Intel Pentium B940 vs Intel Core i5-430M vs Intel Pentium 957

Intel Pentium B940

The Intel Pentium B940 is a dual core processor for entry-level laptops. It is based on the Sandy Bridge architecture but many of the features like Turbo Boost for the CPU part, HyperThreading, AES, Virtualization (VT-x and VT-d), Trusted Execution or Intel Quick Sync are deactivated. The Pentium B940 integrates a graphics card called Intel HD Graphics that is based on the HD Graphics 2000 clocked at 650 / 1100 (with Turbo Boost).

The performance of the Pentium B940 should be faster than a similar clocked Arrandale Pentium CPU like the Intel Pentium P6100 due to the architectural changes in the core. In our benchmarks, the B940 was even faster than an old P6200 with 2,1 GHz.

Intel Core i5-430M

The Intel Core i5-430M is a fast middle class dual core CPU for laptops and clocks (due to the Turbo Mode) from 2.26 to 2.53 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 430M only has 3 MB Level 3 Cache, missing VT-d, Trusted Execution, and AES features and a lower clock speed.

A feature of the new Core i5-430M is the integrated graphics card (called Intel HD Graphics) 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.

Due to the integrated memory controller, the HyperThreading and Turbo Boost, the  Core i5-430M is faster than a similar clocked Core 2 Duo in all (us known) applications and benchmarks. In fact, the 430M even came close to a fast Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8 GHz) in some benchmarks (e.g. Cinebench 10 Multi Threaded). This means the 430M is a fast middle class - performance CPU and much faster than the top AMD model, the Turion II Ultra M660 (at the time of announcement).

The 32nm cpu cores of the Westmere generation can also process some new instructions to accelerate AES encryptions. Still, these functions are deactivated on the Core i5-430M leading to some performance drawbacks in modern applications that support AES encoding using the new instructions (e.g. the Communications Suite test in the PCMark Vantage boosts up to 70% using AES in the faster Core i5-520M).

The integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (GMA HD) graphics card is between 500-766 MHz (Turbo Boost) and is 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). The Turbo Boost can overclock the Intel HD Graphics up to 733 MHz when the cores are not fully used.

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).

Intel Pentium 957

The Intel Pentium 957 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 957 integrates a graphics card called Intel HD Graphics that is based on the HD Graphics 2000 and clocked from 350 - 800 MHz.

The performance of the Pentium 957 should be faster than a similar clocked Arrandale Pentium CPU and therefore on a level of the 1.3 GHz Pentium U5600.

The 17W TDP rating includes the integrated GPU and memory controller and therefore the 957 is suited for small subnotebooks.