Intel Core i3-8121U vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
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CPU comparison with benchmarks
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 | |
CPU comparisonIn this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i3-8121U and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 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 821 which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2016. |
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| Intel Core i3 (205) | Family | Qualcomm Snapdragon (102) |
| Intel Core i 8000U (CL) (1) | CPU group | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (3) |
| 8 | Generation | 3 |
| Cannon Lake U | Architecture | Kryo |
| Mobile | Segment | Mobile |
| -- | Predecessor | -- |
| -- | Successor | -- |
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CPU Cores and Base FrequencyThe 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 821 clocks with 2.40 GHz, has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel. |
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Characteristic | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| 2 | Cores | 4 |
| 4 | Threads | 4 |
| normal | Core architecture | hybrid (big.LITTLE) |
| Yes | Hyperthreading | No |
| No | Overclocking ? | No |
| 2.20 GHz (3.20 GHz) | A-Core | 2.40 GHz 2x Kryo |
| -- | B-Core | 1.60 GHz 2x Kryo |
Artificial Intelligence and Machine LearningProcessors 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. |
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Characteristic | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| -- | AI hardware | Qualcomm AI engine |
| -- | AI specifications | Hexagon 680 |
Internal GraphicsGraphics (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. |
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| no iGPU | GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 530 |
| GPU frequency | 0.62 GHz | |
| -- | GPU (Turbo) | 0.62 GHz |
| -- | GPU Generation | 5 |
| Technology | 14 nm | |
| Max. displays | 0 | |
| -- | Compute units | -- |
| -- | Shader | 256 |
| No | Hardware Raytracing | No |
| No | Frame Generation | No |
| -- | Max. GPU Memory | -- |
| -- | DirectX Version | 11,1 |
Hardware codec supportA 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. |
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| no iGPU | GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 530 |
| No | Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) | Decode |
| No | Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) | No |
| No | Codec h264 | Decode |
| No | Codec VP9 | Decode |
| No | Codec VP8 | Decode |
| No | Codec AV1 | No |
| No | Codec AVC | No |
| No | Codec VC-1 | Decode |
| No | Codec JPEG | Decode |
Memory & PCIeUp to 32 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i3-8121U, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 14.9 GB/s enabled. |
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Characteristic | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| LPDDR4-2400, DDR4-2400 | Memory | LPDDR4-3733 |
| 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 ManagementThe Intel Core i3-8121U has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution. |
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Characteristic | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| 15 W | TDP (PL1 / PBP) | -- |
| -- | TDP (PL2) | -- |
| -- | TDP up | -- |
| -- | TDP down | -- |
| 105 °C | Tjunction max. | -- |
Technical detailsThe Intel Core i3-8121U has 4.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm. |
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Characteristic | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| 10 nm | Technology | 14 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 | Q3/2016 |
| -- | Release price | -- |
| show more data | show more data | |
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Rate these processors
Average performance in benchmarks
⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
@ 0.00 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Qualcomm Adreno 530 @ 0.62 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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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.
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Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz |
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz |
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Devices using this processor |
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| Intel Core i3-8121U | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| Unknown | Unknown |
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