Core i5-3230M: a good processor for an average laptop

Core i5-3230M is an excellent dual-core chip for mid-price notebooks. In the presence of a discrete video card, such a mobile system can belong even to a class of gaming machines. It is his technical parameters and real computing capabilities that will be further examined in detail.

Processor connector, a family of chips and hardware features of a semiconductor chip

This chip was released in 2013 for the FCPGA988 processor connector. This socket was universally used to create notebooks based on the CPU based on the Core architecture and belonged to its second or third generation. It is to the latter that the Intel Core i5-3230M belongs. How many cores were part of this CPU? Two real computing modules. But here the support for HT technology allowed to increase the number of threads of code processing by 2 times. That is, at the program level, the number of cores was 4.

Production technology

This silicon crystal was manufactured according to the tolerance standards of 22 nm. Transistors in this case had a three-dimensional layout, which the company-manufacturer of "Intel" was called TriGate. Modern processors in terms of miniaturization have advanced only one step forward and are produced using 14nm technology, but the technological process has not changed, and the transistors in the CPU have the same three-dimensional layout. Therefore, from the technological point of view, this processor continues to be relevant.

Cache Organization

As in any other high-performance modern CPU, there are 3 levels of fast cache in the Intel Core i5-3230M. Technical characteristics indicate that at the first level its total volume is 128 KB. This volume is divided into 2 equal parts of 64 KB, tied to a certain block of calculations. Again, these blocks of 64 KB are allocated to 2 blocks of 32 KB each. One of them saves the instructions, the second - the data. The total size of the cache on the second level is 512 KB, and on the third - 3 MB.

Memory Controller

The memory controller was part of the semiconductor chip. It was oriented to work with modules of the DDR3 standard. The recommended frequencies were 1333 MHz or 1600 MHz. The controller itself was two-channel. That is, the use of two slats of a reduced size allowed to obtain an additional increase in speed. For example, 2 1 GB modules were more profitable in terms of performance than 1 1 GB bar.

Thermal features

Core i5-3230M has a thermal package of 35W. Alas, this value does not allow passive systems based on an aluminum radiator to cool this CPU. In this case, you can only use coolers. The maximum temperature for this chip is 105 ^° C. In reality, in the presence of a qualitative active heat sink system, this value does not exceed 50 -60 ^° C.

Frequency formula

Depending on the level of complexity of the program code being processed and its thermal state, the Core i5-3230M can change its clock frequency. Its minimum value is 2.6 GHz, and the maximum for two computational units is 3.0 GHz. If one of the modules is turned off and the CPU goes into single-core computing, the frequency can still increase by 200 MHz and reach 3.2 GHz.

Graphic component

The composition of this processor includes built-in graphics accelerator line HD Graphics model 4000. Technical specifications are very modest, but its availability is enough to solve the most simple and often performed tasks. Due to the component based on this CPU, you can even create low-end entry-level notebooks. The clock frequencies of this GPU can vary from 650 MHz at the minimum load and up to 1.1 GHz in peak video processing mode.

Results

Even now, mobile computing systems based on the Core i5-3230M can be found on sale. Of course, the level of performance is lower than that of new generations of processors. But the cost of these laptops is much smaller. And it is for the last reason that buying such a PC will be really justified.