Ultra 9 285 vs i3-8121U
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
Place in the ranking | 1688 | not rated |
Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
Series | Intel Core i3 | no data |
Power efficiency | 9.33 | no data |
Architecture codename | Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019) | Arrow Lake-S (2024−2025) |
Release date | 5 May 2018 (6 years ago) | January 2025 |
Detailed specifications
Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285 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) | 24 (Tetracosa-Core) |
Threads | 4 | 24 |
Base clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
Boost clock speed | 3.2 GHz | 5.6 GHz |
Bus type | OPI | no data |
Bus rate | 4 GT/s | no data |
Multiplier | 22 | no data |
L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 112 KB (per core) |
L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 3 MB (per core) |
L3 cache | 4 MB (shared) | 36 MB (shared) |
Chip lithography | 10 nm | 3 nm |
Die size | 123 mm2 | 243 mm2 |
Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | no data |
Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 72 °C | no data |
Number of transistors | no data | 17,800 million |
64 bit support | + | + |
Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285 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 |
Socket | Intel BGA1440 | 1851 |
Power consumption (TDP) | 15 Watt | 125 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285. 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 | no data |
AES-NI | + | + |
AVX | + | + |
vPro | - | + |
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
QuickAssist | - | no data |
Speed Shift | + | no data |
My WiFi | + | no data |
Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | no data |
Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
TSX | - | + |
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 i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285 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 Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285 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 Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
Supported memory types | DDR4 | DDR5 Depends on motherboard |
Maximum memory size | 32 GB | no data |
Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
Maximum memory bandwidth | 38.397 GB/s | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
Integrated graphics card | Iris Pro Plus | Arc Xe2 Graphics 64EU |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285.
PCIe version | 3.0 | 5.0 |
PCI Express lanes | 16 | 20 |
Pros & cons summary
Physical cores | 2 | 24 |
Threads | 4 | 24 |
Chip lithography | 10 nm | 3 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 15 Watt | 125 Watt |
i3-8121U has 733.3% lower power consumption.
Ultra 9 285, on the other hand, has 1100% more physical cores and 500% more threads, and a 233.3% more advanced lithography process.
We couldn't decide between Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Core i3-8121U is a notebook processor while Core Ultra 9 285 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-8121U and Core Ultra 9 285, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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