Processors/Comparison
15 specifications
Intel Core i3-4150 vs Intel Core i3-540
On paper, the Intel Core i3-540 carries more L3 cache. Specifications describe what each chip is designed to do; how much of that either one holds under continuous load is a separate question.
Intel Core i3-4150
Intel · Core 4th generation · Desktop
Intel Core i3-540
Intel · Intel · Desktop
Cores and clocks
Cache and power
Platform
A check marks the higher figure only on rows where higher is unambiguously better. Rows without one are not ties; they are specifications where “better” has no meaning.
Reading the table
What the difference means.
Cache
The Core i3-540 carries 4 MB of L3 cache against 3 MB. Cache is fast memory on the chip, and a larger one means the cores wait on main memory less often. Games, large spreadsheets and compiling respond to it; rendering and video export, which stream through data in order, respond much less.
Power and cooling
The Core i3-540 is rated at 73 W against 54 W. The rating is the heat the cooler has to move for the chip to hold its speed, and modern chips draw well above it in short bursts. A competent tower cooler suits the Core i3-540; the Core i3-4150 is easier to keep quiet and fits smaller cases. A chip whose cooling falls short does not fail. It slows down, and it does so after the first minute, which is why short benchmarks miss it.
Platform
They use different sockets, FCLGA1150 and FCLGA1156, so moving from one to the other means a new motherboard. For an upgrade, that cost belongs in the comparison; for a new build, the newer platform is the one with later chips still to come.
Manufacturing process
The Core i3-4150 is built on a 22 nm process against 32 nm. A finer process generally does the same work for less power. The names are marketing labels rather than measurements, though, and they are not comparable between manufacturers, so treat the row as a sign of how recent the design is and no more.
Which to pick, on paper
- A quiet or compact build
- Core i3-4150
- 54 W against 73 W: less heat to move, so a smaller cooler and slower fans.
What no table says
How much of its speed a processor keeps after the first minute depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in. If you own one of these, measure it: the test is free and runs in this browser.
Questions
- Is the Core i3-4150 better than the Core i3-540?
- By need, on the specifications: a quiet or compact build: the Core i3-4150. No specification says how much speed either one keeps under a long load; that depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in, and it is what a sustained test measures.
- Do the Core i3-4150 and the Core i3-540 use the same socket?
- No. The Core i3-4150 uses FCLGA1150 and the Core i3-540 uses FCLGA1156, so switching means a new motherboard.
- Which runs hotter, the Core i3-4150 or the Core i3-540?
- The Core i3-540 is rated at 73 W against 54 W, so it produces more heat under load and needs the larger cooler. How hot either one actually runs depends on the cooler and the case more than on the chip.
More comparisons
- Intel Core i3-4150 vs Intel Core i3-3225
- Intel Core i3-4150 vs AMD Athlon 200GE
- Intel Core i3-4150 vs Intel Core i3-530
- Intel Core i3-4150 vs Intel Core i5-4430
- Intel Core i3-4150 vs Intel Core i5-750
- Intel Core i3-540 vs AMD Athlon 200GE
- Intel Core i3-540 vs Intel Core i3-530
- Intel Core i3-540 vs Intel Core i3-3225
- Intel Core i3-540 vs Intel Core i5-4430
- Intel Core i3-540 vs Intel Core i5-750
Every figure on this table is a design target. None of it is a measurement.
Nothing above describes how a processor behaves twenty minutes into a sustained workload, which is where two chips with nearly identical specifications routinely diverge. A boost clock is a ceiling the vendor permits, not a rate the chip sustains, and whether it holds depends on the cooling, the case, the power profile and the room. None of those appear on a specification sheet.
We deliberately do not reduce these figures to a single score. A composite invented from specifications would look authoritative and measure nothing, and choosing the weights would be choosing the winner.