Intel Core i5-520M vs Intel Pentium 987 vs Intel Pentium B970

Intel Core i5-520M

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 Pentium 987

The Intel Pentium 987 is an Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) dual core processor for entry-level laptops. It is based on the Sandy Bridge architecture but many of the features like Turbo Boost, Virtualization (VT-x, VT-d), HyperThreading, AES or Trusted Execution are deactivated. The Pentium 987 integrates a graphics card called Intel HD Graphics that is based on the HD Graphics 2000 and clocked from 350 - 1000 MHz.

The performance of the Pentium 987 is a bit higher than a similar clocked Arrandale Pentium CPU and therefore significantly faster than a 1.3 GHz Pentium U5600.

The 17W TDP rating includes the integrated GPU and memory controller and therefore the 987 is suited for small subnotebooks.

Intel Pentium B970