Intel Core i3-540 vs Intel Pentium D 945

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i3-540 and Intel Pentium D 945 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Compatibility, Peripherals, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

Intel Core i3-540

Intel Pentium D 945

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i3-540

CPU is newer: launch date 3 year(s) 6 month(s) later
Around 15% higher maximum core temperature: 72.6°C vs 63.4°C
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 65 nm
4.6x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 30% lower typical power consumption: 73 Watt vs 95 Watt
2.1x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 459 vs 220
2.6x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1015 vs 389

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	January 2010 vs July 2006
Maximum core temperature	72.6°C vs 63.4°C
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 65 nm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core) vs 28 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	459 vs 220
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1015 vs 389

Reasons to consider the Intel Pentium D 945

Around 11% higher clock speed: 3.4 GHz vs 3.06 GHz
8x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Maximum frequency	3.4 GHz vs 3.06 GHz
L2 cache	4096 KB vs 256 KB (per core)
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	2 vs 1

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i3-540
CPU 2: Intel Pentium D 945

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

459

220

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1015

389

Name	Intel Core i3-540	Intel Pentium D 945
PassMark - Single thread mark	1265
PassMark - CPU mark	1541
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	459	220
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1015	389
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	0.508
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	29.815
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.151
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	0.816
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	2.263

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i3-540	Intel Pentium D 945
Essentials
Architecture codename	Clarkdale	Presler
Launch date	January 2010	July 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$45
Place in performance rating	2973	3281
Price now	$21
Processor Number	i3-540	945
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors	Legacy Intel® Pentium® Processor
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	37.72
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.06 GHz	3.40 GHz
Bus Speed	2.5 GT/s DMI	800 MHz FSB
Die size	81 mm2	162 mm2
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	28 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	4096 KB
L3 cache	4096 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	65 nm
Maximum core temperature	72.6°C	63.4°C
Maximum frequency	3.06 GHz	3.4 GHz
Number of cores	2	2
Number of threads	4
Transistor count	382 million	376 million
VID voltage range	0.6500V-1.4000V	1.200V-1.3375V
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s
Maximum memory size	16.38 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 1066/1333	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Graphics
Graphics base frequency	733 MHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Processor graphics	Intel HD Graphics
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported	2
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	2
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA1156	PLGA775
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt	95 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	16
PCI Express revision	2.0
PCIe configurations	1x16, 2x8
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	36-bit	32-bit
Thermal Monitoring
FSB parity
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)