i3-9100F vs i3-8121U
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-9100F outperforms Core i3-8121U by an impressive 54% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1698 | 1384 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | 37 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 10.25 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i3 | Intel Core i3 |
| Power efficiency | 9.33 | 6.17 |
| Architecture codename | Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019) | Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019) |
| Release date | 15 May 2018 (6 years ago) | 23 April 2019 (5 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $122 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F 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 | 2 (Dual-core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.2 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| Bus type | OPI | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | 4 GT/s | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 22 | 36 |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 256 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 1 MB |
| L3 cache | 4 MB (shared) | 6 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 10 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 123 mm2 | 126 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 72 °C | 72 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F 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 | 1 (Uniprocessor) | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | Intel BGA1440 | FCLGA1151 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 15 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | - | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| QuickAssist | - | no data |
| Speed Shift | + | no data |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | - |
| Idle States | + | + |
| 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
Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | + | + |
| MPX | + | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| SGX | - | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| VT-i | - | no data |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 38.397 GB/s | 38.397 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Iris Pro Plus | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 16 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
GeekBench 5 Single-Core
GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.
Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.
Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core
Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.76 | 4.24 |
| Recency | 15 May 2018 | 23 April 2019 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 10 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 15 Watt | 65 Watt |
i3-8121U has a 40% more advanced lithography process, and 333.3% lower power consumption.
i3-9100F, on the other hand, has a 53.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 months, and 100% more physical cores.
The Core i3-9100F is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-8121U in performance tests.
Be aware that Core i3-8121U is a notebook processor while Core i3-9100F is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-8121U and Core i3-9100F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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