i3-8121U vs Arc G3
Aggregate performance score
G3 outperforms Core i3-8121U by a whopping 593% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 501 | 2085 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | no data | Intel Core i3 |
| Power efficiency | 28.46 | 3.67 |
| Designer | Intel | Intel |
| Manufacturer | Intel | Intel |
| Architecture codename | Panther Lake (2026) | Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019) |
| Release date | 28 May 2026 (recently) | 5 May 2018 (8 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of Arc G3 and Core i3-8121U: 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 | 1.9 GHz | 2.2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.6 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | OPI |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 22 |
| L1 cache | 192 KB (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 2.5 MB (per core) | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 18 MB (shared) | 4 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 10 nm |
| Die size | no data | 123 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | 105 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | - |
Compatibility
Information on Arc G3 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 | 1 | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | Intel BGA 2540 | Intel BGA1440 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 15 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Arc G3 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) | + | + |
| 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
Arc G3 and Core i3-8121U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| SGX | no data | - |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Arc G3 and Core i3-8121U are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| VT-i | no data | - |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Arc G3 and Core i3-8121U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | LPDDR5X | 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 Arc B370 | Iris Pro Plus |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Arc G3 and Core i3-8121U.
| PCIe version | 5.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 12 | 16 |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 17.33 | 2.50 |
| Recency | 28 May 2026 | 5 May 2018 |
| Physical cores | 14 | 2 |
| Threads | 14 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 10 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 15 Watt |
Arc G3 has a 593% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, 600% more physical cores and 250% more threads, and a 233% more advanced lithography process.
i3-8121U, on the other hand, has 67% lower power consumption.
The Intel Arc G3 is our recommended choice as it beats the Intel Core i3-8121U in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
