Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

Benchmarks for the Intel Core i7-3540M can be found below. Release dates, price and performance comparisons are also listed when available. This is made using thousands of PerformanceTest benchmark results and is updated daily.

The first graph shows the relative performance of the CPU compared to the 10 other common (single) CPUs in terms of PassMark CPU Mark.
The 2nd graph shows the value for money, in terms of the CPUMark per dollar.
The pricing history data shows the price for a single Processor. For multiple Processors, multiply the price shown by the number of CPUs.

Is the Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz Good for Gaming?

This is a fairly old CPU that is no longer competitive with newer CPUs. [More ...]

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Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

Description:

Class: Laptop

Socket: rPGA988B

Clockspeed: 3.0 GHz

Turbo Speed: 3.7 GHz

Cores: 2 Threads: 4

Typical TDP: 35 W

Cache per CPU Package:
L1 Instruction Cache: 2 x 32 KB
L1 Data Cache: 2 x 32 KB
L2 Cache: 2 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB

Other names: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3540M CPU @ 3.00GHz, Intel Core i7-3540M CPU @ 3.00GHz

CPU First Seen on Charts: Q1 2013

CPUmark/$Price: 27.64

Overall Rank:
3018th fastest in multithreading out of 5776 CPUs
2200th fastest in single threading out of 5776 CPUs
671st fastest in out of 1609 Laptop CPUs

Last Price Change: $108.02 USD (2025-08-15)

Average CPU Mark rating

Multithread Rating

2985

Single Thread Rating

1791

Samples: 728*
*Margin for error: Low

PerformanceTest V9
CPU Mark: 4,786
Thread: 1,848

CPU Test Suite Average Results for Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

Integer Math	10,182 MOps/Sec
Floating Point Math	5,205 MOps/Sec
Find Prime Numbers	15 Million Primes/Sec
Random String Sorting	6,342 Thousand Strings/Sec
Data Encryption	844.3 MBytes/Sec
Data Compression	46,508 KBytes/Sec
Physics	277 Frames/Sec
Extended Instructions	1,962 Million Matrices/Sec
Single Thread	1,791 MOps/Sec

From submitted results to PerformanceTest V10 as of 9th of February 2026.

CPU Mark Distribution for Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

Submitted Baseline Distribution Graph as of 3rd of February 2026

From submitted results since PerformanceTest V10 as of 3rd of February 2026.
For distribution graph only: Results are trimmed to exclude outliers by disregarding the bottom 1% and top 1% of submissions.

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Pricing History

CPU Mark Relative to Top 10 Common Laptop CPUs
As of 9th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average CPU Mark
Intel Core i7-12700H		25,266
Apple M4 10 Core		23,698
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H		20,631
Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz		19,764
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H		18,012
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H		16,485
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		15,641
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		14,133
Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz		10,600
Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz		9,396
Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz		2,985

CPU Value (CPU Mark / $Price )
As of 9th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better value
Processor	CPU Mark / $Price
Intel Core i7-12700H		55.29
Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz		50.03
Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz		30.41
Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz		27.64
Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz		11.04
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		NA
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		NA
Apple M4 10 Core		NA
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H		NA
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H		NA
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H		NA

Single Thread Rating
As of 9th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average Thread Rating
Apple M4 10 Core		4,516
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		3,886
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		3,676
Intel Core i7-12700H		3,505
Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz		3,023
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H		3,004
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H		2,888
Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz		2,616
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H		2,588
Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz		2,392
Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz		1,791

Last 5 Baselines for Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz
Most recent listed first
Baseline	CPU Mark
BL3257002 - Feb 01 2026		3296
BL3160703 - Dec 24 2025		3347
BL3159446 - Dec 24 2025		3334
BL3159433 - Dec 24 2025		3334
BL5109136 - Dec 11 2025		3419

Additional baselines can be obtained using Windows version of PerformanceTest's Manage Baselines feature.

Popular comparisons for Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz
As of 9th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average CPU Mark
Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz		2,985
Intel Core i5-4200M @ 2.50GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,807 (-6.0%)
Intel Core i5-3340M @ 2.70GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,684 (-10.1%)
Intel Core i5-3230M @ 2.60GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,567 (-14.0%)
Intel Core i7-3520M @ 2.90GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,840 (-4.9%)
Intel Core i5-4210M @ 2.60GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,905 (-2.7%)
Intel Core i7-2640M @ 2.80GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,450 (-17.9%)
Intel Core i3-4010U @ 1.70GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		1,661 (-44.4%)
Intel Core i5-4300M @ 2.60GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,961 (-0.8%)
Intel Core i7-4600U @ 2.10GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,709 (-9.3%)
Intel Core i7-4500U @ 1.80GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,488 (-16.7%)
Intel Core i5-4300U @ 1.90GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,487 (-16.7%)
Intel Celeron N4100 @ 1.10GHz vs Intel Core i7-3540M		2,453 (-17.8%)

Is the Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz Good for Gaming?
As of 9th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Relative Gaming Score
AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D		9,769
Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX		9,426
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX		8,999
Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX		8,984
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX		7,916
Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX		7,865
Intel Core Ultra 7 265H		7,771
Intel Core Ultra X9 388H		7,303
AMD Ryzen 9 9850HX		7,301
AMD RYZEN AI MAX+ 392		7,148
Intel Core i9-14900HX		6,905
AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 390		6,751
Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz		546

CPU Benchmarks

CPU Benchmarks

Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

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CPU Test Suite Average Results for Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

CPU Mark Distribution for Intel Core i7-3540M @ 3.00GHz

Pricing History