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Intel Core i5-3360M

Intel Core i5-3360M: A Moderate Giant from the Past. Practical Review for 2025

Introduction: Why Remember this "Dinosaur"?

In 2025, when the market is flooded with 5nm chips featuring artificial intelligence and neuromorphic cores, the Intel Core i5-3360M seems like an artifact from the past. However, this processor can still be found in budget laptops, office machines, and on the second-hand market. Is it worth considering? Let’s examine the details.

1. Architecture and Tech Process: What’s Inside Ivy Bridge?

Cores, Threads, and Frequencies

- Codename: Ivy Bridge (3rd generation Intel Core).

- Tech process: 22nm (a breakthrough for 2013, archaic by 2025).

- Cores/Threads: 2 cores, 4 threads (Hyper-Threading).

- Frequencies: Base — 2.8 GHz, Turbo Boost — up to 3.5 GHz (for one core).

- iGPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000 (650–1200 MHz, 16 execution units).

Architectural Features

- Improvements over Sandy Bridge: 20% higher performance per watt, support for PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0.

- Graphics: HD 4000 handled Full HD video and simple games like CS:GO on low settings (30–40 FPS).

- Cache: 3MB L3 — sufficient for office tasks, but lacking for modern applications.

2. Power Consumption and TDP: Heat vs. Performance

- TDP 35W: Typical for ultrabooks and business laptops from 2013 to 2015.

- Real load: Under peak load (e.g., rendering), power consumption peaks at 40–45W, which requires adequate cooling.

- Comparison with peers: For example, the AMD A10-4600M (35W, 4 cores) ran hotter but performed better in multi-threaded tasks.

Tip: In 2025, even budget processors like the Intel N100 (6W, 4 cores) outperform the i5-3360M in energy efficiency. However, for older systems, replacing thermal paste and cleaning the cooler can extend their life.

3. Performance: What Can This Processor Do in 2025?

Office Work

- Examples: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, 10+ tabs in Chrome.

- Results: Works without lag, but struggles when running Zoom + Excel + 15 tabs simultaneously.

Multimedia

- Video: Streaming 1080p — no issues; 4K — stutters without hardware decoding.

- Editing: In Shotcut or DaVinci Resolve (1080p projects) — rendering takes 3–4 times longer than on a modern i5-1340P.

Gaming

- Light games: Minecraft, Dota 2 (low settings, 720p) — 40–50 FPS.

- Modern titles: Fortnite or Genshin Impact — unrealistic even on low settings.

Turbo Boost: Pros and Cons

- Turbo mode: Up to 3.5 GHz for one core — useful for single-threaded tasks (e.g., Excel).

- Heating: When Turbo is activated, temperatures can spike to 85–90°C in thin chassis.

4. Use Scenarios: Who Is It Suitable For in 2025?

- Students: For lectures, text work, Zoom.

- Office workers: Emails, documents, accounting software.

- Seniors: Surfing, YouTube, simple apps.

- Not suitable for: Gamers, video editors, CAD engineers.

Example device: Used ThinkPad T430 (price in 2025 — $80–120) — reliable keyboard, maintainability.

5. Battery Life: How Long Will the Battery Last?

- Typical battery: 45–60 Wh (in laptops from 2013).

- Run time: 4–5 hours under mixed load (Wi-Fi, 50% brightness).

- Power-saving technologies:

- SpeedStep: Dynamic frequency scaling.

- C-States: Disabling unused components.

- Tip: Replacing the battery with a new one (cost — $30–50) can extend the life to 6 hours.

6. Comparison with Competitors: Who Was Stronger?

AMD A10-4600M (2012)

- Pros: 4 cores, better in multi-threading (rendering).

- Cons: Higher heat output, weaker in single-threaded tasks.

Intel Core i5-4300U (Haswell, 2013)

- Pros: TDP of 15W, better battery life.

- Cons: Lower frequencies (1.9–2.9 GHz).

Apple A8 (2014)

- Context: By 2025 even the iPhone SE 2023 with A15 Bionic is many times faster. Comparison is not accurate but showcases progress.

7. Pros and Cons: An Honest Assessment

Strengths:

- Reliability (proven platform).

- Support for Windows 10/11 (with limitations).

- Affordability in the second-hand market.

Weaknesses:

- 2 cores — a bottleneck in 2025.

- No support for AVX2, Vulkan.

- Outdated graphics.

8. Recommendations for Laptop Selection

- Types of devices:

- Used business laptops: Dell Latitude E6430, HP EliteBook 8470p.

- New budget models: Rare to find, but if available — price $250–300 (e.g., from returned batches).

- What to look for:

- SSD is a must: HDD will make the system unbearably slow.

- RAM: At least 8GB, better 16GB (DDR3L).

- Screen: Avoid TN panels — look for IPS.

Example: Dell Latitude 3330 laptop with i5-3360M, 8GB, 256GB SSD — $270 (new, leftover stock).

9. Final Conclusion: Is It Worth Buying?

Who it’s for:

- Those needing a cheap PC for basic tasks.

- Enthusiasts building retro computers.

- As a temporary solution with a limited budget.

Key benefits:

- Price below $300 for new devices (leftovers).

- Proven reliability.

- Sufficient for Word, YouTube, Zoom.

Alternatives in 2025:

- Intel N100 (4 cores, 6W, $400–500 for a laptop).

- ARM Chromebooks (12+ hours of battery life).

Conclusion: Nostalgia vs. Practicality

The Intel Core i5-3360M in 2025 is like an old car: it requires maintenance but can still serve a purpose. Choose it only if your budget is tight and tasks are simple. For everything else, there are modern processors that will offer much more for the same $500. However, if you find a laptop with this CPU new for $250 — it's a fair deal for studying or working with text.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

April 2012

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.

i5-3360M

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

2.80 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.

3.50 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.50 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.

Yes

CPU Socket

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

FCBGA1023 | FCPGA988

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

35 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

105 C

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

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

PCI Express Configurations

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

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/L/-RS 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 4000

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.

1.20 GHz

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI/SDVO/CRT

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® 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.

3 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

549

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1094

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

651

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1466

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1775

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

2892

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon E3-1260L

626 +14%

Core i5-2400

585 +6.6%

Core i5-3360M

549

Core i7-980

509 -7.3%

Core i3-3240T

477 -13.1%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Pentium Gold G5420T

1404 +28.3%

Athlon X4 760K

1236 +13%

Core i5-3360M

1094

Core i3-3220T

973 -11.1%

A8-3800

890 -18.6%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E5-4660 v3

690 +6%

Xeon E7-8867 v4

673 +3.4%

Core i5-3360M

651

Core i7-8500Y

628 -3.5%

Xeon E7-8857 v2

606 -6.9%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

A10-5800B

1638 +11.7%

A8-5600K

1549 +5.7%

Core i5-3360M

1466

Ryzen 3 3250U

1393 -5%

Core i7-3537U

1334 -9%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon Silver 4214Y

1822 +2.6%

Athlon 200GE

1801 +1.5%

Core i5-3360M

1775

Xeon E5-2660

1752 -1.3%

Xeon E7-8891 v3

1715 -3.4%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

A10-7700K

3206 +10.9%

PRO A12-8870E

3042 +5.2%

Core i5-3360M

2892

3015e

2713 -6.2%

Core i5-3230M

2558 -11.5%