Core i3-8145U vs Core i5-6287U

Both the Core i3-8145U and Core i5-6287U share an identical 2-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 3.9 GHz on the Core i3-8145U versus 3.5 GHz on the Core i5-6287U — a 10.8% clock advantage for the Core i3-8145U (base: 2.1 GHz vs 3.1 GHz). The Core i3-8145U uses the Whiskey Lake-U (2018−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i5-6287U uses Skylake (2015−2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i3-8145U scores 3,781 against the Core i5-6287U's 3,801 — a 0.5% lead for the Core i5-6287U. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Core i3-8145U vs 4 MB on the Core i5-6287U.

The Core i3-8145U uses the FCBGA1528 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i5-6287U uses BGA1356 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-2400 memory speed. The Core i3-8145U supports up to 64 GB of RAM compared to 32 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (Core i3-8145U) vs 12 (Core i5-6287U) — the Core i3-8145U offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i3-8145U) vs VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-6287U). Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 620 (Core i3-8145U) and Iris Graphics 550 (Core i5-6287U) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i3-8145U targets Mobile, Core i5-6287U targets High Performance Laptop. Direct competitor: Core i5-6287U rivals FX-9800P.