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Intel Core i5-2540M

Intel 2540M

The Intel Core i5-2540M is a fast high end dual core processor at the time of introduction in Q1 2011. It is based on the Sandy Bridge architecture and offers Hyperthreading to handle 4 threads at once (for a better usage of the pipeline). Compared to the faster Core i7, the i5 offers a smaller last level cache of 3MB. The base clock speed is 2.6 GHz but due to Turbo Boost it can reach 3.1 GHz (2 cores active) and 3.3 GHz (1 core active).

Sandy Bridge is the evolutionary successor of the Arrandale architecture. The most noteable improvements are the new 256Bit AVX instructions, the improved Turbo 2.0 and the integration of the graphics card into the 32nm CPU core. 

Der i5-2540M offers an integrated graphics card ( Intel HD Graphics 3000) which is clearly faster then the older Intel HD Graphics in the Arrandale CPUs. As the new GPU is included in the CPU, it is also manufactured in 32nm and shares the fast level 3 cache with the CPU cores (using a new ring bus). In the 2540M it is clocked from  650-1300MHz (Turbo Boost).

Furthermore, an improved dual-channel DDR3 memory controller is included on the CPU die that is used by the CPU and GPU part.

Due to the improved architecture and the new Turbo Boost 2.0, the average performance of the Core i5-2540M is higher than a similar clocked Arrandale Core i5. In synthetic benchmarks the performance should be on a level to the old Core i7-620M and therefore suited for even demanding tasks.

The 35W TDP rating includes the integrated GPU and memory controller.

SeriesIntel Core i5
CodenameSandy Bridge

Series: Core i5 Sandy Bridge

Intel Core i5-2540M « 2.6 - 3.3 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2520M compare2.5 - 3.2 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2450M compare2.5 - 3.1 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2435M compare2.4 - 3 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2430M compare2.4 - 3 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2415M compare2.3 - 2.9 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2410M compare2.3 - 2.9 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2557M compare1.7 - 2.7 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2467M compare1.6 - 2.3 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Intel Core i5-2537M compare1.4 - 2.3 GHz2 / 4 cores3 MB L3
Clock Rate2600 - 3300 MHz
Level 1 Cache128 KB
Level 2 Cache512 KB
Level 3 Cache3 MB
Number of Cores / Threads2 / 4
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)35 Watt
Transistor Count624 Million
Manufacturing Technology32 nm
Die Size149 mm2
Max. Temperature100 °C
SocketrPGA988B, BGA1023
FeaturesHD Graphics 3000 (650-1300MHz), DDR3-1066/1333 Memory Controller (max 8GB), HyperThreading, AVX, Quick Sync, Virtualization
GPUIntel HD Graphics 3000 (650 - 1300 MHz)
64 Bit64 Bit support
Architecturex86
Starting Price$266 U.S.
Announcement Date02/20/2011
Product Link (external)ark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 2.77     avg: 2.9     median: 3 (4%)     max: 2.98 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
min: 3923     avg: 4135     median: 4171 (25%)     max: 4234 points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
min: 8386     avg: 8998     median: 9109 (7%)     max: 9259 points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
min: 10077     avg: 10797     median: 10935.5 (8%)     max: 11242 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
min: 4816     avg: 5105     median: 5194 (6%)     max: 5276 Points
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
min: 3334     avg: 3632     median: 3682 (8%)     max: 3701 Points
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
min: 12     avg: 12.2     median: 12 (3%)     max: 13 s
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
min: 27     avg: 28.6     median: 28.3 (1%)     max: 30 s
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
min: 644     avg: 668     median: 663 (3%)     max: 699 s
SiSoft Sandra Dhrystone (MIPS) - SiSoft Sandra Dhrystone (MIPS)
min: 48900     avg: 53760     median: 51870 (25%)     max: 60510 MIPS
SiSoft Sandra Whetstone (MFLOPS) - SiSoft Sandra Whetstone (MFLOPS)
min: 34400     avg: 36297     median: 36840 (28%)     max: 37650 MFLOPS
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
min: 9338     avg: 9775     median: 9869.5 (9%)     max: 10023 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
min: 3439     avg: 3646     median: 3654 (10%)     max: 3836 Points
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

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Reviews for the Intel Core i5-2540M processor

 

Review HP EliteBook 2760p-LG682EA Convertible

A classic. The business convertible HP EliteBook 2760p has its roots in the HP Compaq 2710p, which debuted back in 2007. But while HP continually updated the in...
Intel Core i5-2540M | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | 12.10" | 1.8 kg
 

Review HP ProBook 6360b (LY435EA) Notebook

Stylish & Affordable. HP promotes its ProBook B series with these words. In the following in-depth review, we test the smallest member of the ProBook B family, ...
Intel Core i5-2540M | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | 13.30" | 2.2 kg
 

Review HP EliteBook 8560w-LG660EA Notebook

Elegant, more elegant, EliteBook. Are you looking for a robust, well-equipped and strong workstation? If you are, you might like the EliteBook 8560w. HP builds ...
Intel Core i5-2540M | AMD FirePro M5950 | 15.60" | 3.3 kg
 

Dell Latitude E6220 Laptop Review

Portable Workhorse. Dell demonstrated a prerelease model of the Latitude E6220 back in February of 2011 at the “Dell Means Business” event, and the buzzword pep...
Intel Core i5-2540M | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | 12.50" | 1.4 kg
 

Review HP EliteBook 8560p Notebook

Elegant powerhouse. The HP Elitebook 8560p-LQ589AW really stands out with its new and high-end platinum-style aluminium case. And then there’s the hardware: a s...
Intel Core i5-2540M | AMD Radeon HD 6470M | 15.60" | 2.7 kg

Dell Latitude E6520 i5/HD: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 15.60", 2.8 kg
  Review » Review Dell Latitude E6520 i5/HD Notebook

HP EliteBook 2560P-XB208AV: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 12.50", 1.8 kg
  External Review » HP EliteBook 2560P-XB208AV

Panasonic Toughbook CF-31, Sandy Bride: AMD Radeon HD 6750M, 13.10", 3.7 kg
  External Review » Panasonic Toughbook CF-31, Sandy Bride

HP EliteBook 8560w-LG660EA: AMD FirePro M5950, 15.60", 3.3 kg
  External Review » HP EliteBook 8560w-LG660EA

Dell Latitude E6220: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 12.50", 1.4 kg
  External Review » Dell Latitude E6220

Rock Xtreme 685-I5-2540M: AMD Radeon HD 6990M, 15.60", 3.1 kg
  External Review » Rock Xtreme 685-I5-2540M

Acer TravelMate 6495T-6813: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 14.00", 3.6 kg
  External Review » Acer TravelMate 6495T-6813

HP EliteBook 2760p-LG682EA: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 12.10", 1.8 kg
  External Review » HP EliteBook 2760p-LX389AW

Nexoc E643: AMD Radeon HD 6730M, 15.60", 2.7 kg
  External Review » Nexoc E643

HP EliteBook 8460p–LG743EA: AMD Radeon HD 6470M, 14.00", 2.1 kg
  External Review » HP EliteBook 8460p–LG743EA

Novatech Nspire Pro 2540: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M, 15.60", 2.6 kg
  External Review » Novatech Nspire Pro 2540

Lenovo Ideapad V570-M57E2GE: NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M, 15.60", 2.4 kg
  External Review » Lenovo Ideapad V570-M57E2GE

Lenovo ThinkPad T420s-NV7KKGE: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 14.00", 2 kg
  External Review » Lenovo ThinkPad T420s-NV7KKGE

Lenovo ThinkPad L421-7826K13: AMD Radeon HD 6470M, 14.00", 2.3 kg
  External Review » Lenovo ThinkPad L421-7826K13

HP Elitebook 8560p-LQ589AW: AMD Radeon HD 6470M, 15.60", 2.7 kg
  External Review » HP Elitebook 8560p-LQ589AW

HP Probook 6360b: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 13.30", 2.2 kg
  External Review » HP Probook 6360b

Dell Latitude E6520-L652050: NVIDIA NVS 4200M, 15.60", 2.8 kg
  External Review » Dell Latitude E6520-L652050

Dell Latitude E6520 i5/HD: Intel HD Graphics 3000, 15.60", 2.8 kg
  External Review » Dell Latitude E6520 i5/HD

HP Elitebook 8560p: AMD Radeon HD 6470M, 15.60", 2.7 kg
  External Review » HP Elitebook 8560p

Sony Vaio VPC-CA190X: AMD Radeon HD 6470M, 14.00", 2.4 kg
  External Review » Sony Vaio VPC-CA190X

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Other CPUs of the series Core i5

» Intel Core i5-8305G
   4x 2.8 GHz - 3.8 GHz
» Intel Core i5-8365U
   4x 1.6 GHz - 4.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-8265U
   4x 1.6 GHz - 3.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6440HQ
   4x 2.6 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6350HQ
   4x 2.3 GHz - 3.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6300HQ
   4x 2.3 GHz - 3.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5350H
   2x 3 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6287U
   2x 3.1 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6267U
   2x 2.9 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5287U
   2x 2.9 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4340M
   2x 2.9 GHz - 3.6 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4210H
   2x 2.9 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4330M
   2x 2.8 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4200H
   2x 2.8 GHz - 3.4 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5257U
   2x 2.7 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4308U
   2x 2.8 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4310M
   2x 2.7 GHz - 3.4 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4400E
   2x 2.7 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4300M
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6360U
   2x 2 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4210M
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6300U
   2x 2.4 GHz - 3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4288U
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4278U
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3380M
   2x 2.9 GHz - 3.6 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3360M
   2x 2.8 GHz - 3.5 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4200M
   2x 2.5 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3340M
   2x 2.7 GHz - 3.4 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6260U
   2x 1.8 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3320M
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4258U
   2x 2.4 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3230M
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6198DU
   2x 2.3 GHz - 2.8 GHz
» Intel Core i5-6200U
   2x 2.3 GHz - 2.8 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5300U
   2x 2.3 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5350U
   2x 1.8 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3210M
   2x 2.5 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2540M
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4310U
   2x 2 GHz - 3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4360U
   2x 1.5 GHz - 3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5200U
   2x 2.2 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-5250U
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4300U
   2x 1.9 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4350U
   2x 1.4 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2520M
   2x 2.5 GHz - 3.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2450M
   2x 2.5 GHz - 3.1 GHz
» Intel Core i5-580M
   2x 2.67 GHz - 3.33 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2435M
   2x 2.4 GHz - 3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2430M
   2x 2.4 GHz - 3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2415M
   2x 2.3 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2410M
   2x 2.3 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3437U
   2x 1.9 GHz - 2.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-560M
   2x 2.67 GHz - 3.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4210U
   2x 1.7 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4260U
   2x 1.4 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3427U
   2x 1.8 GHz - 2.8 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4402E
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4200U
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2.6 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4250U
   2x 1.3 GHz - 2.6 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3337U
   2x 1.8 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-480M
   2x 2.67 GHz - 2.93 GHz
» Intel Core i5-540M
   2x 2.53 GHz - 3.07 GHz
» Intel Core i5-460M
   2x 2.53 GHz - 2.8 GHz
» Intel Core i5-520M
   2x 2.4 GHz - 2.93 GHz
» Intel Core i5-450M
   2x 2.4 GHz - 2.66 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3317U
   2x 1.7 GHz - 2.6 GHz
» Intel Core i5-430M
   2x 2.26 GHz - 2.53 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4300Y
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4302Y
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2557M
   2x 1.7 GHz - 2.7 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3439Y
   2x 1.5 GHz - 2.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4202Y
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4220Y
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4210Y
   2x 1.5 GHz - 1.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2467M
   2x 1.6 GHz - 2.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-3339Y
   2x 1.5 GHz - 2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-4200Y
   2x 1.4 GHz - 1.9 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2537M
   2x 1.4 GHz - 2.3 GHz
» Intel Core i5-560UM
   2x 1.33 GHz - 2.13 GHz
» Intel Core i5-470UM
   2x 1.33 GHz - 1.87 GHz
» Intel Core i5-540UM
   2x 1.2 GHz - 2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-520UM
   2x 1.06 GHz - 1.87 GHz
» Intel Core i5-430UM
   2x 1.2 GHz - 1.73 GHz

Surrounding CPUs

+ Intel Core i7-640M
   2x 2.8 GHz - 3.46 GHz
+ Intel Core i7-820QM
   4x 1.73 GHz - 3.06 GHz
+ Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300
   4x 2.53 GHz
+ MediaTek Kompanio 1300T
   8x 2 GHz - 2.6 GHz
+ Intel Core i7-8500Y
   2x 1.5 GHz - 4.2 GHz
» Intel Core i5-2540M
   2x 2.6 GHz - 3.3 GHz
- Intel Core i3-10110Y
   2x 1 GHz - 4 GHz
- Intel Core i7-3667U
   2x 2 GHz - 3.2 GHz
- Intel Core i7-4500U
   2x 1.8 GHz - 3 GHz
- Intel Core i7-4550U
   2x 1.5 GHz - 3 GHz
- Intel Core i7-7Y75
   2x 1.3 GHz - 3.6 GHz
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Notebook Processors > Intel Core i5 2540M Notebook Processor
Klaus Hinum (Update: 2012-05-26)