Intel Core i5-3470 socket: LGA 1155

What the Core i5-3470 is

Intel Core i5-3470 is a quad core Ivy Bridge desktop processor that Intel released in June 2012 as a mainstream tower staple. It runs at 3.2 GHz base with Turbo Boost 2.0 to 3.6 GHz, with 6 MB Intel Smart Cache and 4 threads. The 22 nm process holds power to 77 W, the standard desktop rating that every LGA 1155 board was built to feed.

Graphics are Intel HD Graphics 2500 at 650 MHz to 1100 MHz, with three display support and Quick Sync. The block handles office work and video on its own, while gaming or creation work of the period usually added a discrete card. The on die memory controller runs DDR3 at 1333 or 1600 MT/s, and the chip supports AVX, VT-x and VT-d.

Clock placement sits one step above the 3.1 GHz i5-3450 and one below the 3.3 GHz i5-3550, which made it a common office and home choice. Towers pair it with H77, B75 or Z77, 8 GB to 16 GB of RAM and an SSD for a balanced system. The How to find your CPU socket type guide helps identify the board before a second hand purchase.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Core i5-3470 fits LGA 1155 in FCLGA1155 form. 7 series boards boot it with a shipping BIOS, including H77, Z77, B75, Q77 and related sets. Most 6 series H61, H67, P67 and Z68 boards accept it after a BIOS update with Ivy Bridge microcode, while B65, Q65 and Q67 remain Sandy Bridge only. The update must be fitted before the new processor where the board requires it.

At 77 W the chip is the baseline for tower power design, so compatibility turns on features rather than delivery. Z77 adds overclocking for K chips and full display wiring, while B75 covers office fleets. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide explains the BIOS path, and Intel Pentium G2020 shows a slower Ivy dual core on the same socket.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is DDR3-1333 and 1600, two channels, up to 32 GB for 25.6 GB/s. Two matched DIMMs deliver that peak and feed both cores and the shared graphics block. ECC is not supported, so always on services belong on Xeon hardware. DDR4 is not possible on this socket.

PCI Express is 16 lanes from the CPU at PCIe 3.0, configured as 1x16, 2x8 or 1x8 plus 2x4. Many builds stay on HD 2500 for office displays, while a mainstream 2012 card suits light games or extra monitors. The 77 W budget leaves headroom in a standard ATX supply for such a card.

Cooling follows the 77 W desktop norm with a 67.4 C case limit class. The boxed cooler manages stock clocks with fair airflow, and an inexpensive tower drops noise under sustained loads. Mounting is 75 × 75 mm push pin.

Upgrade paths

Within LGA 1155 the Core i5-3470 can move to faster Ivy quads or to i7 parts with Hyper-Threading on the same board, where the BIOS lists the target. Memory, storage and the cooler carry over in most swaps, so the change is limited to the chip and a fresh paste. A slower comparison point on the same socket is Intel Core i3-3220.

A platform change to DDR4 boards such as LGA 1200 needs a new board, new RAM and a new mount. Keep the 3470 system for office, study or lab use where four Ivy cores still carry the load.