Core i3-8121U vs Core i5-520M

Place in performance ranking	2298	1601
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i5	Intel Core i3
Architecture codename	Arrandale (2010−2011)	Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019)
Release date	4 January 2010 (14 years ago)	5 May 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	no data
Current price	$108 (0.5x MSRP)	$828

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 support	2500 MHz	no data
L1 cache	128 KB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB	256K (per core)
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	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

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	1
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	+	no data
AVX	no data	+
vPro	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
QuickAssist	no data	-
Speed Shift	no data	+
My WiFi	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	+	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	no data	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	+
SIPP	no data	-
Smart Response	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	no data	-
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	Launched
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	no data	+
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	17.1 GB/s	37.5 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	-

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 1.11

i3-8121U 2.84
+156%

Core i3-8121U outperforms Core i5-520M by 156% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i5-520M 1720

i3-8121U 4388
+155%

Core i3-8121U outperforms Core i5-520M by 155% in Passmark.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i5-520M 361

i3-8121U 1136
+215%

Core i3-8121U outperforms Core i5-520M by 215% in GeekBench 5 Single-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.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i5-520M 710

i3-8121U 2321
+227%

Core i3-8121U outperforms Core i5-520M by 227% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i5-520M 2729

i3-8121U 4314
+58.1%

Core i3-8121U outperforms Core i5-520M by 58% in 3DMark06 CPU.