Core i5-10210Y vs Core i3-8109U

The Core i5-10210Y packs 4 cores / 8 threads, while the Core i3-8109U offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the Core i5-10210Y has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4 GHz on the Core i5-10210Y versus 3.6 GHz on the Core i3-8109U — a 10.5% clock advantage for the Core i5-10210Y (base: 1 GHz vs 3 GHz). The Core i5-10210Y uses the Comet Lake-Y (2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i3-8109U uses Coffee Lake-U (2018−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-10210Y scores 4,131 against the Core i3-8109U's 4,184 — a 1.3% lead for the Core i3-8109U. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,079 vs 1,100, a 1.9% lead for the Core i3-8109U that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 6 MB (total) on the Core i5-10210Y vs 4 MB (total) on the Core i3-8109U.

The Core i5-10210Y uses the UTFCBGA1377 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i3-8109U uses FCBGA1528 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches LPDDR3 2133 MHz on the Core i5-10210Y versus DDR4-2400 on the Core i3-8109U — the Core i5-10210Y supports 200% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Core i3-8109U supports up to 32 GB of RAM compared to 16 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 10 (Core i5-10210Y) vs 16 (Core i3-8109U) — the Core i3-8109U offers 6 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: true (Core i5-10210Y) vs VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i3-8109U). Both include integrated graphics — Intel UHD Graphics 615 (Core i5-10210Y) and Iris Plus Graphics 655 (Core i3-8109U) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-10210Y targets Mobile Low Power, Core i3-8109U targets Performance Laptop. Direct competitor: Core i3-8109U rivals Ryzen 3 3200U.