Intel Core i5-10210U

The Intel Core i5-10210U 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 i5-8665U), the only difference is support for higher memory speeds (up to LPDDR4-2933 vs DDR4-2400) and two additional cores in the top model (not in this i5). The processor cores are clocked between 1.6 and 4.2 GHz (all 4 cores 3.9 GHz max). Thanks to Hyper-Threading 8 threads can be used. Compared to the faster i5-10510U, the level 3 cache was reduced from 8 to 6 MB. 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's still called Intel UHD Graphics 620 and clocked from 300 - 1100 MHz in the i5. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder.

Performance

The average 10210U in our database is just as fast as the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U, the Intel Core i7-8565U and the Intel Core i5-1035G1 are, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While the i5 is not a performance monster, it sails through basic day-to-day workloads with little effort.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term power limit of 30 W, the Frost Canyon NUC (NUC10i5FNK) is among the fastest systems powered by the 10210U 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 i5 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 with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly as a result. By going for the lowest value, it is possible to build a passively cooled system around the i5. Please note that Comet Lake-U processors can briefly consume as much as 80 W or even 90 W when under heavy loads.

The Core i5-10210U is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for very low, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.

Series	Intel Comet Lake
Codename	Comet Lake-U
Series: Comet Lake Comet Lake-U Intel Core i7-10810U 1.1 - 4.9 GHz 6 / 12  12 MB L3 Intel Core i7-10710U 1.1 - 4.7 GHz 6 / 12  12 MB L3 Intel Core i7-10610U 1.8 - 4.9 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i7-10510U 1.8 - 4.9 GHz 4 / 8  8 MB L3 Intel Core i5-10310U 1.7 - 4.4 GHz 4 / 8  6 MB L3 Intel Core i5-10210U « 1.6 - 4.2 GHz 4 / 8  6 MB L3 Intel Core i3-10110U 2.1 - 4.1 GHz 2 / 4  4 MB L3 Intel Pentium Gold 6405U 2.4 GHz 2 / 4  2 MB L3 Intel Celeron 5205U 1.9 GHz 2 / 2
Clock Rate	1600 - 4200 MHz
Level 1 Cache	256 KB
Level 2 Cache	1 MB
Level 3 Cache	6 MB
Number of Cores / Threads	4 / 8
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)	15 Watt
Manufacturing Technology	14 nm
Max. Temperature	100 °C
Socket	BGA1528
Features	LPDDR3-2133/DDR4-2666/LPDDR4-2933 RAM, PCIe 3, 4 GT/s bus, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Hyper-Threading, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SGX
GPU	Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1100 MHz)
64 Bit	64 Bit support
Architecture	x86
Announcement Date	09/01/2019
Product Link (external)	ark.intel.com

Benchmarks