison: the modern budget Core i3-13100 (2023) scores around ~2400/8800—2-2.5 times better.

Key Features

- Quick Sync Video technology—hardware video encoding/decoding. Useful for streaming.

- Virtualization support (VT-x)—relevant for testing labs.

2. Compatible Motherboards: A Quest for Rarities

LGA 1155 Socket

The processor requires motherboards with the LGA 1155 socket. Suitable chipsets include:

- H77/Z77/B75—optimal for overclocking (Z77) or basic tasks (H77).

- Q77—enterprise solutions with vPro support.

Choosing Features in 2025

- New boards are no longer produced—look for used options on eBay or local flea markets. Average price: $30-60.

- Risks: swollen capacitors, limited warranties. For example, an ASUS P8H77-M PRO motherboard from 2012 may require a CMOS battery replacement.

- Tip: check for UEFI BIOS support—this will simplify the installation of modern operating systems.

3. Supported Memory: DDR3 and Its Limitations

Memory Types

- DDR3-1333/1600 MHz—maximum theoretical volume of 32 GB, but most boards support 16-24 GB in practice.

- No support for DDR4/DDR5—a significant downside in 2025, where DDR5 has become the standard.

Recommendations

- Use dual-channel mode (2x8 GB DDR3-1600) to maximize performance.

- Avoid cheap modules without heatsinks—older boards are sensitive to memory quality.

4. Power Supply: Minimum Energy, Maximum Reliability

Power Calculation

- CPU TDP: 77W.

- Recommended PSU: 400-500W (considering the graphics card). Examples:

- Without discrete graphics: 300W (e.g., Be Quiet! SFX Power 3 300W, $45).

- With a GPU like NVIDIA GTX 1650: 450W (Corsair CX450, $55).

Tips

- Choose a PSU with an 80+ Bronze certification or higher—stability is more important than savings.

- Avoid noname brands—a risk for older components.

5. Pros and Cons: Why It's a Double-Edged Sword in 2025

Pros

- Low cost: a used processor can be bought for $15-25.

- Sufficient performance for basic tasks: office work, browsing, 1080p video.

- Energy efficiency by 2013 standards.

Cons

- Outdated architecture: lags behind even budget Intel Alder Lake processors.

- No support for modern standards: USB 3.1, NVMe (only through adapters), DDR4.

- Limited upgrade potential: the maximum CPU for LGA 1155 is the Core i7-3770K.

6. Use Cases: Where i5-3340 Can Still Shine

Office and Education

- Document work, Zoom conferences, light Photoshop.

- Example: a build with i5-3340 + 16 GB DDR3 + 256 GB SSD—budget around $100 (used components).

Media Center

- Playback of 4K video via hardware decoding (codec verification required).

- Tip: add NVIDIA Shield TV for streaming.

Light Gaming

- Games from before 2015: CS:GO, Dota 2, Skyrim (on low settings, 720p).

- Example: pairing with a GTX 750 Ti can achieve 40-60 FPS in Fortnite on low settings.

7. Comparison with Competitors: The Battle of the Oldies

AMD FX-8350 (Piledriver, 2012)

- Pros: 8 cores, better in multithreaded tasks.

- Cons: TDP of 125W, weak single-core performance.

- Conclusion: i5-3340 more energy-efficient; FX-8350 better for rendering.

Intel Core i5-6500 (Skylake, 2015)

- Pros: support for DDR4, 20-30% higher performance.

- Cons: costs more ($40-50 used).

8. Practical Assembly Tips

HDDs vs. SSDs

- Definitely install an SSD (e.g., Kingston A400 240 GB, $25)—it will revitalize the system.

Cooling

- Stock cooler is sufficient, but replace thermal paste (Arctic MX-4, $5).

Operating System

- Windows 10/11: possible driver issues. Better to choose Linux (Ubuntu/Linux Mint).

9. Final Conclusion: Who Is i5-3340 Suitable for in 2025?

This processor is a choice for:

1. Enthusiasts building PCs from used components for $100-150.

2. Owners of old systems where upgrades are limited to the LGA 1155 socket.

3. People with minimal requirements: office work, browsing, media playback.

Alternative: for $200-250, you can build a system based on Ryzen 5 5500 (AM4, 6 cores, DDR4) that will be 3-4 times faster. But if the budget is strictly limited—the i5-3340 can still serve well.

Conclusion: The Intel Core i5-3340 in 2025 is a "workhorse" for very specific tasks. Its time has passed, but in the hands of a skilled user, it can still impress with its longevity. The main thing is not to expect miracles in modern gaming or 4K editing.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

July 2013

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.

i5-3340

Code Name

Ivi 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

3.10 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.

3.30 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.30 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.

FCLGA1155

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.

22 nm

TDP

77 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.

3.0

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

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8 & 2x4

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 1333/1600

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).

25.6 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 2500

Graphics Base Frequency

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

650 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.

1.05 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 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

1168

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

3512

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

677

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

2134

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1772

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

4246

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-4790S

1239 +6.1%

Xeon E3-1283L v4

1202 +2.9%

Core i5-3340

1168

Ryzen Embedded R2544

1132 -3.1%

Core i7-5700HQ

1095 -6.3%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Opteron 6386 SE

3945 +12.3%

Xeon E3-1241 v3

3716 +5.8%

Core i5-3340

3512

Xeon E5-2695 v2

3264 -7.1%

Ryzen 5 PRO 3350GE

3039 -13.5%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E5-1603 v3

721 +6.5%

Xeon E7-8891 v2

695 +2.7%

Core i5-3340

677

Core i5-2540M

656 -3.1%

Core i5-2320

632 -6.6%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i7-2760QM

2457 +15.1%

Ryzen 5 PRO 3500U

2309 +8.2%

Core i5-3340

2134

Athlon Gold 7220C

1990 -6.7%

FX-6200

1875 -12.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i5-7442EQ

1819 +2.7%

Core i7-5550U

1797 +1.4%

Core i5-3340

1772

Celeron G4900T

1749 -1.3%

Xeon D-2143IT

1712 -3.4%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E3-1220 v2

4667 +9.9%

Core i3-7101E

4430 +4.3%

Core i5-3340

4246

Athlon Gold 3150U

4012 -5.5%

Core i3-8145U

3794 -10.6%