Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz

Benchmarks for the Intel Core i3-8121U can be found below. Release dates, price and performance comparisons are also listed when available. This is made using thousands of PerformanceTest benchmark results and is updated daily.

The first graph shows the relative performance of the CPU compared to the 10 other common (single) CPUs in terms of PassMark CPU Mark.
The 2nd graph shows the value for money, in terms of the CPUMark per dollar.
The pricing history data shows the price for a single Processor. For multiple Processors, multiply the price shown by the number of CPUs.

Is the Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz Good for Gaming?

This is a fairly old CPU that is no longer competitive with newer CPUs. [More ...]

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Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz

Description:

Class: Laptop

Socket:

Clockspeed: 2.2 GHz

Turbo Speed: 3.2 GHz

Cores: 2 Threads: 4

Typical TDP: 15 W

Cache per CPU Package:
L1 Instruction Cache: 2 x 32 KB
L1 Data Cache: 2 x 32 KB
L2 Cache: 2 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB

Other names: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8121U CPU @ 2.20GHz

CPU First Seen on Charts: Q4 2018

CPUmark/$Price: 14.73

Overall Rank:
2473rd fastest in multithreading out of 5476 CPUs
1997th fastest in single threading out of 5476 CPUs
558th fastest in out of 1516 Laptop CPUs

Last Price Change: $290.00 USD (2021-05-17)

Average CPU Mark rating

Multithread Rating

4271

Single Thread Rating

1896

Samples: 36*
*Margin for error: Low

PerformanceTest V9
CPU Mark: 4,803
Thread: 1,654

CPU Test Suite Average Results for Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz

Integer Math	13,900 MOps/Sec
Floating Point Math	6,653 MOps/Sec
Find Prime Numbers	15 Million Primes/Sec
Random String Sorting	5,983 Thousand Strings/Sec
Data Encryption	2,104 MBytes/Sec
Data Compression	47,320 KBytes/Sec
Physics	329 Frames/Sec
Extended Instructions	3,677 Million Matrices/Sec
Single Thread	1,896 MOps/Sec

From submitted results to PerformanceTest V10 as of 5th of December 2025.

CPU Mark Distribution for Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz

Submitted Baseline Distribution Graph as of 3rd of December 2025

From submitted results since PerformanceTest V10 as of 3rd of December 2025.
For distribution graph only: Results are trimmed to exclude outliers by disregarding the bottom 1% and top 1% of submissions.

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CPU Mark Relative to Top 10 Common Laptop CPUs
As of 6th of December 2025 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average CPU Mark
Intel Core i7-12700H		25,357
Apple M1 Max 10 Core 3200 MHz		22,146
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H		20,681
Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz		19,833
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H		18,083
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H		16,529
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		15,652
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		14,145
Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz		10,612
Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz		9,414
Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz		4,271

CPU Value (CPU Mark / $Price )
As of 6th of December 2025 - Higher results represent better value
Processor	CPU Mark / $Price
Intel Core i7-12700H		55.49
Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz		50.21
Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz		30.46
Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz		14.73
Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz		11.05
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		NA
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		NA
Apple M1 Max 10 Core 3200 MHz		NA
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H		NA
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H		NA
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H		NA

Single Thread Rating
As of 6th of December 2025 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average Thread Rating
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		3,890
Apple M1 Max 10 Core 3200 MHz		3,833
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		3,678
Intel Core i7-12700H		3,514
Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz		3,029
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H		3,011
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H		2,892
Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz		2,621
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H		2,590
Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz		2,394
Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz		1,896

Last 5 Baselines for Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz
Most recent listed first
Baseline	CPU Mark
BL3034107 - Nov 07 2025		3948
BL2835464 - Aug 14 2025		997
BL2201074 - Sep 22 2024		4500
BL1923070 - Oct 12 2023		4289
BL1871644 - Jul 29 2023		4088

Additional baselines can be obtained using Windows version of PerformanceTest's Manage Baselines feature.

Popular comparisons for Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz
As of 6th of December 2025 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average CPU Mark
Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz		4,271
Intel Core i3-1005G1 @ 1.20GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		4,827 (+13.0%)
Intel Core i3-8145U @ 2.10GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,781 (-11.5%)
Intel Core i3-8130U @ 2.20GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,522 (-17.5%)
Intel Core i5-7442EQ @ 2.10GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		4,834 (+13.2%)
AMD Ryzen 3 3200U vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,730 (-12.7%)
Intel Core i5-6442EQ @ 1.90GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		4,483 (+4.9%)
Intel Core i3-8145UE @ 2.20GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		4,021 (-5.9%)
Intel Core i3-10110U @ 2.10GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,834 (-10.2%)
Intel Core i5-6287U @ 3.10GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,801 (-11.0%)
AMD A8-7680 vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,523 (-17.5%)
Intel Core i3-7100H @ 3.00GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		3,450 (-19.2%)
Intel Core m3-8100Y @ 1.10GHz vs Intel Core i3-8121U		2,767 (-35.2%)

Is the Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz Good for Gaming?
As of 6th of December 2025 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Relative Gaming Score
Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX		9,687
AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D		9,649
Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX		9,113
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX		9,045
Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX		7,987
Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX		7,874
Intel Core Ultra 7 265H		7,792
AMD Ryzen 9 9850HX		7,301
Intel Core i9-14900HX		6,960
AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 390		6,780
AMD Ryzen AI Max 390		6,719
Intel Core i9-13980HX		6,709
Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz		623

CPU Benchmarks

CPU Benchmarks

Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz

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CPU Test Suite Average Results for Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz

CPU Mark Distribution for Intel Core i3-8121U @ 2.20GHz