Intel Core i5-10210U 10th Gen Upper-Mid-Range Laptop CPU

The 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U is an upper-mid-range quad-core processor you can find in the mainstream laptop PCs.

The i5-10210U is a part of the 10th Gen Intel Core U-series, which also includes the mid-range dual-core Intel Core i3-10110U and slightly faster upper-mid-range quad-core i7-10710U.

In comparison to the Intel Core i5-1035G1 / G4 / G7 relatives from the 10th Gen G-series family, the Core i5-10210U lacks new integrated graphics for improved gaming. Also, the i5-10210U is still based on the older 14-nanometer production technology of the 8th Gen chips, as opposed to generally more power-efficient 10-nanometer tech of the 10th Gen G series.

In comparison to its 8th Gen Intel Core i5 U-series precursors like the i5-8265U and i5-8250U, the 10th Gen i5-10210U delivers higher clock speeds of the processing cores and support for faster system memory (RAM) speeds.

Intel Core i5-10210U CPU Benchmark

Here’s a Core i5-10210U benchmark, compared to other commonly used laptop processors:

Intel Core i5-10210U Benchmark

As expected, the Intel Core i5-10210U is faster in benchmarks than the dual-core i3-10110U and slightly slower than the quad-core i7-10710U.

Processing speed of the main cores of the 10th Gen i5-10210U is similar to speed of the 10th Gen i5-1035G1/G4/G7.

Benchmarks of the Core i5-10210U show it is noticeably faster than its i5-8265U and i5-8250U precursors. Furthermore, the 15-Watt chip performs very similar to the i5-9300H from the high-performance 9th Gen Intel Core H-series, which consumes 45 Watts.

What to Expect in Real World Use and Gaming

Performance of the Intel Core i5-10210U ensures completely smooth user experience in day-to-day computing tasks. However, in these tasks most users won’t notice differences in performance between the Core i5-10210U and other current mid-range and upper-mid-range chips.

The i5-10210U can be a decent solution for heavier duties like video editing or professional photo editing, but it is not a workstation-class processor. In heavier tasks, the differences in benchmark results will be more noticeable than in the daily tasks.

As for gaming on the processor’s Intel UHD integrated graphics, you will be able to play only light games and select heavier games on minimal graphics detail settings.

Note: The benchmark scores of the listed processors are averages measured across various devices with these processors. The scores and real-world performance of the Intel Core i5-10210U and compared CPUs may vary depending on the notebooks' other components, settings, cooling, and other factors. However, the benchmark results are good indicators of the processors' performance.

Specifications of the Intel Core i5-10210U

Here are the most important specs of the Intel Core i5-10210U:

Processor Name

Intel Core i5-10210U

CPU Family

10th Generation Intel Core "Comet Lake"

Number of Cores

Quad-core / 2 computing threads per core

CPU Clock Speed

1.6 – 4.2 GHz

Cache Size

6MB

Memory Support

DDR4 (2666 MHz max. speed)
LPDDR3 (2133 MHz max. speed)

Integrated Graphics

Intel UHD

Power Consumption

15W

Production Technology

14-nanometer

Typical Use

Mainstream laptops & 2-in-1 PCs

Notable Technologies

Intel HyperThreading (enables two computing threads per physical processor core)
Intel QuickSync Video (speeds up conversion of video files)
Intel TurboBoost (dynamically boosts performance of cores, depending on power and thermal headroom)
Virtualization – allows the processor to run multiple operating systems simultaneously using virtual platforms

Year of Release

2019

Published on December 9, 2019

User Reviews and Q&A on the Intel Core i5-10210U

Below you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the processor. Thank you for your contribution.

  1. Question

    Oni

    How does this CPU perform with Skyrim Anniversary Edition?
    My laptop setup has this CPU, with its integrated graphics card and a dedicated GeForce mx230, and the mobo has 8 gb RAM default.

    • Dan

      In my experience, it would run decently only on the lowest settings and 720p resolution on that kind of a laptop.

  2. Question

    Linda A Pietras

    When using Zoom in a specific location, my computer sometimes freezes where other computers do not. The place has 5G.

  3. Question

    Joanna

    Any reviews? Pros and cons?

    • Rartres

      This proccecor would be excellent at daily tasks and work. And gaming will be good too.

  4. Question

    Entity

    Please can this CPU be good for software engineering?

    • Dan

      In my opinion, it is very good for engineering software. If you however want excellent performance, take a look at the H-series Intel Core i7 or H-series AMD Ryzen 7 processors (with H suffix in the model name). On the negative side, the H-series aren’t as power efficient as the standard laptop processors like the i5-10210U.

      Depending on the engineering program you use, it’s recommended to also pay attention to graphics performance of the laptop and get a dedicated video card like the Nvidia GeForce GTX / RTX if the program utilizes the GPU a lot.

  5. WarrenPine

    I suggest buying newer 11th gen i5 than this one in 2021, I use a laptop with this processor without dedicated graphics. Microsoft office applications are running well, but experiences some lag when making a bit of complex 3d house or something in AutoCAD, basic 3d runs smooth, and an overkill when just making. 2d floor plans for our course subject.
    I ran old titles such as MW trilogy and some Battlefield games which are 3 and BC2, these rums well at about stable 25-40 fps in low or medium settings.

  6. Question

    loiro45

    can this run valorant?

    • Rangjut

      Yes. Please learn some grammar, such as how to use capital letters.

    • Riccardo

      Ma vafangul

  7. Question

    Adam

    can i play rainbow six siege in this chip

    • Sudhish Poojary

      Absolutely No ,can with sone low end mods but the experience will not be good

  8. Question

    sudip

    Doest it will run smoother for PUBG and Freefire gameplay?

    • CHESANDU CHARIKA

      can i play red dead redemption 2 on this cpu?

    • Dan

      @Chesandu – Unfortunately no, the game is to heavy for Intel UHD graphics of this CPU. You can expect performance similar to shown in this video (only about 15 frames per second on low settings).

    • Hyper Baba

      It can easily run pubg using emulator . I have played ,try lowering your setting if you feels lag.

  9. Question

    Andrew

    How fast could this CPU run a game like modern warfare?

    • Dikshant Tyagi

      this chip is basically not made for the typical gaming but still it can manage to run mid-core games a pretty appreciable FPS rate if not using additional GPU.

  10. Question

    Jae

    Will the i5-10210U be able to handle a game like AC Odyssey or Skyrim on lowest settings?

    • Dikshant Tyagi

      yes it will handle them but will be throwing out poor FPS ranging 15-30fps.

  11. Question

    William

    How much FPS does Fortnite or Minecraft run on?

    • Kevin Moore

      Fortnite’s reasonable max is 240 fps, but you would need a 240 Hz monitor to actually see all of the frames that are being produced.

  12. Question

    terrence jones

    How is this processor for photo editing?

    • Mayank

      It’s good for photo edint but also you can do low grade video editing

  13. Question

    Pinto

    Can it play fifa?

  14. Question

    Henry

    Can the i5-10210u run games like the Crysis trilogy on the lowest settings?

    • Henry

      Nevermind, I did a bit more research and found that I can, in fact, play with the highest settings (including an older i5 core) just fine

  15. Question

    Christian

    How much fps does this generally run?

    • Dan

      It all depends on the game and its settings. For instance, you can expect 60 – 80 fps on 1080p resolution in League of Legends, which is a light game, but in a heavier game like GTA 5 you can have only around 25 fps. Some even heavier games can be unplayable on the Core i5-10210U with only its integrated graphics (without a dedicated graphics like the Nvidia GeForce series).

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