Intel Core i3-8121U vs AMD Athlon PRO 300U

Processor comparisons   20-01-2022
   For example you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice by looking at the Intel Core i3-8121U vs AMD Athlon PRO 300U tests and see which is better for games or simple use for machine learning, streaming, video editing, programming, rendering. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software such as PCMark 10, VeraCrypt, RealBench, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, UserBenchmark, Handbrake, Dolphin Emulator, 3DMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, WPrime, Gears 5, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Furmark, Blender, AIDA64, MATLAB, SuperPi, Prime95, 7zip, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

Cyberpunk 2077
Apex Legends
Death Stranding
Fortnite
Halo Infinite
Grand Theft Auto V
Borderlands 3
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rainbow Six Siege
Overwatch
Valheim
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Fallout 76
DOOM: Eternal
Valorant
Watch Dogs Legion
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare
Last Man Standing

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Athlon PRO 300U or Intel Core i3-8121U.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Core i3-8121U

51%

Athlon PRO 300U

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i3-8121U

51%

Athlon PRO 300U

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a small game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of less popular games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Control, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), DOTA 2A, Battlefield V, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter World, Ghostrunner, NBA 2K20, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, League of Legends (LOL), Hitman 3, Metro Exodus.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.1	90.0
Valorant	102.4	102.3
Cyberpunk 2077	57.3	57.3
Apex Legends	96.2	96.2
Call of Duty Warzone	76.8	76.7
Overwatch	82.9	82.9
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.6	70.6
DOOM Eternal	51.2	51.1
Warzone	79.9	79.8
Assassin's Creed	86.0	85.9
Valheim	85.0	84.9

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i3-8121U

200%

Athlon PRO 300U

165%

To make a finishing resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i3-8121U is more energy efficient than the Athlon PRO 300U as it consumes less power: 15W vs. 15W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, programming, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the processor includes all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i3-8121U	AMD Athlon PRO 300U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	139	140
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	305	392
Cinbench 20 Single-core	340	330
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	598	826
Cinbench 23 Single-core	563	523
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	2184	2520

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i3-8121U	AMD Athlon PRO 300U
Single-Core	1939	1870
Multi-Core	4369	4441

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i3-8121U	AMD Athlon PRO 300U
Single-Core	901	746
Multi-Core	2063	1978

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i3-8121U	AMD Athlon PRO 300U
Announcement date	July 07, 2018	October 01, 2019
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	Unknown	FP5
Core name	Cannon Lake	Raven Ridge
Architecture	x86	Zen
Generation	8	1
Turbo Frequency	3.2 MHz	3.3 MHz
Frequency	2.2 MHz	2.4 MHz
Cores	2	2
Threads	4	4
Bus rate	4 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	10 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	1800 millions	1600 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2400, LPDDR4/x-2400
Max. Memory	32 Gb
Memory Frequency		2400
Memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s
L1 cache		384KB
L2 cache		1MB
L3 cache	4 MB	4MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		YM300BC4T2OFG n/a

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Athlon PRO 300U is 8% better than Core i3-8121U in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-8121U is better: 18
The number of parameters for which AMD Athlon PRO 300U is better: 12
However, it should be understood that the summary data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should undividedly trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i3-8121U and AMD Athlon PRO 300U before deciding which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Intel Core i3-8121U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i3-8121U specs and review.

AMD Athlon PRO 300U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• AMD Athlon PRO 300U specs and review.