Core i7-3689Y vs Core i3-5015U

Both the Core i7-3689Y and Core i3-5015U share an identical 2-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 2.6 GHz on the Core i7-3689Y versus 2.1 GHz on the Core i3-5015U — a 21.3% clock advantage for the Core i7-3689Y (base: 1.5 GHz vs 2.1 GHz). The Core i7-3689Y uses the Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) architecture (22 nm), while the Core i3-5015U uses Broadwell-U (2015) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-3689Y scores 1,967 against the Core i3-5015U's 1,990 — a 1.2% lead for the Core i3-5015U. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Core i7-3689Y vs 3 MB (total) on the Core i3-5015U.

The Core i7-3689Y uses the BGA1023 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i3-5015U uses FCBGA1168 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3L-1600 memory speed. The Core i7-3689Y supports up to 32 GB of RAM compared to 16 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (Core i7-3689Y) vs 12 (Core i3-5015U) — the Core i7-3689Y offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Neither processor supports overclocking. Both support VT-x, VT-d virtualization. Both include integrated graphics — Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Core i7-3689Y) and HD Graphics 5500 (Core i3-5015U) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-3689Y targets Ultra-Low Power Laptop, Core i3-5015U targets Mobile. Direct competitor: Core i7-3689Y rivals AMD A10-4655M.