Intel Core i9-10900K vs Intel Core i5-2557M

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-10900K CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i5-2557M
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i5-2557M

CPU comparison

Intel Core i9-10900K or Intel Core i5-2557M - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i9-10900K has 10 cores with 20 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.30 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-10900K was released in Q2/2020.

The Intel Core i5-2557M has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.70 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-2557M was released in Q2/2011.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family Intel Core i5 (328)
Intel Core i 10000 (43) CPU group Intel Core i 2000M (46)
10 Generation 2
Comet Lake S Architecture Sandy Bridge H
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i9-9900K Predecessor --
Intel Core i9-11900K Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-10900K has 10 CPU cores and can calculate 20 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i9-10900K is 3.70 GHz (5.30 GHz) while the Intel Core i5-2557M has 2 CPU cores and 4 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i5-2557M is at 1.70 GHz (2.70 GHz).

Intel Core i9-10900K Characteristic Intel Core i5-2557M
10 Cores 2
20 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.70 GHz Frequency 1.70 GHz
5.30 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 2.70 GHz
4.90 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 i9-10900K Characteristic Intel Core i5-2557M
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i9-10900K or Intel Core i5-2557M has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU Intel HD Graphics 3000
0.35 GHz GPU frequency 0.35 GHz
1.20 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.20 GHz
9.5 GPU Generation 6
14 nm Technology 32 nm
3 Max. displays 2
24 Compute units 12
192 Shader 96
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
12 DirectX Version 10.1

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.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU Intel HD Graphics 3000
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i9-10900K can use up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 45.8 GB/s. The Intel Core i5-2557M supports up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s.

Intel Core i9-10900K Characteristic Intel Core i5-2557M
DDR4-2933 Memory DDR3-1333
128 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
45.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
20.00 MB L3 Cache 3.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 2.0
16 PCIe lanes 16
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i9-10900K is 125 W, while the Intel Core i5-2557M has a TDP of 17 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i9-10900K Characteristic Intel Core i5-2557M
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 17 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
95 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-10900K is manufactured in 14 nm and has 20.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i5-2557M is manufactured in 32 nm and has a 3.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i9-10900K Characteristic Intel Core i5-2557M
14 nm Technology 32 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
LGA 1200 Socket BGA 1023
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q2/2020 Release date Q2/2011
490 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-10900K to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-2557M to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


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.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
1417 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
521 (37%)

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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
11344 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
1037 (9%)

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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
1743 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
507 (29%)

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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
8990 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
882 (10%)

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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.20 GHz
461 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 1.20 GHz
230 (50%)

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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
23706 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
1755 (7%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
80 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
936 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
1382 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
15945 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
645 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
6419 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
240 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
126 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
580 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 3.70 GHz
7347 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 5.30 GHz
232 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 2.70 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 i9-10900K Intel Core i9-10900K
10C 20T @ 4.90 GHz
2668 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2557M Intel Core i5-2557M
2C 4T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i5-2557M
Unknown Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Intel Core i9-10900KAMD Ryzen 9 3900X Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
2. AMD Ryzen 9 5900XIntel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 9 5900X vs Intel Core i9-10900K
3. AMD Ryzen 9 5950XIntel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 9 5950X vs Intel Core i9-10900K
4. Apple M1Intel Core i9-10900K Apple M1 vs Intel Core i9-10900K
5. AMD Ryzen 7 5800XIntel Core i9-10900K AMD Ryzen 7 5800X vs Intel Core i9-10900K
6. Intel Core i9-10900KIntel Core i9-9900K Intel Core i9-10900K vs Intel Core i9-9900K
7. Intel Core i9-11900KIntel Core i9-10900K Intel Core i9-11900K vs Intel Core i9-10900K
8. Intel Core i9-10900KIntel Core i9-10900KF Intel Core i9-10900K vs Intel Core i9-10900KF
9. Intel Core i9-10900KAMD Ryzen 9 3950X Intel Core i9-10900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
10. Intel Core i9-10900KIntel Core i9-10900X Intel Core i9-10900K vs Intel Core i9-10900X


back to index