Intel Core i3-1215U vs Intel Core i7-3960X. Specifications, performance, tests

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

• CPU group
  Intel Core i 1200P/1200U Intel Core i 3000X
• Family
  Intel Core i3 Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition
• Generation
  12 3
• Segment
  Mobile Desktop / Server

Core counts, threads, cache and clock modes describe the CPU configuration. Performance depends on the workload and comparable measured results.

• A-Core
  2x Golden Cove -
• B-Core
  4x Gracemont -
• Base Frequency
  1.2 GHz 3.3 GHz
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) normal
• CPU Cores
  6 6
• CPU Threads
  8 12
• Hyperthreading / SMT
  Yes Yes
• Overclocking
  No Yes
• Turbo Frequency (1 Core)
  4.4 GHz 3.9 GHz
• Turbo Frequency (6 Cores)
  1.8 GHz 3.9 GHz

Internal Graphics does not affect the performance of the CPU, performs the work of the graphics card in its absence or on mobile devices.

• DirectX Version
  12.1 -
• Execution units
  64 -
• Generation
  13 -
• GPU Frequency
  300 MHz -
• GPU name
  Intel Iris Xe Graphics 64 (Alder Lake) no iGPU
• GPU Turbo
  1100 MHz No turbo
• Max. displays
  4 -
• Max. GPU Memory
  32 GB -
• Release date
  Q1/2022 -
• Shader
  512 -
• Technology
  10 nm -

Built-in codecs used to encode and decode content. Significantly speeds up the required operations.

• AV1
  Decode No
• H.264 / AVC
  Decode / Encode No
• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode No
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode / Encode No
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode No
• VC-1
  Decode No
• VP8
  Decode No
• VP9
  Decode / Encode No

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i7-3960X and Intel Core i3-1215U. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

• ECC
  No No
• Max. Memory
  64 GB -
• Memory channels
  2 4
• Memory type
  DDR4-3200DDR5-4800LPDDR4X-4266LPDDR5-5200 DDR3-1600
• PCIe
  4.0 x 28 -

• AES-NI
  Yes Yes

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i3-1215U and Intel Core i7-3960X Power specifications describe different manufacturer limits. TDP, base power and maximum turbo power are separate values; they do not establish measured system consumption.

• Maximum Operating Temperature
  100 °C -
• TDP (PL1, legacy label)
  15 W 130 W
• TDP (PL2)
  55 W -

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i3-1215U and Intel Core i7-3960X, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

• Architecture
  Alder Lake U Sandy Bridge E
• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• ISA extensions
  SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
• L2-Cache
  4.5 MB -
• L3-Cache
  10 MB 15 MB
• Release date
  Q1/2022 Q4/2011
• Socket
  BGA 1744 LGA 2011
• Technology
  10 nm 32 nm
• Virtualization
  VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d (C2 Stepping)