Pentium 997

Details and Benchmarks for Intel Pentium 997

Sysbuilds Alpha Stage!

Please take all results with a big grain of salt. Sysbuilds is in alpha stage at the moment which can lead to wrong data, strange counting errors, silly results and more. This site is under active development.

Benchmark Results

Combined benchmark scores based on multiple data points, giving a quick overview of this processor's performance.

Overall Score

Overall score for Pentium 997 based on all benchmark results gathered. Look at this like a meta score, you will find more specific workload ratings below.

4,038 Rank: 1852
Rank Name Score Visual
1848 Core 2 Duo E4500 4,045
+0.2%
1849 Intel Core i5-430M 4,043
+0.1%
1850 Intel Celeron P4600 4,040
+0%
1851 Celeron 2980U 4,040
+0%
1852 Pentium 997 4,038
1853 Phenom X4 9850 4,038
+0%
1854 Core 2 Duo T5850 4,036
+-0%
1855 Atom C3538 4,034
-0.1%
1856 Athlon II P360 4,034
-0.1%
1857 Celeron J3455 4,033
-0.1%

View full ranking →

Multicore Score

Multicore performance score for Pentium 997 based on multi-threaded benchmark results.

4,345 Rank: 1595
Rank Name Score Visual
1591 Intel Core i3-350M 4,348
+0.1%
1592 A8-3520M 4,348
+0.1%
1593 Core i5-2430M 4,347
+0%
1594 Celeron G550 4,346
+0%
1595 Pentium 997 4,345
1596 Athlon II X2 260 4,345
+0%
1597 A8-3500M 4,345
+0%
1598 Celeron N3450 4,344
+-0%
1599 Pentium G840 4,344
+-0%
1600 Pentium E6800 4,344
+-0%

View full ranking →

Singlecore Score

Single-core performance score for Pentium 997 based on single-threaded benchmark results.

3,833 Rank: 1866
Rank Name Score Visual
1862 Celeron E1500 3,848
+0.4%
1863 Phenom X4 9850 3,841
+0.2%
1864 Celeron B820 3,836
+0.1%
1865 Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 3,834
+0%
1866 Pentium 997 3,833
1867 Intel Pentium P6100 3,831
-0.1%
1868 Pentium N3540 3,830
-0.1%
1869 Core 2 Duo T7200 3,830
-0.1%
1870 Celeron J3355 3,827
-0.2%
1871 Celeron 430 3,821
-0.3%

View full ranking →

Workload Scores

Performance scores grouped by workload type, normalized and aggregated from multiple raw benchmark results.

Number Crunching

Aggregated score for Pentium 997 based on integer math, floating point math, and prime number computation benchmarks.

4,487 Rank: 1625
Rank Name Score Visual
1621 Pentium P6200 4,488
+0%
1622 A4-4300M 4,488
+0%
1623 A6-7000 4,488
+0%
1624 Pentium N3700 4,487
+0%
1625 Pentium 997 4,487
1626 Athlon II X2 255 4,487
+0%
1627 Athlon II X2 250 4,487
+0%
1628 Pentium E6300 4,487
+0%
1629 Pentium E5400 4,487
+0%
1630 Celeron 2957U 4,487
+0%

View full ranking →

Data Processing

Aggregated score for Pentium 997 based on data encryption, data compression, and string sorting benchmarks.

4,446 Rank: 1672
Rank Name Score Visual
1668 Celeron 3205U 4,447
+0%
1669 A4-3305M 4,447
+0%
1670 Pentium T4200 4,447
+0%
1671 Celeron E1400 4,447
+0%
1672 Pentium 997 4,446
1673 Pentium P6100 4,446
+0%
1674 A4-4300M 4,446
+0%
1675 A4-3300M 4,446
+0%
1676 Celeron E1500 4,446
+0%
1677 Athlon II X2 260u 4,446
+0%

View full ranking →

Physics & Compute

Aggregated score for Pentium 997 based on physics simulation and extended instruction set (SSE/AVX) benchmarks.

4,474 Rank: 1576
Rank Name Score Visual
1572 Pentium 2117U 4,476
+0%
1573 Pentium B940 4,475
+0%
1574 A4-5300 4,475
+0%
1575 Athlon 5150 4,475
+0%
1576 Pentium 997 4,474
1577 Celeron B830 4,473
+-0%
1578 Athlon II X2 265 4,473
+-0%
1579 Pentium J2900 4,473
+-0%
1580 Pentium N3710 4,473
+-0%
1581 Atom x5-Z8500 4,473
+-0%

View full ranking →

Pentium 997 Details

Ranking #1852 of 2060 in overall performance, the Intel Pentium 997 reflects a processor from a bygone era of mobile computing, launched in September 2012. While it once served as a mainstream option for budget-conscious users, its current standing is firmly rooted in the lower tier of modern benchmarking. As of March 2026, the Pentium 997 is best understood as a legacy component, designed for basic productivity and light multimedia tasks, rather than any form of high-performance computing. Its position in the broader CPU landscape is now largely historical, offering little competitive edge against contemporary processors, even in the low-end mobile segment.

Built on Intel’s Sandy Bridge microarchitecture and fabricated on a 32 nm process, the Pentium 997 features two cores with no simultaneous multithreading, operating at a base frequency of 1.6 GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 1.6 GHz. With a 17 W TDP and a BGA1023 package, it was engineered for power efficiency in mobile platforms. The processor supports DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1066 memory via a dual-channel interface, with a theoretical maximum memory bandwidth of 19.87 GiB/s. It includes 2 MiB of L3 cache, 0.5 MiB of L2 cache, and 0.125 MiB of L1 cache—typical for its generation but significantly behind today’s standards.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) GPU operates at a base frequency of 350 MHz and can burst up to 1000 MHz, supporting up to two displays. While this GPU was adequate for basic video playback and light graphics work in its time, it offers negligible performance for modern applications or gaming. The Pentium 997 lacks features like AVX2 and FMA3, though it supports a range of older instruction sets including SSE4.1, SSE4.2, and AES-NI, which were relevant at the time of its release.

In terms of performance, the Pentium 997 scores 4038 in the overall Passmark benchmark, with single-core and multicore scores of 3833 and 4345, respectively. These results place it behind nearly all modern processors, including even low-end Celerons and Atom chips released in the same year. Its single-core performance is particularly weak, ranking #1866 of 2060, while its multicore score at #1595 indicates limited scalability despite its dual-core design. The processor struggles to keep pace even with older Intel Core i3 and AMD Athlon models from the same era.

In conclusion, the Intel Pentium 997 is a relic of early 2010s mobile computing, suited only for legacy systems, basic office use, or embedded applications where power efficiency and cost are prioritized over performance. While it played a role in the evolution of Intel’s mobile lineup, its relevance today is minimal. For modern users, even a modest upgrade to a recent Celeron or Pentium Gold processor would deliver significantly better performance and compatibility with current software.
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Intel Pentium 997

Main Specifications

Designer: Intel
Name: Pentium 997
Family: Pentium
Series: 900
Model Number: 997
Cores: 2
Threads: 2
Base Frequency: 1600 MHz
Clock Multiplier: 16x (locked)
Microarchitecture: Sandy Bridge
Core Name: Sandy Bridge M
Core Family: 6
Core Model: 42
Socket: BGA1023
Package: FCBGA-1023
Chipset: Cougar
Target Segment: Mobile
Max CPUs: 1
TDP: 17 W
Release Price: $134.00

Cache Specifications

L1 Cache: 128 KiB
L1 Instruction Cache: 64 KiB (8-way set associative)
L1 Data Cache: 64 KiB (8-way set associative)
L2 Cache: 0.5 MiB (8-way set associative)
L3 Cache: 2 MiB (8-way set associative)

Memory Specifications

Supported Memory Type: DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1066
Memory Channels: 2
Maximum Memory: 16 GB
Maximum Bandwidth: 19.87 GB/s
ECC Support: No

PCI-Express Specifications

PCIe Revision: 2.0
PCIe Lanes: 16
PCIe Configuration: 1x16, 2x8, 1x8+2x4

Integrated Graphics

GPU: HD
GPU Designer: Intel
GPU Max Frequency: 1000 MHz
Execution Units: 6

Physical Specifications

Process: 32 nm
Die Area: 131 mm²
Transistor Count: 0.50 billion
Manufacturer: Intel
Technology: CMOS
Word Size: 64-bit
ISA: x86-64 (x86)

CPU Features

MMX EMMX SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4.1 SSE4.2 AVX AVX2 ABM BMI1 BMI2 FMA3 AES RdRand ADX CLMUL F16C x86-16 x86-32 x86-64 Real Protected SMM FPU NX HT TBT 2.0 EIST TXT vPro VT-x VT-d EPT MPX SGX Secure Key SMEP SIPP IPT TSX Flex Memory MWT ISRT FMA
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