Pentium 2020M vs Xeon E3-1220L v3

Pentium 2020M

2 Cores2 Thrd512 WWMax: 2.4 GHz2012

Xeon E3-1220L v3

2 Cores4 Thrd16 WWMax: 1.5 GHz2013

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Pentium 2020M

2 / 2

1,412

+0.4%

1,407

0.0%

Celeron B820

Pentium Dual-Core E2180

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Pentium 2020M is positioned at rank 1063 and the Xeon E3-1220L v3 is on rank 939, so the Xeon E3-1220L v3 offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Pentium 2020M

#1051

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

2784%

#1052

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

2743%

#1053

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

2518%

#1054

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

2507%

#1055

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

2484%

#1057

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

2398%

#1058

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

2300%

#1059

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

2296%

#1060

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

2234%

#1063

Pentium 2020M

MSRP: $134|Avg: N/A

100%

#1064

Celeron P4500

MSRP: $86|Avg: $5

100%

#1065

Pentium Dual Core SU4100

MSRP: $134|Avg: $10

100%

#1066

Processor N50

MSRP: $128|Avg: $120

99%

#1067

Athlon II N350

MSRP: $100|Avg: $100

99%

#1068

Celeron N3350

MSRP: $107|Avg: N/A

99%

#1070

Core i7-2675QM

MSRP: $378|Avg: N/A

98%

#1071

A9-9410

MSRP: $150|Avg: $25

98%

#1073

A8 Pro-7150B

MSRP: $150|Avg: $20

97%

#1074

A9-9420

MSRP: $150|Avg: $30

97%

#1075

Celeron B730

MSRP: $70|Avg: $10

97%

#1078

A9-9425

MSRP: $150|Avg: $30

96%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon E3-1220L v3

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

28508%

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

5383%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

4782%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

3694%

#527

Xeon Platinum 8592+

MSRP: $11600|Avg: $11600

99%

#528

Xeon E5-2687W v3

MSRP: $2141|Avg: $749

93%

#939

Xeon E3-1220L v3

MSRP: $193|Avg: $30

100%

#940

Xeon E5-2670 v2

MSRP: $1556|Avg: $189

100%

#941

Xeon E5-2637 v3

MSRP: $996|Avg: $75

100%

#943

Xeon E5-1680 v2

MSRP: $1723|Avg: $150

99%

#944

Opteron 144

MSRP: $65|Avg: $29

98%

#945

Opteron 4386

MSRP: $459|Avg: $459

98%

#946

Xeon E5-2640

MSRP: $885|Avg: N/A

98%

#947

Xeon E5-2643 v4

MSRP: $1552|Avg: $555

97%

#949

Xeon E5-2630 v2

MSRP: $1069|Avg: $1224

96%

#953

Xeon E5-1620

MSRP: $885|Avg: $70

91%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($30) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon E3-1220L v3 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Pentium 2020M	Xeon E3-1220L v3
Gaming	❌ Lower gaming performance	✅ Superior gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	⚠️ Higher cost ($134)	✅ More affordable ($30)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) / 22 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Haswell-WS (2013−2014) / 22 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Pentium 2020M ($134), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($104 less, 347% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Pentium 2020M	Xeon E3-1220L v3
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+345%)
Upfront Cost	⚠️ Higher cost ($134)	✅ More affordable ($30)

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Pentium 2020M Benchmark Check

Xeon E3-1220L v3 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Pentium 2020M and Xeon E3-1220L v3

Pentium 2020M

The Pentium 2020M is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 September 2012 (13 years ago). It is based on the Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 2.4 GHz. L3 cache: 2 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 22 nm process technology. Socket: PGA988. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,412 points. Launch price was $134.

Xeon E3-1220L v3

The Xeon E3-1220L v3 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Haswell-WS (2013−2014) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 1.1 GHz, with boost up to 1.5 GHz. L3 cache: 4096 kB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 22 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1150. Thermal design power (TDP): 13 Watt. Memory support: DDR3, DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 1,407 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Pentium 2020M packs 2 cores / 2 threads, matching the Xeon E3-1220L v3's 2 cores. Boost clocks reach 2.4 GHz on the Pentium 2020M versus 1.5 GHz on the Xeon E3-1220L v3 — a 46.2% clock advantage for the Pentium 2020M (base: 2.4 GHz vs 1.1 GHz). The Pentium 2020M uses the Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) architecture (22 nm), while the Xeon E3-1220L v3 uses Haswell-WS (2013−2014) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Pentium 2020M scores 1,412 against the Xeon E3-1220L v3's 1,407 — a 0.4% lead for the Pentium 2020M. L3 cache: 2 MB (total) on the Pentium 2020M vs 4096 kB (total) on the Xeon E3-1220L v3.

Feature	Pentium 2020M	Xeon E3-1220L v3
Cores / Threads	2 / 2	2 / 4
Boost Clock	2.4 GHz+60%	1.5 GHz
Base Clock	2.4 GHz+118%	1.1 GHz
L3 Cache	2 MB (total)	4096 kB (total)+100%
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	256 kB (per core)
Process	22 nm	22 nm
Architecture	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Haswell-WS (2013−2014)
PassMark	1,412	1,407
Geekbench 6 Single	391	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	667	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Pentium 2020M uses the PGA988 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Xeon E3-1220L v3 uses LGA1150 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3-1600 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: HM70,HM75,HM76,HM77 (Pentium 2020M) and C222,C224,C226 (Xeon E3-1220L v3).

Feature	Pentium 2020M	Xeon E3-1220L v3
Socket	PGA988	LGA1150
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR3-1600	DDR3-1600
Max RAM Capacity	32 GB	32 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	❌	✅
PCIe Lanes	16	16

🔧

Advanced Features

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x / EPT (Pentium 2020M) vs VT-P (Xeon E3-1220L v3). The Pentium 2020M includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge)), while the Xeon E3-1220L v3 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Pentium 2020M targets Budget.