i3-8121U vs i5-4400E
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-8121U outperforms Core i5-4400E by a substantial 35% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i5-4400E and Core i3-8121U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1911 | 1699 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i5 | Intel Core i3 |
| Power efficiency | 5.24 | 9.33 |
| Architecture codename | Haswell (2013−2015) | Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019) |
| Release date | 1 October 2013 (11 years ago) | 5 May 2018 (6 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $266 | no data |
Detailed specifications
Core i5-4400E 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 | 2 (Dual-core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 2.7 GHz | 2.2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | OPI |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 22 |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB | 4 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 10 nm |
| Die size | 130 mm2 | 123 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | 105 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | 960 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-4400E 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 | FCBGA1364 | Intel BGA1440 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 37 Watt | 15 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-4400E 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 | + | + |
| 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
Core i5-4400E 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 Core i5-4400E and Core i3-8121U are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| 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 Core i5-4400E and Core i3-8121U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | 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 | Intel HD Graphics 4600 (400 - 1000 MHz) | Iris Pro Plus |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-4400E and Core i3-8121U.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.05 | 2.76 |
| Recency | 1 October 2013 | 5 May 2018 |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 10 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 37 Watt | 15 Watt |
i3-8121U has a 34.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 120% more advanced lithography process, and 146.7% lower power consumption.
The Core i3-8121U is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-4400E in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-4400E and Core i3-8121U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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