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Intel Core i5-520M vs Intel Core i5-480M vs Intel Core i5-580M

Intel Core i5-520M

► remove from comparison Intel 520M

The Intel Core i5-520M is a dual core CPU for laptops and clocks (due to the Turbo Mode) from 2.4 to 2.93 GHz. Each core is based on the Nehalem (Westmere) micro-architecture. Hyperthreading enables the Dual Core CPU to handle 4 threads at once (for a better usage of the pipeline). Compared to the faster Core i7-620M, the 520M features only 3 MB Level 3 Cache and a lower clock speed (CPU and GPU).

A feature of the new Core i5-520M is the integrated graphics card called GMA HD and memory controller. Both are on a separate die that is still manufactured in 45nm whereas the CPU die is already manufactured in the new 32nm process.

The performance of the i5 520M is on average faster than a Core 2 Duo T9500 and due to the Turbo Boost, single threaded applications run even better. Therefore, the Core i5-520M is as fast as high clocked Core 2 Duo CPUs and should handle most gaming and multimedia tasks well.

The 32nm cpu cores of the Westmere generation can also process some new instructions to accelerate AES encryptions.

The integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (GMA HD) graphics card is known to be clocked up to 500-766 MHz and should be clearly faster than the old GMA 4500MHD. A GeForce 9400M (ION) should still be a faster (especially as Nvidia and ATI cards have a better driver support than Intel up to now). According to rumors, the GMA core will also use the Turbo Mode regulate the clock speed.

The power consumption of 35 Watt TDP (max.) counts for the whole package and therefore it is clearly better than the 35 Watt TDP of the Core 2 Duo T-series (CPU alone). Due to the Turbo Boost, the Core i5 more likely uses the TDP under load than the older Core 2 Duo CPUs. Without any load, the i5 uses noticable less power.

Intel Core i5-480M

► remove from comparison Intel 480M

The Intel Core i5-480M is a mid-range dual core CPU for laptops and clocks (due to the Turbo Mode) from 2.66 to 2.9 GHz. Each core is based on the Nehalem (Westmere) micro-architecture. Hyperthreading enables the Dual Core CPU to handle 4 threads at once (for a better usage of the pipeline). Compared to the Core i5-540M, the 480M does most likely not support AES, VT-d and Trusted Execution functions and features a slower Turbo Boost (2.9 versus 3.06 GHz). However, the base clock rate is slightly higher.

A feature of the new Core i5-480M is the integrated graphics card called GMA HD and memory controller. Both are on a separate die that is still manufactured in 45nm whereas the CPU die is already manufactured in the new 32nm process.

The performance of the Core i5-480M is on average faster than a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo T9800 and in some benchmarks even faster than the fastest Core 2 Duo T9900 (e.g. 3DMark 06 CPU Score). Therefore, the Core i5-480M is a high end dual core cpu which should handle all daily work and gaming tasks. Only the quad core i7 CPUs can be noticeably faster at tasks that require four or more threads (e.g. rendering).

The integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (GMA HD) graphics card is known to be clocked up to 500-766 MHz and should be clearly faster than the old GMA 4500MHD. A GeForce 9400M (ION) should still be a faster (especially as Nvidia and ATI cards have a better driver support than Intel up to now). According to rumors, the GMA core will also use the Turbo Mode regulate the clock speed.

The power consumption of 35 Watt TDP (max.) counts for the whole package and therefore it is clearly better than the 35 Watt TDP of the Core 2 Duo T-series (CPU alone). Due to the Turbo Boost, the Core i5 is likely to use the whole TDP of 35 Watt under load and therefore can use more power than a similar specified Core 2 Duo. In Idle mode, the i5 uses clearly less power than the Core 2 Duo CPUs.

Intel Core i5-580M

► remove from comparison Intel 580M

The Intel Core i5-580M is a high end dual core CPU for laptops and clocks (due to the Turbo Mode) from 2.66 to 3.33 GHz. Each core is based on the Nehalem (Westmere) micro-architecture. Hyperthreading enables the Dual Core CPU to handle 4 threads at once (for a better usage of the pipeline). Compared to the Core i7-620M, the 580M only has 3 MB Level 3 Cache.

A feature of the new Core i5-580M is the integrated graphics card called GMA HD and memory controller for DDR3-800/1066. Both are on a separate die that is still manufactured in 45nm whereas the CPU die is already manufactured in the new 32nm process.

The performance of the Core i5-580M should be a bit beyond the Core i7-620M and therefore the second fastest dual core CPU for laptops in 2010. Compared to the older Core 2 Duo models, the i5-580M should be faster than the T9900. Therefore, the Core i5-580M is a high end dual core cpu which should handle all daily work and gaming tasks. Only the quad core i7 CPUs can be noticeably faster at tasks that require four or more threads (e.g. rendering).

The 32nm cpu cores of the Westmere generation can also process some new instructions to accelerate AES encryptions.

The integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (GMA HD) graphics card is known to be clocked up to 500-766 MHz and should be clearly faster than the old GMA 4500MHD. A GeForce 9400M (ION) should still be a faster (especially as Nvidia and ATI cards have a better driver support than Intel up to now). According to rumors, the GMA core will also use the Turbo Mode regulate the clock speed.

The power consumption of 35 Watt TDP (max.) counts for the whole package and therefore it is clearly better than the 35 Watt TDP of the Core 2 Duo T-series (CPU alone). Due to the Turbo Boost, the Core i5 is likely to use the whole TDP of 35 Watt under load and therefore can use more power than a similar specified Core 2 Duo. In Idle mode, the i5 uses clearly less power than the Core 2 Duo CPUs.

ModelIntel Core i5-520MIntel Core i5-480MIntel Core i5-580M
SeriesIntel Core i5Intel Core i5Intel Core i5
CodenameArrandaleArrandaleArrandale
Series: Core i5 Arrandale
Intel Core i5-580M2.67 - 3.33 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-560M2.67 - 3.2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-480M2.67 - 2.93 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-540M2.53 - 3.07 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-460M2.53 - 2.8 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-520M « 2.4 - 2.93 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-450M2.4 - 2.66 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-430M2.26 - 2.53 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-560UM1.33 - 2.13 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-470UM1.33 - 1.87 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-540UM1.2 - 2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-520UM1.06 - 1.87 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-430UM1.2 - 1.73 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-580M2.67 - 3.33 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-560M2.67 - 3.2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-480M « 2.67 - 2.93 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-540M2.53 - 3.07 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-460M2.53 - 2.8 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-520M2.4 - 2.93 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-450M2.4 - 2.66 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-430M2.26 - 2.53 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-560UM1.33 - 2.13 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-470UM1.33 - 1.87 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-540UM1.2 - 2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-520UM1.06 - 1.87 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-430UM1.2 - 1.73 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-580M « 2.67 - 3.33 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-560M2.67 - 3.2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-480M2.67 - 2.93 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-540M2.53 - 3.07 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-460M2.53 - 2.8 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-520M2.4 - 2.93 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-450M2.4 - 2.66 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-430M2.26 - 2.53 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-560UM1.33 - 2.13 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-470UM1.33 - 1.87 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-540UM1.2 - 2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-520UM1.06 - 1.87 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-430UM1.2 - 1.73 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Clock2400 - 2933 MHz2666 - 2933 MHz2666 - 3333 MHz
FSB250024004800
L1 Cache128 KB128 KB128 KB
L2 Cache512 KB512 KB512 KB
L3 Cache3 MB3 MB3 MB
Cores / Threads2 / 42 / 42 / 4
TDP35 Watt35 Watt35 Watt
Transistors382+177 Million382+177 Million382+177 Million
Technology32 nm32 nm32 nm
Die Size81+114 mm281+114 mm281+114 mm2
max. Temp.105 °C105 °C105 °C
SocketBGA1288, PGA988BGA1288, PGA988BGA1288, PGA988
FeaturesTurbo Boost, Hyper Threading, Enhanced Speedstep, integrierte GMA HD 733MHz,integrated DDR3 memory controller, GMA HD Graphics (500-766MHz), MMX, SSE (1,2,3,3S, 4.1, 3.2), EM64T, VT-xTurbo Boost, Hyper Threading, Enhanced Speedstep, integrierte GMA HD 500-733MHz, Dual Channel DDR3 memory controller
Architecturex86x86x86
$225 U.S.$266 U.S.
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comark.intel.comark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
100%
520M +
min: 1.97     avg: 2.1     median: 2.2 (3%)     max: 2.19 Points
106%
480M +
min: 2.18     avg: 2.3     median: 2.3 (3%)     max: 2.37 Points
113%
580M +
min: 2.41     avg: 2.5     median: 2.5 (3%)     max: 2.5 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
100%
520M +
min: 2789     avg: 3017     median: 3046 (18%)     max: 3102 Points
105%
480M +
min: 3130     avg: 3192     median: 3191 (19%)     max: 3248 Points
116%
580M +
min: 3511     avg: 3545     median: 3519 (21%)     max: 3606 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
100%
520M +
min: 6114     avg: 6661     median: 6753 (5%)     max: 6925 Points
105%
480M +
min: 6939     avg: 7187     median: 7080 (5%)     max: 7553 Points
114%
580M +
min: 7591     avg: 7700     median: 7666 (6%)     max: 7842 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
100%
520M +
min: 7129     avg: 8022     median: 8165 (6%)     max: 8342 Points
105%
480M +
min: 8159     avg: 8558     median: 8556 (6%)     max: 8969 Points
114%
580M +
min: 7549     avg: 8744     median: 9273 (6%)     max: 9411 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
100%
520M +
min: 1799     avg: 3636     median: 3732 (5%)     max: 3957 Points
105%
480M +
min: 3831     avg: 3928     median: 3912 (5%)     max: 4030 Points
117%
580M +
min: 3535     avg: 4095     median: 4374 (5%)     max: 4377 Points
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
100%
1 520M +
min: 599     avg: 814     median: 623.5 (7%)     max: 1428 s
101%
1 480M +
min: 539     avg: 564     median: 557 (7%)     max: 600 s
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
100%
1 520M +
min: 19     avg: 26.6     median: 20 (4%)     max: 44.63 s
100%
1 480M +
min: 17     avg: 18     median: 18 (4%)     max: 19.19 s
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
100%
520M +
min: 2602     avg: 2728     median: 2728.5 (6%)     max: 2817 Points
108%
480M +
min: 2579     avg: 2880     median: 2954 (6%)     max: 3093 Points
116%
580M +
min: 3126     avg: 3174     median: 3174 (7%)     max: 3222 Points
100%
480M +
min: 15     avg: 15     median: 15 (3%)     max: 15.2 s
101%
580M +
min: 13     avg: 13.3     median: 13 (3%)     max: 14 s
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
100%
520M +
min: 36     avg: 38.4     median: 38 (2%)     max: 44 s
100%
480M +
min: 35     avg: 36.1     median: 36 (2%)     max: 37 s
100%
580M +
min: 32     avg: 33     median: 33 (1%)     max: 34 s
100%
480M +
min: 842     avg: 852     median: 851 (4%)     max: 866 s
100%
580M +
min: 769     avg: 781     median: 773 (3%)     max: 801 s
SiSoft Sandra Dhrystone (MIPS) - SiSoft Sandra Dhrystone (MIPS)
100%
520M +
min: 31600     avg: 34553     median: 33240 (16%)     max: 39000 MIPS
115%
480M +
min: 33210     avg: 38100     median: 38100 (18%)     max: 42990 MIPS
132%
580M +
43800 MIPS (21%)
SiSoft Sandra Whetstone (MFLOPS) - SiSoft Sandra Whetstone (MFLOPS)
100%
520M +
min: 25360     avg: 28514     median: 28250 (22%)     max: 35320 MFLOPS
105%
480M +
min: 29000     avg: 29750     median: 29750 (23%)     max: 30500 MFLOPS
112%
580M +
31750 MFLOPS (24%)
PCMark 05 - PCMark 05 - Standard
100%
1 520M +
8082 Points (17%)
95%
1 480M +
7718 Points (16%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 CPU
100%
520M +
min: 5.2     avg: 6.6     median: 6.7 (86%)     max: 6.8 Points
103%
480M +
min: 6.8     avg: 6.9     median: 6.9 (88%)     max: 6.9 Points
103%
580M +
6.9 Points (88%)
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
100%
520M +
min: 7304     avg: 7540     median: 7560 (7%)     max: 7658 Points
104%
480M +
min: 7113     avg: 7765     median: 7845 (7%)     max: 8255 Points
112%
580M +
min: 8375     avg: 8458     median: 8457.5 (7%)     max: 8540 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
100%
1 480M +
min: 2640     avg: 2744     median: 2741 (7%)     max: 2854 Points

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-520M → 100% n=13

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-480M → 105% n=13

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-580M → 112% n=13

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

v1.26
log 28. 12:27:24

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#14 min, max, avg, median took s +0.137s ... 0.34s

#15 return log +0s ... 0.34s

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)