Intel Core i3-10110U vs Intel Pentium Gold 6405U vs Intel Core i7-10510U

Intel Core i3-10110U

The Intel Core i3-10110U is a dual-core SoC of the Comet Lake family. The i3 is designed for use in ultraportable laptops of the more affordable flavor as well as mini-PCs. It was announced in August 2019. Just like the other Comet Lake processors, this Core i3 features several advantages over the outgoing Whiskey Lake family including support for faster memory (up to LPDDR4-2933).

Core i3-10110U runs at 2.1 GHz to 4.1 GHz (only 3.7 GHz are reachable when under multi-thread load). Hyper-Threading support is enabled for 4 processing threads in total.

Performance

The average 10110U in our database shapes up to be a decent entry-level CPU, as of late 2021, its multi-thread benchmark scores nearly matching those of the AMD Ryzen 3 3250U and also the Core i3-8145U. While not a whole lot faster than Intel's more affordable Pentium Gold and Pentium Silver chips, the i3 will still let you run most apps with virtually no annoying slowdowns.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Graphics

The Intel UHD Graphics 620 runs at up to 1,000 MHz. What makes this specific iGPU peculiar is that it only has 23 Execution Units at its disposal, not the 24 EUs typical for a UHD Graphics 620. Otherwise, it's the usual affair with 4K monitor support (up to three displays at the same time) and a hardware video decoder that's friends with VP9, AVC, HEVC but not the newer AV1 video codec.

Power consumption

This Core i3 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 15 W, a value that laptop makers are allowed to change to anything between 10 W and 25 W with clock speeds and performance changing correspondingly. By going for the lowest value, it will be possible to build a passively cooled system around the SoC.

The i3-10110U is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processees for low, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Pentium Gold 6405U

The Intel Pentium Gold 6405U is a power efficient entry-level dual-core SoC for notebooks based on the Comet Lake (CML-U) generation and was announced in October 2019. Compared to the similar Whiskey Lake Pentium 5405U processors, the difference is the higher clock speed (+100 MHz) and support for faster memory. The processor cores are clocked at 2.4 GHz (no Turbo). Thanks to HyperThreading 4 threads can be used. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

Due to the 100 MHz higher clock speed, the Pentium Gold 6405U should be slightly faster than the old Pentium 5405U and therefore in the entry level of mobile processors. The missing Turbo and only two cores are definitely a downside and therefore the CPU is best used for simple tasks like browsing and office programs. Compared to the faster Core i3, i5 and i7 Comet Lake models, the Pentium does not support SSE (2).

The integrated graphics card is still the same as in the previous generations. It is called only Intel UHD Graphics but is still the same Intel UHD Graphics 610 like in the Pentium 5405U. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder and an integrated dual channel LPDDR3-2133/DDR4-2400 memory controller (compared to DDR4-2666 in the faster Core i3).

The chip is still produced in the 14nm++ process as Whiskey Lake. The TDP (PL1) is specified at 15 Watts but can be lowered to 12.5 Watt although the CPU then only runs at 800 MHz.

Intel Core i7-10510U

The Intel Core i7-10510U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks based on the Comet Lake (CML-U) generation and was announced in August 2019. Compared to the similar Whiskey Lake processors (e.g.& Core i7-8665U), the only difference is support for higher memory speeds (DDR4-2666, LPDDR4-2933) and two additional cores in the top model (not in this i7-10510U). The processor cores are clocked between 1.8 and 4.9 GHz (all 4 cores 4.3 GHz max). Thanks to HyperThreading 8 threads can be used. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

The integrated graphics adapter however is still the same as in the previous generations. It should be still called Intel HD Graphics 620 and clock from 300 - 1150 MHz in the i7. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder and an integrated dual channel DDR4-2666 / LPDDR4-2933 memory controller.

Performance

The average 10510U in our database proves to be an OK mid-range option, its multi-thread benchmark scores hovering near those of the Ryzen 7 2700U and the Core i5-8259U. While not as impressive as the hexa-core Core i7-10710U, the 10510U will make most customers happy, making for short load times and generally pain-free experience.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 45 W, the Modern 15 A10RB is among the fastest laptops powered by the 10510U that we know of. It can be more than twice as fast in CPU-bound workloads as the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Core i7 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 15 W, a value that laptop makers are free to change to anything between 10 W and 25 W resulting in corresponding performance and clock speed changes. By going for the lowest value, it is possible to build passively cooled tablets, laptops, mini-PCs around the i7. Please note that Comet Lake-U chips can briefly consume up to 90 W when under extreme loads.

Last but not the least, the i7-10510U is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for lower-than-average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.