Intel Core i3-8109U vs Intel Core i3-8121U

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-8109U CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i3-8121U
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8121U

CPU comparison

Intel Core i3-8109U or Intel Core i3-8121U - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i3-8109U has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.60 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-8109U was released in Q4/2017.

The Intel Core i3-8121U has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-8121U was released in Q2/2018.
Intel Core i3 (202) Family Intel Core i3 (202)
Intel Core i 8000U (8) CPU group Intel Core i 8000U (1)
8 Generation 8
Coffee Lake U Architecture Cannon Lake U
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i3-8109U is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (3.60 GHz). The Intel Core i3-8121U has 2 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.20 GHz (3.20 GHz).

Intel Core i3-8109U Characteristic Intel Core i3-8121U
2 Cores 2
4 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz Frequency 2.20 GHz
3.60 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.20 GHz
3.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 2.70 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i3-8109U Characteristic Intel Core i3-8121U
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU no iGPU
0.30 GHz GPU frequency --
1.05 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
9.5 GPU Generation --
14 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
48 Compute units --
384 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i3-8109U supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-8121U can connect up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Intel Core i3-8109U Characteristic Intel Core i3-8121U
LPDDR3-2133, DDR4-2400 Memory , DDR4-2400
32 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
38.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 38.4 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache 4.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 3.0
16 PCIe lanes 16
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i3-8109U has a TDP of 28 W, that of the Intel Core i3-8121U is 15 W.

Intel Core i3-8109U Characteristic Intel Core i3-8121U
28 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
20 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 105 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i3-8109U has a 4.00 MB cache, while the Intel Core i3-8121U cache has a total of 4.00 MB.

Intel Core i3-8109U Characteristic Intel Core i3-8121U
14 nm Technology 10 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
BGA 1528 Socket BGA 1356
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q4/2017 Release date Q2/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz
881 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
810 (92%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
2021 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
1987 (98%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz
1185 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
1114 (94%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
2524 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
2414 (96%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
4268 (97%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
4395 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz
153 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
139 (91%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
381 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
305 (80%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz
55 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz
107 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz
366 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
916 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8109U
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 @ 1.05 GHz
806 (100%)
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-8109U Intel Core i3-8121U
Unknown Unknown

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