Intel Core i3-8121U vs Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-8121U CPU1 vs CPU2 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
Intel Core i3-8121U Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i3-8121U and the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) 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 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in 02/2016.
Intel Core i3 (205) Family Broadcom BCM (3)
Intel Core i 8000U (CL) (1) CPU group Broadcom BCM2837B0 (1)
8 Generation 3
Cannon Lake U Architecture Cortex-A15
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Raspberry Pi 4 B (Broadcom BCM2711)

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 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) clocks with 1.40 GHz, has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
2 Cores 4
4 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.20 GHz Frequency 1.40 GHz
3.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
2.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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 Broadcom VideoCore 5
GPU frequency 0.40 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 5
Technology 40 nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 2
-- Shader 24
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 1 GB
-- 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.

no iGPU GPU Broadcom VideoCore 5
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
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 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) supports a maximum of 1 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 3.6 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
LPDDR4-2400, DDR4-2400 Memory
32 GB Max. Memory 1 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 1 (Single Channel)
38.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 3.6 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 0.50 MB
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 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) is 7 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down 4 W
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 Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) is at 0.50 MB. The processor is manufactured in 40 nm.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
10 nm Technology 40 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
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 Linux
Q2/2018 Release date 02/2016
-- Release price 35 $
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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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)

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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
Broadcom VideoCore 5 @ 0.40 GHz
20 (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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 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%)
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0) Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
4C 4T @ 1.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-8121U Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (Broadcom BCM2837B0)
Unknown Raspberry Pi 3 B+

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