Celeron G1830 vs Core i3-2120T

The Celeron G1830 packs 2 cores / 2 threads, matching the Core i3-2120T's 2 cores. Boost clocks reach 2.8 GHz on the Celeron G1830 versus 2.6 GHz on the Core i3-2120T — a 7.4% clock advantage for the Celeron G1830 (base: 2.8 GHz vs 2.6 GHz). The Celeron G1830 uses the Haswell (2013−2015) architecture (22 nm), while the Core i3-2120T uses Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) (32 nm). In PassMark, the Celeron G1830 scores 1,560 against the Core i3-2120T's 1,570 — a 0.6% lead for the Core i3-2120T. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 496 vs 403, a 20.7% lead for the Celeron G1830 that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 2 MB on the Celeron G1830 vs 3 MB (total) on the Core i3-2120T.

The Celeron G1830 uses the LGA1150 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i3-2120T uses LGA1155 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3-1333 memory speed. Both support up to 32 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: H81,B85,H87,Z87,H97,Z97 (Celeron G1830) and H61,B65,Q65,Q67,H67,P67,Z68,B75,Q75,Q77,H77,Z75,Z77 (Core i3-2120T).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x (Celeron G1830) vs VT-x, EPT (Core i3-2120T). Both include integrated graphics — HD Graphics (Haswell) (Celeron G1830) and HD Graphics 2000 (Core i3-2120T) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Celeron G1830 targets Budget, Core i3-2120T targets Budget Desktop. Direct competitor: Celeron G1830 rivals Pentium G3220; Core i3-2120T rivals A6-3500.

The Celeron G1830 launched at $52 MSRP, while the Core i3-2120T debuted at $127. At current prices ($5 vs $38), the Celeron G1830 is $33 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Celeron G1830 delivers 312.0 pts/$ vs 41.3 pts/$ for the Core i3-2120T — making the Celeron G1830 the 153.2% better value option.