Intel Core i5-8260U vs Intel Core i7-10510U

Processor comparisons 03-04-2021

   For example you have difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i5-8260U vs Intel Core i7-10510U and see which is better for games or simple use for video editing, streaming, machine learning, rendering, programming. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as Blender, MATLAB, Blender, 7zip, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Prime95, Handbrake, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), WPrime, Furmark, SuperPi, Dolphin Emulator, DaVinci Resolve Studio, PassMark, RealBench, VeraCrypt, UserBenchmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PCMark 10, 3DMark, AIDA64.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-10510U or Intel Core i5-8260U.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-8260U

52%

Core i7-10510U

52%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-8260U

52%

Core i7-10510U

52%

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 processors were compared: DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Forza Horizon 4, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Hitman 3, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Metro Exodus, League of Legends (LOL), Battlefield V, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Control, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	92.3	92.3
Valorant	104.9	104.9
Cyberpunk 2077	58.7	58.8
Apex Legends	98.6	98.6
Call of Duty Warzone	78.7	78.7
Overwatch	85.0	85.0
Red Dead Redemption 2	72.4	72.4
DOOM Eternal	52.4	52.5
Warzone	81.8	81.8
Assassin's Creed	88.1	88.1
Valheim	87.1	87.1

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 that were in the comparisons not only did they have different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K or 4K. So 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 i5-8260U

221%

Core i7-10510U

270%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i7-10510U is more energy efficient than the Core i5-8260U since it has less power consumption: 15W vs. 15W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, video editing or video rendering, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the program you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can 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 i5-8260U	Intel Core i7-10510U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	157	188
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	596	758
Cinbench 20 Single-core	409	471
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2046	1523
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1029	1102
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	4033	3271

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

	Intel Core i5-8260U	Intel Core i7-10510U
Single-Core	2385	2452
Multi-Core	7652	7011

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

	Intel Core i5-8260U	Intel Core i7-10510U
Single-Core	997	1215
Multi-Core	4222	4248

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest 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 i5-8260U	Intel Core i7-10510U
Announcement date	April 01, 2020	April 01, 2019
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	FCBGA1528	FCBGA1528
Core name	Coffee Lake	Comet Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	8	10
Turbo Frequency	3.9 MHz	4.9 MHz
Frequency	1.6 MHz	1.8 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	8
Bus rate	4 GT/s OPI	4 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	1900 millions	6800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133	DDR4-2666, LPDDR3-2133, LPDDR4-2933
Max. Memory	64 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s	45.8 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	6 MB	8 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-10510U is 11% better than Core i5-8260U 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 i5-8260U is better: 5
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-10510U is better: 16
Although it should be understood that the summary data in the article above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i5-8260U and Intel Core i7-10510U before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i5-8260U - all data

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

• Intel Core i5-8260U specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-10510U specs and review.