i3-8121U vs Apple M4 Pro (14 cores)
Aggregate performance score
Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) outperforms Core i3-8121U by a whopping 884% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 180 | 1695 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | Apple M4 | Intel Core i3 |
| Power efficiency | 63.95 | 9.28 |
| Architecture codename | no data | Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019) |
| Release date | 30 October 2024 (less than a year ago) | 5 May 2018 (6 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 14 (Tetradeca-Core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 14 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2.2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.5 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | OPI |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 22 |
| L1 cache | no data | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | no data | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 4 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 10 nm |
| Die size | no data | 123 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 105 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | - |
Compatibility
Information on Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | no data | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | no data | Intel BGA1440 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 40 Watt | 15 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| vPro | no data | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| QuickAssist | no data | - |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| My WiFi | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | + |
| Smart Response | no data | + |
| Demand Based Switching | no data | - |
| HD Audio | no data | + |
| RST | no data | + |
Security technologies
Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | - |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| SGX | no data | - |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| VT-i | no data | - |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 38.397 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M4 20-core GPU | Iris Pro Plus |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 27.17 | 2.76 |
| Recency | 30 October 2024 | 5 May 2018 |
| Physical cores | 14 | 2 |
| Threads | 14 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 10 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 40 Watt | 15 Watt |
Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) has a 884.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, 600% more physical cores and 250% more threads, and a 233.3% more advanced lithography process.
i3-8121U, on the other hand, has 166.7% lower power consumption.
The Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-8121U in performance tests.
Note that Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) is a desktop processor while Core i3-8121U is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Apple M4 Pro (14 cores) and Core i3-8121U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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