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Intel Celeron 3955U

Intel Celeron 3955U in 2025: Is It Worth Getting a Budget Laptop with This Processor?

Analysis of Capabilities, Limitations, and Use Cases

Architecture and Technology Process: SkyLake at 14 nm

The Intel Celeron 3955U processor, released in 2016, is based on the SkyLake microarchitecture and is manufactured using a 14-nanometer process. Despite its age, it can still be found in budget laptops in 2024-2025. Here are its key specifications:

- 2 cores, 2 threads: Lack of Hyper-Threading limits multitasking.

- Clock Speeds: Base frequency is 2.0 GHz, with no turbo mode.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 510 with 12 execution units (EU) and a frequency of up to 900 MHz. Supports 4K@60 Hz through HDMI 1.4, but struggles with modern AV1 codecs.

The SkyLake architecture brought improvements in IPC (instructions per cycle) compared to previous generations, but in 2025, the Celeron 3955U appears outdated when compared to modern Intel Alder Lake-N or AMD Zen 3+ cores.

Power Consumption and TDP: 15W for Compact Systems

The 15W TDP makes the processor ideal for thin laptops and devices with passive cooling. However, there are nuances:

- Actual Power Consumption: Under peak loads, the processor may briefly consume up to 18-20W, but the absence of turbo mode simplifies the cooling system.

- Heat Dissipation: Even in compact cases (e.g., Chuwi Minibook X), the heatsink manages without a fan.

For comparison: modern AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processors (6nm, Zen 2) at similar TDP offer 4 cores and an integrated Radeon 610M, puting the Celeron 3955U at a disadvantage.

Performance: The Reality of 2025

Geekbench 6 test results (Single-Core: 431, Multi-Core: 741) indicate that the processor is suitable only for basic tasks:

- Office Work: Google Docs, Excel with spreadsheets up to 10,000 rows, Zoom conferences (without background filters).

- Multimedia: Viewing videos at 1080p (HEVC/H.265 only through hardware acceleration), 4K leads to stutter.

- Gaming: Only old games on low settings — for example, Half-Life 2 (60 FPS), Minecraft (30-40 FPS).

Turbo Mode: Absent. The frequency is fixed at 2.0 GHz, limiting short bursts of performance.

Use Cases: Who is the Celeron 3955U Suitable For?

This processor is a choice for those who value low price and minimalism:

1. Students: Typing, online courses, working with PDFs.

2. Seniors: Internet browsing, video calls.

3. Backup Devices: A laptop for travel or "just in case."

Not suitable for:

- Video editing even at 1080p (Premiere Pro freezes during rendering).

- Modern browser games (e.g., RAID: Shadow Legends lags).

An example of a laptop in 2025: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 15 (Celeron 3955U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — priced at $279.

Battery Life: Up to 8 Hours Under Ideal Conditions

With a battery capacity of 40-45 Wh, laptops with the Celeron 3955U demonstrate:

- 6-8 hours for document work at moderate screen brightness.

- 3-4 hours while watching YouTube (1080p).

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel SpeedStep: Dynamic frequency scaling.

- C-states: Disabling unused cores.

Advice: Install Linux (e.g., Ubuntu Lite) instead of Windows 11 to extend battery life by 20-30%.

Comparison with Competitors: Who's Better in 2025?

- AMD Athlon Silver 7120U (Zen 2, 2 cores/2 threads, 15W): 15-20% faster in multitasking, Radeon 610M graphics support AV1. Laptop prices start at $320.

- Intel Processor N200 (Alder Lake-N, 4 cores/4 threads, 6W): Twice the performance with lower TDP. Laptops with it start at $350.

- Apple M1 (base version): 4-5 times faster, but devices with M1 start at $799 — this is a different segment.

Conclusion: The Celeron 3955U is relevant only for budgets up to $300.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Low cost of devices.

- Sufficient performance for basic tasks.

- Quiet and cool operation.

Weaknesses:

- No support for Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt.

- Weak upgrade options: Usually these laptops have 4-8GB of soldered RAM and slow eMMC storage.

Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

1. Type of Device: Ultrabook or compact laptop (11-14 inches). Avoid models with HD screens (1366×768) — aim for at least Full HD.

2. RAM: 8GB is a must. 4GB in 2025 would be torture even for Chrome.

3. Storage: Only SSD (256GB and above). eMMC is unacceptable due to low speeds.

4. Examples of Models:

- HP 14-dk1000 ($299): 14" FHD, 8/256GB.

- Acer Aspire 1 A115-32 ($269): 15.6" FHD, 8/128GB (SSD).

Final Conclusion

The Intel Celeron 3955U in 2025 is a choice for those who need a cheap, lightweight laptop for basic tasks. Its advantages include price, battery life, and quiet operation. However, for $300-400, you can already find devices with Intel N200 or AMD Athlon processors that offer better performance and modern features. Purchase the Celeron 3955U only if your budget is strictly limited to $250-300 and hardware requirements are minimal.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

October 2015

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.

3955U

Code Name

SkyLake

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

2.00 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.

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.

FCBGA1356

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.

14 nm

TDP

15 W

Max. Operating Temperature

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

100°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.

1x4 | 2x2 | 1x2+2x1 and 4x1

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.

DDR4-1866/2133 | LPDDR3-1600/1866 | DDR3L-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

4 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).

34.1 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

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.

Intel® HD Graphics 510

Graphics Base Frequency

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

300 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.

900 MHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

32 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@24Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (VGA)

N/A

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

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

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI

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

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2

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.

2 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 Flex Memory Access

Yes

Intel OS Guard

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.4

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

431

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

741

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

498

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

934

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1204

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

1507

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Athlon X4 860K

500 +16%

Xeon X5660

471 +9.3%

Celeron 3955U

431

Xeon E7-2890 v2

402 -6.7%

Xeon E5-2430L

368 -14.6%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Pentium G4400TE

971 +31%

LS3A6000

888 +19.8%

Celeron 3955U

741

Core i5-480M

643 -13.2%

A6-3420M

532 -28.2%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Athlon X4 870K

528 +6%

Xeon E5-2620 v2

511 +2.6%

Celeron 3955U

498

Core i5-2415M

484 -2.8%

PRO A12-9800E

468 -6%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core m3-6Y30

1096 +17.3%

Core i5-2415M

1036 +10.9%

Celeron 3955U

934

Core i5-480M

855 -8.5%

Celeron G540T

787 -15.7%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E5-2430L

1303 +8.2%

A6-5400K

1263 +4.9%

Celeron 3955U

1204

Core i3-5005U

1143 -5.1%

Xeon E5-2608L v4

1092 -9.3%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Celeron G3900TE

1850 +22.8%

Celeron J4025

1651 +9.6%

Celeron 3955U

1507

Core i3-3217U

1362 -9.6%

Pentium N3700

1242 -17.6%