Core 5 210H offers very little over the Core 5 120U despite it being an H-series processor

Typically, Intel Core-H CPUs run much faster than Core-U CPUs from the same processor generation. The Raptor Lake-H Core i7-13700H, for example, offers up to 30 to 60 percent faster multi-thread performance then the Raptor Lake-U Core i7-1355U. Unfortunately, the same can't be said between the Raptor Lake-H Core 5 210H and Raptor Lake-U Core 5 120U which confusingly blurs the line between H-series and U-series families.

As shown by our comparison data below, the Core 5 210H is only about 10 percent faster than the Core 5 120U when it comes to multi-thread performance. Meanwhile, the latter offers slightly faster single-thread performance and even faster integrated graphics performance.

Power consumption values between the CPUs are also nearly identical at around 38 W each when at 100 percent utilization or when running games. Performance-per-watt is therefore not a huge differentiating factor between the two processors. The Core 5 210H may potentially sustain faster Turbo Boost clock rates than the Core 5 120U, but it is normally found on lower-end laptop models that aren't designed to support high Turbo Boost performance in the first place.

If you're in the market for a laptop with either the Core 5 210H or Core 5 120U, you may want to consider the less expensive Core 5 120U option as the Core 5 210H offers no major benefits. More benchmark comparisons can be found in our review of the recent Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15.