Intel Core i3-8121U vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-8121U CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
Intel Core i3-8121U Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i3-8121U and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i3-8121U 2 core processor released in Q2/2018 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2019.
Intel Core i3 (205) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
Intel Core i 8000U (CL) (1) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 (3)
8 Generation 2
Cannon Lake U Architecture Kryo 470 Gold/475 Silver
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i3-8121U is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.20 GHz (3.20 GHz). The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G clocks with 2.20 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
2 Cores 8
4 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.20 GHz (3.20 GHz) A-Core 2.20 GHz
2x Kryo 470 Gold
-- B-Core 1.80 GHz
6x Kryo 470 Silver

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 i3-8121U Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
-- AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
-- AI specifications Hexagon 688 @ 3.6 TOPS

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

no iGPU GPU Qualcomm Adreno 618
GPU frequency 0.83 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 6
Technology 14 nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units --
-- Shader 128
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 4 GB
-- DirectX Version 12.1

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.

no iGPU GPU Qualcomm Adreno 618
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 32 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i3-8121U, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 14.9 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
LPDDR4-2400, DDR4-2400 Memory LPDDR4X-3733
32 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
38.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 14.9 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i3-8121U has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
105 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i3-8121U has 4.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 8 nm.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
10 nm Technology 8 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512 ISA extensions --
BGA 1356 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Android
Q2/2018 Release date Q2/2019
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i3-8121U (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G (65%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i3-8121U (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G (76%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
810 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
526 (65%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
1987 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1652 (83%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
1114 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
708 (64%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
2414 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
1671 (69%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
Qualcomm Adreno 618 @ 0.83 GHz
422 (100%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
307654 (100%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
279403 (100%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
4395 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
139 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
305 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Intel Core i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
3.6 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-8121U Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
Unknown Oppo Reno2
Xiaomi Mi Note 10

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