Intel Core i5-2520M processor review

Intel Core i5-2520M

Core i5-2520M processor released by Intel; release date: 20 February 2011. At the time of release, the processor cost $225. The processor is designed for mobile-computers and based on Sandy Bridge microarchitecture.

CPU is locked to prevent overclocking. Total number of cores - 2, threads - 4. Maximum CPU clock speed - 3.20 GHz. Maximum operating temperature - 100 C. Manufacturing process technology - 32 nm. Cache size: L1 - 128 KB, L2 - 512 KB, L3 - 3072 KB.

Supported memory types: DDR3 1066/1333. Maximum memory size: 16 GB.

Supported socket types: PPGA988. Maximum number of processors in a configuration - 1. Power consumption (TDP): 35 Watt.

The processor has integrated graphics Intel® HD Graphics 3000 with the following parameters: maximum frequency - 1.3 GHz.

Benchmarks

PassMark
Single thread mark
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
4870
1357
PassMark
CPU mark
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
156834
2239
Geekbench 4
Single Core
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
5311
542
Geekbench 4
Multi-Core
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
36691
1187
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop
Face Detection
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
97.640 mPixels/s
1.877 mPixels/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop
Ocean Surface Simulation
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
741.453 Frames/s
30.827 Frames/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop
T-Rex
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
4.623 Frames/s
0.217 Frames/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop
Video Composition
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
49.002 Frames/s
0.881 Frames/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop
Bitcoin Mining
Top 1 CPU
This CPU
218.231 mHash/s
2.055 mHash/s
Name Value
PassMark - Single thread mark 1357
PassMark - CPU mark 2239
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 542
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 1187
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection 1.877 mPixels/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation 30.827 Frames/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex 0.217 Frames/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition 0.881 Frames/s
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining 2.055 mHash/s

Integrated graphics – Intel HD Graphics 3000

Technical info

Boost clock speed 1100 MHz
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Floating-point performance 20.4 gflops
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm
Pipelines 12
Texture fill rate 1.7 GTexel / s
Transistor count 995 million

Games performance

Counter-Strike: GO (2012)

Low, 1024x76860.60
Medium, 1366x76837.40
High, 1366x76816.65

Team Fortress 2 (2017)

Low, 1280x72048.40

Farming Simulator 17 (2016)

Low, 1280x72022.10
Medium, 1366x76813.20

World of Warships (2015)

Low, 1366x76831.55
Medium, 1366x76818.65

Dota 2 Reborn (2015)

Low, 1280x72049.50
Medium, 1366x76820.35
High, 1920x10808.30
Ultra, 1920x10807.40

GTA V (2015)

Low, 1024x7687.50

The Elder Scrolls Online (2014)

Low, 1024x76822.50
Medium, 1366x76814.80

X-Plane 10.25 (2013)

Low, 1024x76818.05
Medium, 1366x7689.65
High, 1366x7684.85
Ultra, 1920x10803.40

Total War: Rome II (2013)

Low, 1024x76818.80
Medium, 1366x76814.10

Company of Heroes 2 (2013)

Low, 1024x7688.90
Medium, 1366x7686.60
High, 1366x7683.90

Metro: Last Light (2013)

Low, 1024x76810.90
Medium, 1366x7687.40

BioShock Infinite (2013)

Low, 1280x72023.06
Medium, 1366x76810.65
High, 1366x7689.25

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013)

Low, 1024x768107.00
Medium, 1366x76820.00
High, 1366x76811.20
Ultra, 1920x10804.20

SimCity (2013)

Low, 1024x76815.80
Medium, 1366x7688.40
High, 1366x7686.40

Tomb Raider (2013)

Low, 1024x76826.00
Medium, 1366x76813.70
High, 1366x7689.90

Hitman: Absolution (2012)

Low, 1024x76816.00
Medium, 1366x76812.40
High, 1366x7681.90

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)

Low, 1024x76816.65
Medium, 1366x76812.20
High, 1366x7684.40

World of Tanks v8 (2012)

Low, 1024x76857.65
Medium, 1366x76819.30
High, 1366x76814.60
Ultra, 1920x10807.60

Borderlands 2 (2012)

Low, 1024x76823.95
Medium, 1366x76815.00
High, 1366x76812.30
Ultra, 1920x10806.40

Dirt Showdown (2012)

Low, 1024x76831.10
Medium, 1366x76817.20
High, 1366x7689.50

Diablo III (2012)

Low, 1024x76831.30
Medium, 1366x76817.00
High, 1366x76810.70
Ultra, 1920x108011.65

Mass Effect 3 (2012)

Low, 1280x72021.40
High, 1366x76818.75
Ultra, 1920x108012.30

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

Low, 1280x72018.70
Medium, 1366x7689.40
High, 1366x7687.75

Battlefield 3 (2011)

Low, 1024x76810.40

Deus Ex Human Revolution (2011)

Low, 1024x76832.10
High, 1366x76811.00
Ultra, 1920x10807.00

StarCraft 2 (2010)

Low, 1024x76865.50
Medium, 1360x76817.80
High, 1360x76811.00
Ultra, 1920x10808.00

Metro 2033 (2010)

Low, 800x60024.00
Medium, 1360x76812.00

GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto (2008)

Low, 800x6001.00

Left 4 Dead (2008)

Low, 640x480117.10
High, 1024x76869.30

Trackmania Nations Forever (2008)

Low, 640x480127.00
High, 1024x76841.50
Ultra, 1920x108013.00

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare (2007)

Low, 800x60063.20
Medium, 1024x76830.60
High, 1280x102412.00

Supreme Commander - FA Bench (2007)

Low, 1024x76831.45
Medium, 1024x76814.00
High, 1024x76812.05
Ultra, 1920x10804.70

Crysis - GPU Benchmark (2007)

Low, 1024x76835.30
Medium, 1024x76817.70
High, 1024x76811.60
Ultra, 1920x10803.10

World in Conflict - Benchmark (2007)

Low, 800x60055.00
Medium, 1024x76818.00
High, 1024x76810.00
Ultra, 1920x10804.00

Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark (2005)

High, 1024x768123.00

World of Warcraft (2005)

Low, 800x60098.00
Medium, 1024x76847.50
High, 1280x102412.00
Ultra, 1920x10806.00

Doom 3 (2004)

Low, 640x48023.50
Ultra, 1024x76842.20

Quake 3 Arena - Timedemo (1999)

High, 1024x768222.35

Specifications (specs)

Essentials

Architecture codename Sandy Bridge
Launch date 20 February 2011
Launch price (MSRP) $225
Place in performance rating 2848
Price now $169.60
Processor Number i5-2520M
Series Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status Launched
Value for money (0-100) 6.23
Vertical segment Mobile

Performance

64 bit support
Base frequency 2.50 GHz
Bus Speed 5 GT/s DMI
Die size 149 mm
L1 cache 128 KB
L2 cache 512 KB
L3 cache 3072 KB
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm
Maximum core temperature 100 C
Maximum frequency 3.20 GHz
Number of cores 2
Number of threads 4
Transistor count 624 Million

Memory

Max memory channels 2
Maximum memory bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
Maximum memory size 16 GB
Supported memory types DDR3 1066/1333

Graphics

Device ID 0x116
Graphics base frequency 650 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency 1.30 GHz
Graphics max frequency 1.3 GHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Intel® InTru™ 3D technology
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Processor graphics Intel® HD Graphics 3000

Graphics interfaces

CRT
DisplayPort
eDP
HDMI
Number of displays supported 2
SDVO
Wireless Display (WiDi) support

Compatibility

Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration 1
Package Size 37.5mm x 37.5mm (rPGA988B); 31mm x 24mm (BGA1023)
Sockets supported PPGA988
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 35 Watt

Peripherals

Max number of PCIe lanes 16
PCI Express revision 2.0
PCIe configurations 1x16, 2x8, 1x8+2x4

Security & Reliability

Anti-Theft technology
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)

Advanced Technologies

4G WiMAX Wireless
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Fast Memory Access
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® My WiFi technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring

Virtualization

AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)