Celeron N3150 vs Celeron G540

The Celeron N3150 packs 4 cores / 4 threads, while the Celeron G540 offers 2 cores / 2 threads — the Celeron N3150 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.08 GHz on the Celeron N3150 versus 2.5 GHz on the Celeron G540 — a 18.3% clock advantage for the Celeron G540 (base: 1.6 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Celeron N3150 uses the Braswell (2015−2016) architecture (14 nm), while the Celeron G540 uses Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) (32 nm). In PassMark, the Celeron N3150 scores 1,177 against the Celeron G540's 1,182 — a 0.4% lead for the Celeron G540. L3 cache: 0 kB on the Celeron N3150 vs 2 MB (total) on the Celeron G540.

The Celeron N3150 uses the FCBGA1170 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Celeron G540 uses LGA1155 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 1600 on the Celeron N3150 versus DDR3-1333 on the Celeron G540 — the Celeron N3150 supports 199.3% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Celeron G540 supports up to 32 GB of RAM compared to 8 — 120% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 4 (Celeron N3150) vs 16 (Celeron G540) — the Celeron G540 offers 12 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: FCBGA1170 (Celeron N3150) and H61,H67,P67,Z68,B75,Z77 (Celeron G540).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: true (Celeron N3150) vs VT-x (Celeron G540). Both include integrated graphics — Intel HD Graphics (Braswell) (Celeron N3150) and Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) (Celeron G540) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Celeron G540 targets Desktop. Direct competitor: Celeron N3150 rivals AMD E2-7110; Celeron G540 rivals Pentium G630.