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Intel Pentium 987

Intel Pentium 987: A Budget Processor for Basic Tasks in 2025

Overview of Architecture, Performance, and Use Cases

Architecture and Manufacturing Process: The Legacy of Sandy Bridge

The Intel Pentium 987 processor, released in 2012 based on the Sandy Bridge architecture, remains available in budget laptops even after 13 years. This is due to its extremely low production cost and adaptation for niche tasks.

Key Specifications:

- Manufacturing Process: 32 nm (for comparison: modern Intel CPUs use 7-10 nm).

- Cores and Threads: 2 cores, 2 threads. No multi-threading (Hyper-Threading) support.

- Clock Speeds: Base frequency of 1.5 GHz. Turbo mode is not supported.

- Graphics Processor: Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) with a base frequency of 650 MHz. Supports a resolution of up to 1080p, but only for simple tasks like video playback.

Architecture Features:

Sandy Bridge introduced improvements in branch prediction and energy efficiency for its time. However, by 2025 this architecture is hopelessly outdated: there are no AVX2 instructions, support for DDR4/5, or PCIe 3.0/4.0. The integrated graphics cannot even handle browser games at medium settings.

Power Consumption and TDP: A Compromise Between Power and Battery Life

- TDP: 17 W. This allows the CPU to be used in thin laptops without active cooling.

- Real-world Metrics: Under peak loads, power consumption reaches 20 W, but for most of the time, the processor operates in a power-saving mode (under 5 W).

Power-saving Technologies:

- Intel SpeedStep: Dynamically adjusts frequency and voltage.

- C-States: Disables unused cores when idle.

Performance: Minimum for Survival

Geekbench 6:

- Single-Core Test: 216 points. For comparison, the Apple M1 (2020) scores around 2300 points.

- Multi-Core Test: 340 points. Modern budget CPUs (e.g., Intel N100) score around 1800 points.

Real-World Tasks:

- Office Work: LibreOffice, Google Docs, and email are acceptable, but there are delays when opening 5+ tabs simultaneously in a browser.

- Multimedia: 1080p YouTube playback is only possible with VP9 hardware acceleration. 4K is not supported.

- Gaming: Only old 2D games (Terraria, Stardew Valley) or cloud gaming.

Turbo Mode: Absent. This makes the CPU stable but unsuitable for burst workloads.

Use Cases: Who is the Pentium 987 Suitable for in 2025?

1. Budget Laptops for Education: Devices priced at $250-$350 for schoolchildren and students where price is more important than speed.

2. Business Terminals: Cash registers, information kiosks.

3. Backup Devices: Laptops "just in case" for travel.

Not Suitable for:

- Photo/video editing, programming, gaming, work with neural networks.

Battery Life: The Main Advantage

With a battery capacity of 40-45 Wh, a laptop with the Pentium 987 can operate for 8-10 hours during web surfing. This is achieved due to:

- Low power consumption when idle (0.5-2 W).

- Passive cooling, which does not expend battery on a fan.

Tip: Disable background applications and use browsers like Firefox with ad blockers to reduce the load on the CPU.

Comparison with Competitors: Against Modern CPUs

1. Intel Celeron N4500 (2023): 6 W TDP, 2 cores/2 threads, Geekbench 6 Single/Multi: 580/900. Device price: $300-$400.

2. AMD Athlon Silver 3050U (2022): 15 W TDP, 2 cores/2 threads, Geekbench 6 Single/Multi: 720/1100.

3. Apple M1 (2020): 10 W TDP, 8 cores, Geekbench 6 Single/Multi: 2300/7500. Devices starting at $600.

Conclusion: The Pentium 987 lags behind even budget modern CPUs by 3-4 times. Its only advantage is price.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Laptop prices starting from $250.

- Long battery life.

- Sufficient for basic tasks (text, video, Zoom).

Cons:

- Struggles with multitasking.

- No support for modern standards (Wi-Fi 6, USB-C).

- Risk of slowdowns due to software updates.

Recommendations for Laptop Selection

Types of Devices:

- Ultrabooks: For example, Chuwi Gemibook (price: $270) — weight 1.2 kg, 13.3" screen, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB eMMC.

- Convertibles: For note-taking and reading (HP Stream 14, $299).

What to Look For:

1. SSD over HDD: Even a 128 GB SSD will speed up system boot times.

2. 8 GB RAM: Minimum for Windows 11.

3. Screen: A matte display will reduce glare.

Caution: Some manufacturers are equipping Pentium 987 in models with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage — such laptops will lag even when launching a browser.

Final Conclusion: Who is the Pentium 987 Suitable For?

This processor is a choice for those who:

- Are looking for the cheapest new laptop.

- Do not plan to run "heavy" applications.

- Value battery life over speed.

Key Benefits:

- Price below $300.

- All-day battery operation.

- Support for basic software (Windows 11, Linux).

Alternative: If your budget allows for $400-500, choose laptops with Intel N100 or AMD Ryzen 3 7320U — they will last longer and won’t disappoint in terms of performance.

Conclusion: The Pentium 987 is an archaic yet living processor for a specific audience. In 2025, it should be considered only as a temporary solution or a "secondary" laptop for travel. For serious tasks, look for more modern options.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

July 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.

987

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.

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.

FCBGA1023

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

Max. Operating Temperature

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

100C

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.

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

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

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 1066/1333

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

16.38 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

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).

21.3 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 for 2nd Generation Intel® Processors

Graphics Base Frequency

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

350 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.

1.00 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 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.

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.

Instruction Set Extensions

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

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.

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.

Intel InTru 3D Technology

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.

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

216

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

340

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

296

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

507

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

621

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

655

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Pentium B980

357 +65.3%

A4-4300M

313 +44.9%

A8-3520M

257 +19%

Pentium 987

216

Xeon E7-4809 v2

32 -85.2%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Celeron 3865U

693 +103.8%

Pentium B980

601 +76.8%

Core i3-2377M

500 +47.1%

Pentium 987

340

Xeon E7-4809 v2

58 -82.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

A8-3850

365 +23.3%

Athlon II X4 641

332 +12.2%

Pentium 987

296

A6-5200

239 -19.3%

Atom Z3740

166 -43.9%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

A6-6400K

715 +41%

Pentium 2117U

619 +22.1%

Pentium 987

507

Celeron N2830

386 -23.9%

C-60

194 -61.7%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E5503

845 +36.1%

Pentium 997

746 +20.1%

Pentium 987

621

Celeron N2810

512 -17.6%

Atom S1260

313 -49.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Celeron G550T

1102 +68.2%

Celeron 1017U

888 +35.6%

A4-3320M

668 +2%

Pentium 987

655

Celeron B710

106 -83.8%