Pentium 2030M
VS
Xeon E3-1220L v3

Pentium 2030M vs Xeon E3-1220L v3

Intel

Pentium 2030M

2 Cores2 Thrd512 WWMax: 2.5 GHz2013
VS
Intel

Xeon E3-1220L v3

2 Cores4 Thrd16 WWMax: 1.5 GHz2013

Performance Spectrum - CPU

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 2030M is positioned at rank 27 and the Xeon E3-1220L v3 is on rank 939, so the Pentium 2030M 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 2030M

#15
Atom x5-Z8300
MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A
168%
#16
Atom Z3735G
MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A
166%
#17
Core i5-480M
MSRP: $81|Avg: $77
152%
#18
Core i5-460M
MSRP: $80|Avg: $129
151%
#19
Core i5-2540M
MSRP: $266|Avg: $10
150%
#21
Core i5-450M
MSRP: $32|Avg: $31
145%
#22
Core i3-380M
MSRP: $49|Avg: $25
139%
#23
Core i5-430M
MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33
139%
#24
Core 2 Duo T6600
MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4
135%
#27
Pentium 2030M
MSRP: $134|Avg: N/A
100%
#28
Core 2 Duo T5750
MSRP: N/A|Avg: $8
100%
#29
Core 2 Duo T7200
MSRP: $286|Avg: $6
98%
#30
Core i5-3230M
MSRP: $225|Avg: $13
98%
#31
Atom D525
MSRP: $63|Avg: N/A
98%
#32
Atom x7835RE
MSRP: $127|Avg: N/A
97%
#33
Core 2 Duo P8400
MSRP: $209|Avg: $10
95%
#38
Core 2 Duo T8100
MSRP: $209|Avg: $10
89%
#39
Atom 330
MSRP: $43|Avg: $30
88%
Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon E3-1220L v3

#1
Xeon Platinum 8454H
MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A
28508%
#6
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.
InsightPentium 2030MXeon E3-1220L v3
Gaming
Lower gaming performance
Superior gaming performance
Workstation
Weaker in multi-core tasks
Better multi-core power
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 2030M ($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.
InsightPentium 2030MXeon E3-1220L v3
Cost Efficiency
Lower cost efficiency
Better overall value (+350%)
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.

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Pentium 2030M and Xeon E3-1220L v3

Intel

Pentium 2030M

The Pentium 2030M is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 January 2013 (12 years ago). It is based on the Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 2.5 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: 1,396 points. Launch price was $134.

Intel

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 2030M packs 2 cores / 2 threads, matching the Xeon E3-1220L v3's 2 cores. Boost clocks reach 2.5 GHz on the Pentium 2030M versus 1.5 GHz on the Xeon E3-1220L v3 — a 50% clock advantage for the Pentium 2030M (base: 2.5 GHz vs 1.1 GHz). The Pentium 2030M 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 2030M scores 1,396 against the Xeon E3-1220L v3's 1,407 — a 0.8% lead for the Xeon E3-1220L v3. L3 cache: 2 MB (total) on the Pentium 2030M vs 4096 kB (total) on the Xeon E3-1220L v3.

FeaturePentium 2030MXeon E3-1220L v3
Cores / Threads
2 / 2
2 / 4
Boost Clock
2.5 GHz+67%
1.5 GHz
Base Clock
2.5 GHz+127%
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
1,396
1,407
🧠

Memory & Platform

The Pentium 2030M 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.

FeaturePentium 2030MXeon E3-1220L v3
Socket
PGA988
LGA1150
PCIe Generation
PCIe 3.0
PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed
DDR3-1600
Max RAM Capacity
32 GB
RAM Channels
2
ECC Support
PCIe Lanes
16
🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Pentium 2030M) / VT-P (Xeon E3-1220L v3).

FeaturePentium 2030MXeon E3-1220L v3
Integrated GPU
No
Unlocked
No
AVX-512
No
Virtualization
VT-P
💰

Value Analysis

The Pentium 2030M launched at $134 MSRP, while the Xeon E3-1220L v3 debuted at $193.

FeaturePentium 2030MXeon E3-1220L v3
MSRP
$134-31%
$193
Avg Price (30d)
$30
Release Date
2013
2013