Intel Core i3-10100 vs Intel Core i5-8500

The Intel Core i5-8500 (Coffee Lake S, 8th Generation) and the Intel Core i3-10100 (Comet Lake S, 10th Generation) are both manufactured using Intel's 14nm process and designed for desktop systems.

The Intel Core i5-8500 offers 6 cores and 6 threads, as well as a 9 MB L3 cache. The Intel Core i3-10100 features 4 cores and 8 threads (thanks to Hyper-Threading) with a 6 MB L3 cache. Both support PCIe 3.0 and are equipped with Intel UHD Graphics 630. In multi-core benchmarks, the Intel Core i5-8500 shows noticeably better performance due to its higher number of physical cores.

The single-core performance of the Intel Core i3-10100 is at a comparable level due to its newer architecture. Both processors are suitable for gaming. The Intel Core i3-10100 can offer slight advantages in some games due to its newer architecture, while the Intel Core i5-8500 excels in games that benefit from more cores.

Specific data on power consumption and Thermal Design Power (TDP), as well as current market prices, are not available, which makes an assessment of these aspects and the price-performance ratio difficult. The Intel Core i5-8500 is a good choice for workloads that utilize many physical cores.

The Intel Core i3-10100 is better suited for general tasks and casual gaming, where its good single-core performance and Hyper-Threading capability are advantageous.