All Core i3 Models
By
Richard Vertrees
e Rafael Otto Coelho
e Gabriel Torres
on October 2, 2012
The Core i3 is a CPU series manufactured by Intel aimed at entry-level computers. In this tutorial, we will present a series of quick reference tables for you to compare the main differences between all models released to date.
By the way, the correct name of this line of processors is “Core i3,” not “Intel i3.”
Currently, there are three different generations of Core i3 processors available. In the table below, we describe the main differences between these generations.
Model | 5xx | 3xx | 21xx | 23xx | 32xx | 3xxx |
Market | Desktop | Mobile | Desktop | Mobile | Desktop | Mobile |
Generation | First | First | Second | Second | Third | Third |
Microarchitecture | ||||||
Manufacturing Process | 32 nm | 32 nm | 32 nm | 32 nm | 22 nm | 22 nm |
Number of Cores | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Hyper-Threading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
L1 cache (per core) | 32 kB+32 kB | 32 kB+32kB | 32 kB+32 kB | 32 kB+32kB | 32 kB+32kB | 32 kB+32 kB |
L2 cache (per core) | 256 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB |
L3 cache (total) | 4 MB | 3 MB | 3 MB | 3 MB | 3 MB | 3 MB |
DMI bus | 1 GB/s | 1 GB/s | 2 GB/s | 2 GB/s | 2 GB/s | 2 GB/s |
Memory (DDR3) | 1066, 1333 | 800, 1066 | 1066, 1333 | 1066, 1333, 1600 | 1333, 1600 | 1333, 1600 |
DDR3L and DDR3L-RS | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Graphics Engine | HD Graphics | HD Graphics | HD 2000 or HD 3000 | HD 3000 | HD 2500 or HD 4000 | HD 4000 |
DirectX | 10 | 10 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 11 | 11 |
Graphics Processors | 6 | 6 | 6 or 12 | 12 | 6 or 12 | 12 |
Graphics Base Clock | 733 MHz | 166 MHz or 500 MHz | 650 MHz or 850 MHz | 350 MHz or 650 MHz | 650 MHz | 350 MHz or 650 MHz |
Graphics Boost Clock | No | 500 MHz or 667 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 1 GHz or 1.15 GHz | 1.05 GHz | 1.05 GHz or 1 GHz |
Displays Supported | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
PCIe Controller | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
PCIe Configuration | 1x16, 2x8 | 1x16 | 1x16, 2x8, 1x8, 2x4 | 1x16, 2x8, 1x8, 2x4 | 1x16, 2x8, 1x8, 2x4 | 1x16, 2x8, 1x8, 2x4 |
No | No | No | No | No | No | |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
SSE4.2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
AES-NIS | No | No | No | No | No | No |
No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Base Clock | 133 MHz | 133 MHz | 100 MHz | 100 MHz | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
Pinout | LGA1156 | G1 or BGA1288 | LGA1155 | G2 or BGA1023 | LGA1155 | G2 or BGA1023 |
Let’s now take a detailed look at all Core i3 models launched so far.
In the table below, we listed all Core i3-5xx CPU models. These are desktop models based on the Nehalem microarchitecture, and are also called first-generation Core i3 processors. These models use the socket LGA1156. The integrated memory controller supports dual-channel architecture as well as 1,066 MHz and 1,333 MHz DDR3 memories. They also have an integrated PCI Express 2.0 controller, supporting one x16 datapath or two x8 datapaths. Communication with the motherboard chipset is achieved through a DMI bus (1 GB/s per direction, which is listed as 2.5 GT/s by Intel). All models have an integrated DirectX 10 video controller with six execution units running at 733 MHz, using an engine that is known as “Intel HD Graphics.” These processors support two video monitors.
All Core i3 CPUs support Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, which simulates two logical processing cores in each physical core. Therefore, they are recognized by the operating system as four-core CPUs.
sSpec | Model | Clock | Cores | HT | Video | Video Clock | L3 Cache | Tech. | TDP (W) | Max. Temp. (oC)* | Voltage (V) |
SLBY2 | 560 | 3.33 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 733 MHz | 4 MB | 32 nm | 73 | 72.6 | 0.64 - 1.4 |
SLBUD | 550 | 3.2 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 733 MHz | 4 MB | 32 nm | 73 | 72.6 | 0.64 - 1.4 |
SLBTD | 540 | 3.06 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 733 MHz | 4 MB | 32 nm | 73 | 72.6 | 0.64 - 1.4 |
SLBMQ | 540 | 3.06 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 733 MHz | 4 MB | 32 nm | 73 | 72.6 | 0.64 - 1.4 |
SLBX7 | 530 | 2.93 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 733 MHz | 4 MB | 32 nm | 73 | 72.6 | 0.65 - 1.4 |
SLBLR | 530 | 2.93 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 733 MHz | 4 MB | 32 nm | 73 | 72.6 | 0.65 - 1.4 |
TDP stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the CPU maximum thermal dissipation, i.e., the CPU cooler must be able to dissipate at least this amount of heat.
* The temperatures listed above are Tcase, which is the maximum external temperature of the CPU. On some other models, the manufacturer lists Tjunction, which is the maximum internal temperature of the CPU. The two are not comparable.
The first-generation Core i3 targeted to laptops, named 3xx, uses the Nehalem microarchitecture. They can use two different pinouts, BGA1288 or socket G1, and have an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller supporting 800 MHz and 1,066 MHz DDR3 memories. (“UM” models support only DDR3-800 memories.) They have an integrated PCI Express 2.0 controller supporting one x16 connection, and an integrated DirectX 10 video controller running at 500 MHz with 667 MHz “boost” clock (166 MHz with 500 MHz “boost” clock in “UM” models). Communication with the motherboard chipset is achieved through a DMI bus (1 GB/s per direction, which is listed as 2.5 GT/s by Intel). These processors support two video monitors.
All Core i3 CPUs support Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, which simulates two logical processing cores in each physical core. Therefore, they are recognized by the operating system as four-core CPUs.
sSpec | Model | Clock | Cores | HT | Video | Video Clock | Video Boost | Tech. | L3 Cache | TDP (W) | Max. Temp. (oC)* | Package |
SLC25 | 390M | 2.66 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 90 | G1 |
SLC24 | 390M | 2.66 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 105 | BGA1288 |
SLBZX | 380M | 2.53 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 90 | G1 |
SLBSL | 380UM | 1.33 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 166 MHz | 500 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 18 | 105 | BGA1288 |
SLBUK | 370M | 2.40 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 90 | G1 |
SLBU5 | 350M | 2.26 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 90 | G1 |
SLBU6 | 350M | 2.26 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 105 | BGA1288 |
SLBPK | 350M | 2.26 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 90 | G2 |
SLBPL | 350M | 2.26 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 105 | BGA1288 |
SLBNF | 330M | 2.13 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 105 | BGA1288 |
SLBMD | 330M | 2.13 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 90 | G1 |
SLBUG | 330UM | 1.20 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 166 MHz | 500 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 18 | 105 | BGA1288 |
SLBXW | 330E | 2.13 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD Graphics | 500 MHz | 667 MHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 105 | BGA1288 |
TDP stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the CPU maximum thermal dissipation, i.e., the CPU cooler must be able to dissipate at least this amount of heat.
* The temperatures listed above are Tjunction, which is the maximum internal temperature of the CPU. On some other models, the manufacturer lists Tcase, which is the maximum external temperature of the CPU. The two are not comparable.
In the table below, we listed all Core i3-21xx CPU models. These are desktop models based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture. They are also called second-generation Core i3 processors and use the socket LGA1155. The integrated memory controller supports dual-channel architecture as well as 1,066 MHz and 1,333 MHz DDR3 memories. They also have an integrated PCI Express 2.0 controller supporting one x16 connection, two x8 connections, one x8 connection or two x4 connections. Communication with the motherboard chipset is achieved through a DMI bus (2 GB/s each direction, which is listed as 5 GT/s by Intel). All models have an integrated DirectX 10.1 video controller running at 650 MHz or 850 MHz, with 1.1 GHz “boost” clock and six (HD 2000) or 12 (HD 3000) processing cores. These models support two video monitors.
As mentioned before, all Core i3 CPUs support Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, which simulates two logical processing cores in each physical core. Therefore, they are recognized by the operating system as four-core CPUs.
sSpec | Model | Clock | Cores | HT | Video | Video Clock | Video Boost | Tech. | L3 Cache | TDP (W) | Max. Temp. (oC)* | Voltage (V) |
SR05W | 2130 | 3.40 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2000 | 850 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 65 | 69.1 | NA |
SR0AY | 2125 | 3.30 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 850 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 65 | 69.1 | NA |
SR060 | 2120T | 2.60 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2000 | 650 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 65.0 | NA |
SR05Y | 2120 | 3.30 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2000 | 850 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 65 | 69.1 | NA |
SR0BA | 2105 | 3.10 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 850 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 65 | 69.1 | NA |
SR05D | 2102 | 3.10 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2000 | 850 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 65 | 69.1 | NA |
SR05Z | 2100T | 2.50 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2000 | 650 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 65.0 | NA |
SR05C | 2100 | 3.10 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2000 | 850 MHz | 1.1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 65 | 69.1 | NA |
TDP stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the CPU maximum thermal dissipation, i.e., the CPU cooler must be able to dissipate at least this amount of heat.
* The temperatures listed above are Tcase, which is the maximum external temperature of the CPU. On some other models, the manufacturer lists Tjunction, which is the maximum internal temperature of the CPU. The two are not comparable.
The second-generation Core i3 processors targeted to laptops, which use the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, can use two different pinouts, BGA1023 or socket G2, and have an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller supporting 1,066 MHz, 1,333 MHz, and 1,600 MHz DDR3 memories. They also have an integrated PCI Express 2.0 controller supporting one x16 connection, two x8 connections, one x8 connection or two x4 connections. Communication with the motherboard chipset is accomplished through a DMI bus (2 GB/s each direction, which is listed as 5 GT/s by Intel). They also have an integrated DirectX 10.1 video controller running at 350 MHz with 1 GHz “boost” clock on models with a TDP of 17 W, or 650 MHz with 1.15 GHz “boost” clock on models with a TDP of 35 W, all with 12 processing cores (HD 3000 graphics engine). These processors support two video monitors.
As mentioned previously, all Core i3 CPUs support Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, which simulates two logical processing cores in each physical core. Therefore, they are recognized by the operating system as four-core CPUs.
sSpec | Model | Clock | Cores | HT | Video | Video Clock | Video Boost | Tech. | L3 Cache | TDP (W) | Max. Temp. (oC)* | Package |
NA | 2377M | 1.5 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 350 MHz | 1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 17 | 100 | BGA1023 |
SR0DP | 2370M | 2.4 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 85 | G2 |
SR0CV | 2367M | 1.4 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 350 MHz | 1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 17 | 100 | BGA1023 |
NA | 2357M | 1.3 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 350 MHz | 1 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 17 | 100 | BGA1023 |
SR0DN | 2350M | 2.3 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 85 | G2 |
SR04L | 2330M | 2.2 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 100 | BGA1023 |
SR04J | 2330M | 2.2 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 85 | G2 |
SR02V | 2330E | 2.2 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 100 | G2 |
NA | 2328M | 2.2 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 100 | BGA1023 |
NA | 2328M | 2.2 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 85 | G2 |
SR09S | 2312M | 2.1 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 85 | G2 |
SR04S | 2310M | 2.1 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 85 | G2 |
SR04R | 2310M | 2.1 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 100 | BGA1023 |
SR077 | 2310E | 2.1 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 3000 | 650 MHz | 1.15 GHz | 32 nm | 3 MB | 35 | 100 | BGA1023 |
TDP stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the CPU maximum thermal dissipation, i.e., the CPU cooler must be able to dissipate at least this amount of heat.
* The temperatures listed above are Tjunction, which is the maximum internal temperature of the CPU. On some other models, the manufacturer lists Tcase, which is the maximum external temperature of the CPU. The two are not comparable.
The Core i3-32xx models are based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture and are also known as the third-generation Core i3 processors. They use the socket LGA1155, the same used by the second-generation Core i3 processors. The integrated memory controller supports dual-channel architecture as well as 1,333 MHz and 1,600 MHz DDR3 memories. They also have an integrated PCI Express 2.0 controller supporting one x16 connection, two x8 connections, one x8 connection or two x4 connections. Communication with the motherboard chipset is achieved through a DMI bus (2 GB/s each direction, which is listed as 5 GT/s by Intel). All models have an integrated DirectX 11 video controller with six (HD 2500) or 12 (HD 4000) processing units, running at 650 MHz with 1.05 GHz “boost” clock. All models support three displays (previous generations support two).
As mentioned earlier, all Core i3 CPUs support Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, which simulates two logical processing cores in each physical core. Therefore, they are recognized by the operating system as four-core CPUs.
sSpec | Model | Clock | Cores | HT | Video | Video Clock | Video Boost | Tech. | L3 Cache | TDP (W) | Max. Temp. (oC) | Voltage (V) |
SR0RH | 3240 | 3.4 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2500 | 650 MHz | 1.05 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 55 W | NA | NA |
SR0RK | 3240T | 2.9 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2500 | 650 MHz | 1.05 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 35 W | NA | NA |
SR0RF | 3225 | 3.3 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 4000 | 650 MHz | 1.05 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 55 W | NA | NA |
SR0RG | 3220 | 3.3 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2500 | 650 MHz | 1.05 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 55 W | NA | NA |
SR0RE | 3220T | 2.8 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 2500 | 650 MHz | 1.05 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 35 W | NA | NA |
TDP stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the CPU maximum thermal dissipation, i.e., the CPU cooler must be able to dissipate at least this amount of heat.
As their desktop counterparts, the Core i3-3xxx models targeted to mobile computers are based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture and are also known as the third-generation Core i3 processors. They can use either the BGA1023 pinout or the socket S2 pinout. The integrated memory controller supports dual-channel architecture as well as 1,333 MHz and 1,600 MHz DDR3, DDR3L, and DDR3L-RS memories. They also have an integrated PCI Express 2.0 controller supporting one x16 connection, two x8 connections, one x8 connection or two x4 connections. Communication with the motherboard chipset is accomplished through a DMI bus (2 GB/s each direction, which is listed as 5 GT/s by Intel). All models have an integrated DirectX 11 video controller with 12 execution units (Intel HD 4000 graphics). This is the major difference between the mobile and the desktop models, since desktop models use the Intel HD 2500 graphics (six execution units). On “M” models, the graphics engine works at 650 MHz with 1 GHz at “boost” mode, while on “U” models, the graphics engine works at 350 MHz with 1.05 GHz at “boost” mode. All models support three displays (previous generations support two).
As stated before, all Core i3 CPUs support Hyper-Threading (HT) technology, which simulates two logical processing cores in each physical core. Therefore, they are recognized by the operating system as four-core CPUs.
sSpec | Model | Clock | Cores | HT | Video | Video Clock | Video Boost | Tech. | L3 Cache | TDP (W) | Max. Temp. (oC)* | Package |
SR0N9 | 3217U | 1.8 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 4000 | 350 MHz | 1.05 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 17 W | 105 | BGA1023 |
SR0T4 | 3110M | 2.4 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 4000 | 650 MHz | 1 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 35 W | 90 | G2 |
SR0N2 | 3110M | 2.4 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 4000 | 650 MHz | 1 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 35 W | 105 | BGA1023 |
SR0N1 | 3110M | 2.4 GHz | 2 | Yes | HD 4000 | 650 MHz | 1 GHz | 22 nm | 3 MB | 35 W | 90 | G2 |
TDP stands for Thermal Design Power and indicates the CPU maximum thermal dissipation, i.e., the CPU cooler must be able to dissipate at least this amount of heat.
* The temperatures listed above are Tjunction, which is the maximum internal temperature of the CPU. On some other models, the manufacturer lists Tcase, which is the maximum external temperature of the CPU. The two are not comparable.
Originally at http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/All-Core-i3-Models/951
