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Intel Core i5-2310

Intel Core i5-2310 in 2025: Is it worth buying? A Comprehensive Analysis

Architecture, compatibility, use cases, and practical advice

1. Key Specifications: Sandy Bridge in Detail

The Intel Core i5-2310 processor, released in 2011, belongs to the Sandy Bridge generation – an important milestone in CPU evolution. Despite its age, it remains relevant for basic tasks.

Architecture and Process Technology

- 32 nm manufacturing process: By 2025 standards, this is deemed outdated, but it was a breakthrough at the time.

- 4 cores/4 threads: No support for Hyper-Threading, which limits multitasking capabilities.

- Base frequency of 2.9 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz: The speed is adequate for office applications and light workloads.

- Integrated graphics Intel HD 2000: Allows for use without a discrete graphics card for simple tasks (e.g., video playback).

Performance

- Geekbench 6: 526 (Single-Core), 1502 (Multi-Core). For comparison, the modern Ryzen 3 5300G scores around ~1500/4500.

- Cache: 6 MB L3, improving responsiveness in applications with repetitive tasks.

Key Features

- Turbo Boost 2.0: Automatic overclocking under load.

- AVX instructions: Accelerates computations in specialized software (e.g., video encoding).

2. Compatible Motherboards: What to Choose?

Socket LGA 1155

All motherboards for the i5-2310 use this socket. New models have not been produced since 2013, so you will need to look for them on the secondary market.

Chipsets

- H61: Budget option. No overclocking and supports SATA II. For example: ASUS P8H61-M LE (price in 2025: $30–50 used).

- H67/P67: Support for SATA III and multiplier overclocking (only for “K” processors).

- Z68: Best choice for enthusiasts. Supports SSD caching (Intel Smart Response). For example: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3.

Advice: Check for BIOS updates before purchasing. Some motherboards require flashing to work with Sandy Bridge processors.

3. Supported Memory: DDR3 and Its Nuances

- Type: Only DDR3. Does not support DDR4/DDR5.

- Speeds: Up to 1333 MHz (H61) or 1600 MHz (Z68/P67).

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

Practical example: Installing two DDR3-1600 8 GB modules will provide 16 GB, enough for Windows 10/11 and light tasks.

4. Power Supply: How Many Watts Do You Need?

- CPU TDP: 95 W.

- Recommended PSU: 400–450 W (considering an entry-level graphics card).

- Advice:

- A system without a discrete graphics card will be fine with 300 W.

- With a graphics card (e.g., GTX 1650) – 450 W.

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

5. Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Low price on the secondary market ($15–30).

- Reliability and durability (user experience: many units last 10+ years).

- Energy efficiency for its specs.

Cons:

- No support for PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0 (only through the chipset).

- Poor performance in modern games and applications (e.g., Photoshop 2025).

- Limited upgrade potential: max upgrade to Core i7-2600K.

6. Use Cases

Office and Multimedia

- 4K Video Playback: Only via hardware acceleration (e.g., VLC Player).

- Working in a Browser: 10+ tabs + office applications – runs smoothly.

Gaming

- Older Titles: GTA V on low settings – 40–50 FPS (with GTX 1050 Ti).

- Indie Games: Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley – comfortable performance.

Server Tasks

- Home NAS: Low power consumption and stability.

- Router/Proxy Server: Excessive power.

7. Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Phenom II X4 965: Similar price, but lower IPC and lacks Turbo Boost.

- Core i5-3470 (Ivy Bridge): 10–15% faster, supports PCIe 3.0.

- Ryzen 3 1200 (new, $60): Twice the performance, but requires DDR4 and AM4 motherboard.

Conclusion: The i5-2310 is advantageous only for a minimal budget or when using existing components.

8. Practical Assembly Tips

1. SSD is a must: Kingston A400 240 GB ($25) will eliminate system "stutters".

2. Graphics Card: GTX 1050 Ti or RX 560 (do not require additional power).

3. Cooling: The stock cooler will suffice, but for quiet operation, consider the Deepcool Gammaxx 400 ($20).

4. Operating System: Linux (Lubuntu) or Windows 10 LTSC for resource optimization.

9. Final Conclusion: Who is the i5-2310 Suitable For?

This processor is worth considering only in three cases:

1. Ultra-budget build: For example, a PC for studying for $100–150.

2. Upgrading an old computer: If you have a compatible motherboard.

3. Retro computing enthusiasts: Building systems on old platforms.

Alternative: For the same $50–70 (processor + motherboard), you can buy a used combo of Ryzen 3 2200G + A320, which will provide three times the performance.

Conclusion

The Intel Core i5-2310 in 2025 is a "workhorse" for undemanding tasks. It is outdated but, with proper configuration, can impress with its endurance. However, for gaming, video editing, or working with AI, it's better to choose something more modern.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

May 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.

i5-2310

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

2.90 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.

3.20 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.20 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

95 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.

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

526

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1502

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

693

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

2265

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1495

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3644

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Celeron G3920

600 +14.1%

Core i5-2390T

563 +7%

Core i5-2310

526

Core i5-2540M

489 -7%

Core i3-2100

455 -13.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2440 v2

1813 +20.7%

Core i7-2960XM

1640 +9.2%

Core i5-2310

1502

FX-6100

1338 -10.9%

Pentium Silver J5040

1180 -21.4%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i5-7200U

736 +6.2%

Celeron G4930T

718 +3.6%

Core i5-2310

693

Xeon Gold 5218B

675 -2.6%

Core m3-8100Y

655 -5.5%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E3-1225 v2

2559 +13%

Xeon E-2244G

2417 +6.7%

Core i5-2310

2265

EPYC 7401P

2100 -7.3%

Ryzen 5 3450U

1967 -13.2%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E5-2692 v2

1571 +5.1%

Core i5-8200Y

1534 +2.6%

Core i5-2310

1495

Xeon X5667

1476 -1.3%

FX-770K

1442 -3.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

FX-8100

4046 +11%

Pentium Gold G5500

3821 +4.9%

Core i5-2310

3644

Pentium Gold G5420T

3452 -5.3%

Celeron 6600HE

3286 -9.8%