Intel Core i3-8121U vs Samsung Exynos 7870

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-8121U CPU1 vs CPU2 Samsung Exynos 7870
Intel Core i3-8121U Samsung Exynos 7870

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i3-8121U and the Samsung Exynos 7870 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 Samsung Exynos 7870 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2016.
Intel Core i3 (205) Family Samsung Exynos (47)
Intel Core i 8000U (CL) (1) CPU group Samsung Exynos 7570/7870/7880 (4)
8 Generation 1
Cannon Lake U Architecture Cortex-A53
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 Samsung Exynos 7870 clocks with 1.60 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
2 Cores 8
4 Threads 8
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.20 GHz Frequency 1.60 GHz
3.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
2.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

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 Samsung Exynos 7870
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

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 ARM Mali-T830 MP1
GPU frequency 0.60 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 0.60 GHz
-- GPU Generation Midgard 4
Technology 28nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 1
-- Shader 16
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version 11

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 ARM Mali-T830 MP1
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
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 Samsung Exynos 7870 supports a maximum of GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of -- enabled.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
LPDDR4-2400, DDR4-2400 Memory LPDDR3-933
32 GB Max. Memory
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 0
38.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth --
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 2.00 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 Samsung Exynos 7870 is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
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 Samsung Exynos 7870 is at 2.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

Intel Core i3-8121U Characteristic Samsung Exynos 7870
10 nm Technology 14 nm
Monolithic Chip design Unknown
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 Q1/2016
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i3-8121U (100%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 (14%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i3-8121U (100%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 (23%)

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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
115 (14%)

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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
452 (23%)

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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
963 (22%)

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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
ARM Mali-T830 MP1 @ 0.60 GHz
20 (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 i3-8121U Intel Core i3-8121U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
139 (100%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 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%)
Samsung Exynos 7870 Samsung Exynos 7870
8C 8T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-8121U Samsung Exynos 7870
Unknown Unknown

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