Core i5-6287U vs Core i3-7100T

Both the Core i5-6287U and Core i3-7100T share an identical 2-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 3.5 GHz on the Core i5-6287U versus 3.4 GHz on the Core i3-7100T — a 2.9% clock advantage for the Core i5-6287U (base: 3.1 GHz vs 3.4 GHz). The Core i5-6287U uses the Skylake (2015−2016) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i3-7100T uses Kaby Lake (2016−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-6287U scores 3,801 against the Core i3-7100T's 3,763 — a 1% lead for the Core i5-6287U. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 816 vs 1,157, a 34.6% lead for the Core i3-7100T that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 4 MB on the Core i5-6287U vs 3 MB (total) on the Core i3-7100T.

The Core i5-6287U uses the BGA1356 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i3-7100T uses LGA1151 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-2133 memory speed. The Core i3-7100T 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: 12 (Core i5-6287U) vs 16 (Core i3-7100T) — the Core i3-7100T offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Skylake-U (Core i5-6287U) and B250,H270,Z270 (Core i3-7100T).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-6287U) vs VT-x, VT-d (Core i3-7100T). Both include integrated graphics — Iris Graphics 550 (Core i5-6287U) and Intel HD Graphics 630 (Core i3-7100T) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-6287U targets High Performance Laptop, Core i3-7100T targets Low Power Desktop. Direct competitor: Core i5-6287U rivals FX-9800P.