Intel Pentium B950 Processor
| Pentium B950 | Pentium B950 Vs Core i3-2310M | B950 FAQ | B950 Vs B940 | B950 Vs Core i5-430M |
Take a Sandy Bridge core i5 processor ( the second generation core i5 processor) and disable the Turbo boost feature – and you get a core i3 Sandy Bridge processor. Now disable the Hyperthreading, AES, and the VT-x and Vt-d Virtualizations – you get the Pentium B950 processor. This is what this processor is – in simple terms.
The Intel Pentium B950 a dual core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz, clocked 100 MHz higher than its younger brother Pentium B940 ( dual core clocked at 2.0 GHz).
On the right hand side is a block diagram of a system based upon Pentium B950. The processor communicates with the DDR3 memory directly ( max speed grade is DDR3-1333). It communicates with the chipset ( called PCH or Platform Controller Hub in Intel Parlance) , using fast, differential DMI Bus.
Table : Intel Pentium B950 Features and Specs
| Feature | Intel Pentium B950 |
| Core Frequency | 2.1 GHz |
| No. Of Cores | 2 ( No Hyperthreading) |
| Cache Organization | 2 MB L3 |
| Turbo Frequency | No Turbo |
| TDP Rating | 35 Watts |
| 64 Bit Support | Y |
| Lithography | 32 nm |
| Integrated Memory Controller | DDR3-1333 |
| Integrated Graphics | Yes, 650 MHz Base, 1.1 GHz Max |
| Pentium B950 Benchmark | Pentium B950 Vs Core i3-2310M | B950 FAQ | B950 Vs Core i3 |
The Pentium B950’s improved Sandy Bridge architecture leads to better performance when compared to Arrandale based Pentium processors ( the Pentium P6200 and the Pentium P6100 processors.)
The Pentium B950 has better memory transfer rate and now supports DDR3-1333 in addition to the DDR3-1066 ( The earlier Pentium P6200 and P6100, for example, support DDR3 rates only upto DDR3-1066). This leads to faster processor to memory speed and improved performance. Notice that implementing the DDR3-1333 is a challenge on the motherboard due to high speed constraints and if you do buy a system based upon DDR3-1333, ensure that the motherboard used is from a reliable source. The Signal Integrity related errors can menifest itself as blue screen and occasional failures due to bit errors.
The notebook manufacturer should now have a pool of low cost processor in the form of Pentium B950 and B940 and they should be able to churn out low cost moderate performance notebooks. The lower cost is made possible by the integration of the graphics in the processor.
But the most significant advancement is in the area of the integrated graphics. The Pentium B950 has a unified die that consists of the two processor cores as well as the memory controlled and the GPU controller. Even though the main processors cores do not feature the turbo boost features, the Pentium B950 does support the turbo boost feature and leads to better performance.
As of now the Pentium B940 is more popular than the B950, but we think that the Pentium P950 will become more common and should outrank B940 in terms of usage in the coming days.
Walmart has the HP Pavilion dv4-4030us – a 14 inch laptop powered by the Pentium B950. It comes with 4 GB RAM and 500 GB Hard disk – not bad for $581 at which it is offered.
Intel Pentium B950 Benchmark
Find about the B950 benchmark result here.
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Do you have Super Pin 2M score for B950 ? I do not see many of notebooks based upon this processor. I do B940 based notebooks
just bought my new asus A43S with one at the Taipei guangho computer market. Love it. Ourperformed every other Asus laptop there in street fighter speed test
Why waste money on an i5 when the Asus43S with B930 outperforms it for games and movies. didnt compare i7 but perhaps beats that too. Slightly faster than Asus Lamborghini. The salesmen told me it is only not suitable for programing apps like java.
Can you make a Pentium B950 Vs i5 comarison ?
uhhhh, no.
is this a good processor for gaming? along with a ATI radeon HD6470 video card?
Thanks for the info. Now when you disable the Hyperthreading, AES, and the VT-x and Vt-d Virtualizations, ehh… what effect does that have on gaming, photoshop, whatever? In other words, what type of computer operator will miss the advantages of an i3 and is the price differential (I’m seeing ~$75) worth it?
How do you use the turbo boost on the pentium B950.
TimberWolf,
Turbo boost is not supported in Pentium B950. You may like to take a look at core i5 processors if you need Turbo Boost.
this pentium is faster than i3 and i5 for games and working with movies and photos. i have the Asus 43S with nvidia gt540m. i saw it beat the others in tests when i bought it.
B950 is not faster than i3 or i5 in gaming if they all had the same gpu. You probably compared it to i3 and i5 with integrated graphics.
to Kj gpu? graphics processing unit?
I didnt check if the graphics were integrated at the Taipei computer market 2 monthes ago when the salesman ran the street fighter demo speed test. It was slightly faster than Asus Lamborghini; surely that did not have integrated graphics. I can download 20/30 8megapixel photos in about 15 seconds. Whatever turboboost and hyperthreading does you dont really need it for photos and games.
I agree B950 is plenty fast for most people. I have two with HD 3000 integrated GPU. But turning off those extra features should not make B950 faster than i3 or i5. If you run benchmark programs, I am sure i3 and i5 will come out faster.
Oh, if you compare to i3 first generation(not sandy bridge), it’s possible B950 may come out a bit faster but definitely not i5 even if it is the first generation.
Can you compare Pentium B940/950 vs. Celeron B840?
This table form Intel:
http://ark.intel.com/compare/55626,59801
shows that Celeron has some features that Pentium doesn’t have. For example, Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x), Intel® My WiFi Technology etc.
Thanks for all this valuable information!
I’m between this B950 processor and the i5 480M processor.
The thing is that Samsung has the B950 in a (sligtly cheaper) model with matte screen (NP300E5A-A03SE), while the HP ProBook 4520s has the i5 480M processor and also the matte screen. I like to save a little money and also I’ve had some very bad experiences with the HP. So I would rather not choose that one again.
My aim is to do some – but not very much – photo processing. I do have a desktop machine for my main work.
Please comment, if something triggers you.
I have a high CPU usage, when doing nothing. More than 30%. Is that OK? Thanks
This is not normal. It indicates some processes running in background that you do not know of. Could be virus. Check with an Anti Virus. AVG Anti Virus and the Spybot are two free ones.