i3-8121U vs i5-520M

Place in the ranking	2403	1682
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i5	Intel Core i3
Power efficiency	2.92	17.45
Architecture codename	Arrandale (2010−2011)	Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019)
Release date	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)	15 May 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-520M 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	2.4 GHz	2.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.93 GHz	3.2 GHz
Bus type	DMI 1.0	OPI
Bus rate	1 × 2.5 GT/s	4 GT/s
Multiplier	18	22
L1 cache	128 KB	128 KB
L2 cache	512 KB	512 KB
L3 cache	3 MB	4 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	10 nm
Die size	81+114 mm²	123 mm²
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	105 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
Number of transistors	382+177 Million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-520M 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 (Uniprocessor)	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	BGA1288,PGA988	Intel BGA1440
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI	+	+
FMA	+	-
AVX	-	+
vPro	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
QuickAssist	no data	-
Speed Shift	no data	+
My WiFi	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	+	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	+
Smart Response	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	no data	-
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
HD Audio	no data	+
RST	no data	+

Security technologies

Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	no data	+
MPX	-	+
SGX	no data	-
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
VT-i	no data	-
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3-800, DDR3-1066	DDR4
Maximum memory size	8.3 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	17.051 GB/s	38.397 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	Iris Pro Plus
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	766 MHz	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U.

PCIe version	2.0	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.

i5-520M 1.12

i3-8121U 2.87
+156%

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.

i5-520M 1716

i3-8121U 4391
+156%

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.

i5-520M 364

i3-8121U 1165
+220%

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.

i5-520M 700

i3-8121U 2367
+238%

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i5-520M 2729

i3-8121U 4314
+58.1%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.12	2.87
Recency	7 January 2010	15 May 2018
Chip lithography	32 nm	10 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	15 Watt

i3-8121U has a 156.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, a 220% more advanced lithography process, and 133.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i3-8121U is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-520M in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-520M and Core i3-8121U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.