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Intel Core i7-3820QM

Intel Core i7-3820QM: An Outdated Warrior or a Budget Solution in 2025?

Examining the potential of a 13-year-old processor in today's reality.

Architecture and Process Technology: What's Inside?

The Intel Core i7-3820QM, released in 2012, belongs to the Ivy Bridge generation. It is built on a 22nm process technology, which was groundbreaking for its time. The chip features 4 cores and 8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading. The base frequency is 2.7 GHz, and in Turbo Boost mode, it can reach 3.7 GHz. The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 (650–1250 MHz) supports DirectX 11 and basic multimedia tasks, but it clearly falls short for gaming in 2025.

Architecture Features:

- Support for PCIe 3.0 (relevant for external GPUs in some older workstations).

- Enhanced energy efficiency compared to Sandy Bridge.

- Maximum RAM capacity of 32 GB DDR3-1600 MHz.

Power Consumption and TDP: The Cost of Performance

The processor has a TDP of 45 W. For 2012, this was standard for high-performance laptops, but in 2025, such a figure seems excessive. Modern chips (e.g., Intel Core i5-1340P) offer twice the performance with a TDP of 28 W.

Cooling for laptops with the i7-3820QM is often loud, especially under load. In idle mode, power consumption drops to 10–15 W thanks to Enhanced Intel SpeedStep, but even this is higher than modern equivalents.

Performance: How Does It Handle Tasks?

Geekbench 6 results (Single-Core: 614, Multi-Core: 1839) show that the processor lags behind even budget models from 2025. For instance, the AMD Ryzen 3 7300U scores around ~1200/4500 points.

- Office Tasks: Documents, a browser with 10+ tabs, Zoom — they work, but stuttering may occur.

- Multimedia: Streaming video (1080p) and basic editing in DaVinci Resolve — acceptable, but rendering will take 2–3 times longer than on a Ryzen 5.

- Gaming: The integrated HD 4000 graphics can only handle games up to 2015 (e.g., Skyrim on low settings). Modern projects require an external graphics card, but even that will be limited by PCIe 3.0.

Turbo Boost: In multi-threaded tasks (like video encoding), the frequency remains at 3.3–3.5 GHz, but overheating may lead to throttling.

Usage Scenarios: Who Is It Suitable For in 2025?

- Students: Adequate for working with text, presentations, and webinars.

- Office Workers: Suitable unless simultaneous work with heavy Excel sheets or graphics is required.

- Retro Gaming Enthusiasts: Capable of running older projects without upgrades.

- As a Second Device: For traveling, where the risk of damaging the laptop is higher.

Not Suitable For:

- Designers, programmers, gamers.

- Work with neural networks, 4K video, VR.

Battery Life: How Long Will It Last?

Laptops with the i7-3820QM rarely came with batteries rated at 50–60 Wh. In 2025, even new devices with this processor (if any exist) will last 3–4 hours under moderate load. Energy efficiency is provided by:

- Intel SpeedStep — dynamic frequency adjustment.

- C-States — turning off unused cores.

However, due to the outdated process technology and lack of modern optimizations (like Intel Thread Director), battery life falls short even compared to budget laptops on ARM.

Comparison with Competitors

- AMD A10-5750M (2013): Falls behind in multi-threading (~1600 points in Geekbench 6) but features more powerful Radeon HD 8650G graphics.

- Apple M1 (2020): This single-chip processor outperforms the i7-3820QM by 3–4 times on performance with a TDP of 15 W.

- Intel Core i5-1240P (2022): 12 cores, 16 threads, TDP of 28 W — multi-threaded performance is 5 times higher.

Conclusion: In 2025, the i7-3820QM is relevant only as a budget solution under $300, but even in this niche, competitors (such as used laptops with Ryzen 5 3500U) offer a better price-to-performance ratio.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Reliability (if it doesn't overheat).

- Support for virtualization (VT-x, VT-d).

- Sufficient performance for basic tasks.

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 22nm process technology.

- No support for DDR4, USB 3.2, Wi-Fi 6.

- High power consumption.

Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

If you still decide to buy a device with the i7-3820QM in 2025, consider:

1. Type of Device: Only budget models or refurbished laptops (e.g., Dell Precision M4800).

2. Upgrades: Mandatory SSD (minimum 256 GB) and 16 GB RAM.

3. Cooling: Check for any throttling under load (you can use ThrottleStop utility).

4. Price: New devices with this CPU are not produced, but refurbished models shouldn't cost more than $250–$300.

Tip: For $400–$500, you can find a new laptop with Intel Core i3-1215U (2023) that will outperform the i7-3820QM in every aspect.

Final Summary

The Intel Core i7-3820QM is a relic that may only be useful in exceptional cases:

- Extremely limited budget ($200–$300).

- Undemanding tasks (office work, video watching).

- Nostalgic interest in retro hardware.

Key Benefits: Low cost, time-tested reliability (if the device is in good condition). However, for most users in 2025, it is wiser to choose a modern budget processor — it will provide a better quality of life and a longer lifespan.

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.

i7-3820QM

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

2.70 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.

Yes

CPU Socket

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

FCBGA1224 | 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

45 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.

1.25 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.

8 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

614

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1839

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

744

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

2892

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1899

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

5696

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-3770

694 +13%

Celeron G5900E

650 +5.9%

Core i7-3820QM

614

Pentium G3250

573 -6.7%

Core i7-2720QM

537 -12.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i3-6098P

2185 +18.8%

Core i5-6442EQ

2016 +9.6%

Core i7-3820QM

1839

Xeon E5-2448L

1692 -8%

Xeon E5606

1523 -17.2%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i5-9500TE

784 +5.4%

Xeon E5-4669 v4

767 +3.1%

Core i7-3820QM

744

EPYC 7401

731 -1.7%

EPYC 7532

709 -4.7%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Bronze 3106

3173 +9.7%

Xeon E3-1285L v3

3045 +5.3%

Core i7-3820QM

2892

Core i5-8365U

2759 -4.6%

Core i7-4770T

2640 -8.7%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen 7 3780U

1953 +2.8%

Xeon Silver 4316

1928 +1.5%

Core i7-3820QM

1899

Pentium G3260

1864 -1.8%

Xeon E5-4655 v3

1817 -4.3%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E5-1428L

6255 +9.8%

Core i5-7500

6024 +5.8%

Core i7-3820QM

5696

Core i7-3770T

5444 -4.4%

Core i7-3610QM

5114 -10.2%