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Intel Core i3-8121U vs Intel Core i5-8500
Last updated:
Benchmarks
Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks
Single-core performance
Multi-core performance
Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance
Intel Core i3-8121U
82 %
2C / 4T · 3.20 GHz
Intel Core i5-8500
100 %
6C / 6T · 4.10 GHz
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Intel Core i3-8121U
46 %
2C / 4T · 2.70 GHz
Intel Core i5-8500
100 %
6C / 6T · 3.70 GHz
Geekbench 5, 64bit Single-Core
Single-core performance
Intel Core i3-8121U
75 %
2C / 4T · 3.20 GHz
Intel Core i5-8500
100 %
6C / 6T · 4.10 GHz
Geekbench 5, 64bit Multi-Core
Multi-core performance
Intel Core i3-8121U
42 %
2C / 4T · 2.70 GHz
Intel Core i5-8500
100 %
6C / 6T · 3.70 GHz
Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)
Single-core performance
Intel Core i3-8121U
80 %
2C / 4T · 3.20 GHz
Intel Core i5-8500
100 %
6C / 6T · 4.10 GHz
Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)
Multi-core performance
Intel Core i3-8121U
33 %
2C / 4T · 2.70 GHz
Intel Core i5-8500
100 %
6C / 6T · 3.70 GHz
More benchmarks
Cinebench R23 (SC)
690 entries
690 entries
Cinebench R23 (MC)
665 entries
665 entries
Geekbench 6 (SC)
1,989 entries
1,989 entries
Geekbench 6 (MC)
1,927 entries
1,927 entries
Cinebench R20 (SC)
666 entries
666 entries
Geekbench 5 (SC)
2,512 entries
2,512 entries
Cinebench R20 (MC)
615 entries
615 entries
Geekbench 5 (MC)
2,483 entries
2,483 entries
FP32 SP (iGPU)
2,219 entries
2,219 entries
3DMark Timespy (iGPU)
534 entries
534 entries
Blender 3.1 Benchmark
213 entries
213 entries
PassMark CPU-Mark
2,504 entries
2,504 entries
CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (SC)
250 entries
250 entries
CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (MC)
751 entries
751 entries
V-Ray CPU-Render
251 entries
251 entries
Cinebench R15 (SC)
1,113 entries
1,113 entries
Cinebench R15 (MC)
1,110 entries
1,110 entries
Geekbench 3 (SC)
945 entries
945 entries
Geekbench 3 (MC)
941 entries
941 entries
Cinebench R11.5 (SC)
826 entries
826 entries
Cinebench R11.5 (MC)
837 entries
837 entries
Cinebench R11.5 iGPU
383 entries
383 entries
Specifications
At a glance
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Intel Core i3 (205) | Intel Core i5 (336) |
| CPU group | Intel Core i 8000U (CL) (1) | Intel Core i 8000 (20) |
| Architecture | Cannon Lake U | Coffee Lake S |
| Technology | 10 nm | 14 nm |
| Segment | Notebook | Desktop |
| Socket | BGA 1356 | LGA 1151-2 |
| Predecessor | Intel Core i5-7500 | |
| Successor | Intel Core i5-9500 |
CPU Cores and Base Frequency
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores / Threads | 2 / 4 | 6 / 6 |
| Hyperthreading / SMT | ✓ | ✗ |
| Core architecture | normal | normal |
| Cores: | 2x | 6x |
| Frequency: | 2.20 GHz | 3.00 GHz |
| Turbo (1 Core): | 3.20 GHz | 4.10 GHz |
| Turbo (All Cores): | 2.70 GHz | 3.70 GHz |
| L2-Cache | ||
| L3-Cache | 4.00 MB | 9.00 MB |
| Overclocking | ✗ | ✗ |
Integrated graphics (iGPU)
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| GPU name | no iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| GPU frequency | 0.35 - 1.15 GHz | |
| CUs / Shader | / | 24 / 192 |
| Raytracing | ✗ | ✗ |
| Max. displays | 3 | |
| Max. GPU Memory | 64 GB | |
| Technology | 14 nm | |
| Release date | Q4/2017 |
NPU AI performance
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| AI hardware | ||
| AI specifications | ||
| NPU + CPU + iGPU |
Memory & PCIe
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | DDR4-2400 (38.4 GB/s) LPDDR4-2400 (38.2 GB/s) | DDR4-2666 (42.7 GB/s) |
| Max. Memory | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| ECC | No | No |
| PCIe | 3.0 x 16 | 3.0 x 16 |
| PCIe Bandwidth | 15.8 GB/s | 15.8 GB/s |
Thermal Management
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 15 W | 65 W |
| TDP (PL2) | ||
| TDP up | ||
| TDP down | ||
| T. junction max. | 105 °C |
Technical details
|
Wischen
|
Intel Core i3-8121U | Intel Core i5-8500 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip design | Monolithic | Monolithic |
| AES-NI | ✓ | ✓ |
| Operating systems | Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux | Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux |
| Instruction set | x86-64 (64 bit) | x86-64 (64 bit) |
| ISA extensions | SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512 | SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 |
| Release date | Q2/2018 | Q1/2018 |
| Release price | 190 $ | |
| Documents | Technical data sheet | Technical data sheet |
User Reviews
Your rating
Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Intel Core i3-8121U is 5.0 stars (1 ratings), while Intel Core i5-8500 has received 4.1 stars (78 ratings).
Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.
Most popular CPUs in both categories
1
Intel Core i3-8121U
2C / 4T · 3.20 GHz
2
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU)
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
3
Apple M3 Ultra (28-CPU 60-GPU)
28C / 28T · 4.06 GHz
4
Apple M2 Ultra (76-GPU)
24C / 24T · 3.50 GHz
5
Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU)
18C / 18T · 4.61 GHz
6
Apple M3 Ultra (32-CPU 80-GPU)
32C / 32T · 4.06 GHz
7
Apple M5 Pro (15-CPU 16-GPU)
15C / 15T · 4.61 GHz
8
Apple M1 Ultra (48-GPU)
20C / 20T · 3.20 GHz
9
Intel Core i5-8500
6C / 6T · 4.10 GHz
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