Core i3-2350M vs Core i7-660UM

Both the Core i3-2350M and Core i7-660UM share an identical 2-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 2.3 GHz on the Core i3-2350M versus 2.4 GHz on the Core i7-660UM — a 4.3% clock advantage for the Core i7-660UM (base: 2.3 GHz vs 1.33 GHz). The Core i3-2350M uses the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture (32 nm), while the Core i7-660UM uses Arrandale (2010−2011) (32 nm). In PassMark, the Core i3-2350M scores 1,276 against the Core i7-660UM's 1,279 — a 0.2% lead for the Core i7-660UM. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 390 vs 250, a 43.8% lead for the Core i3-2350M that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 806 vs 600 (29.3% advantage for the Core i3-2350M). L3 cache: 3 MB (total) on the Core i3-2350M vs 4 MB (total) on the Core i7-660UM.

The Core i3-2350M uses the PGA988 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Core i7-660UM uses BGA1288 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3-1333 memory speed. The Core i3-2350M supports up to 16 GB of RAM compared to 8 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: HM65,HM67,QM67 (Core i3-2350M) and PM55,HM55,QM57,HM57 (Core i7-660UM).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x (Core i3-2350M) vs VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-660UM). Both include integrated graphics — Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Core i3-2350M) and HD Graphics (Core i7-660UM) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i3-2350M targets Laptop, Core i7-660UM targets Budget.