Intel Core i3-10100 vs Intel Core i3-8020

The i3-10100 was a solid budget chip in 2020 thanks to the return of Hyper-Threading, but it is now outdated, held back by PCIe 3.0, DDR4-2666 limits, and an aging 14nm process.

Best for: The i3-10100 only makes sense today if you are upgrading an existing LGA 1200 system on an extremely tight budget and can find the chip used for a very low price. It can also be considered if you are repairing an office PC that already uses an LGA 1200 motherboard and you just need a drop-in replacement. However, for any new build, it is obsolete. The i3-12100 offers a massive architectural leap for a similar price, featuring PCIe 5.0, DDR5 support, and dramatically higher single-core performance. Avoid building a new system around the 10100 entirely.

This processor was launched and subsequently cancelled. It cannot be purchased, reviewed, or used in modern systems.

Best for: There is no scenario where you can or should buy the Intel Core i3-8020. Because the processor was cancelled prior to mass distribution, finding a physical chip is virtually impossible outside of rare engineering samples. If you happen to encounter one, it would likely not function correctly on standard consumer motherboards due to potential microcode restrictions. Furthermore, even if it did work, a fixed 3.7 GHz clock speed on a 4-core, 4-thread architecture is drastically outdated by modern standards. Any current generation Ryzen 3 or Intel Core i3 would completely outclass it in every metric, including efficiency, single-core speed, and multi-core throughput. Do not spend money or time trying to acquire this silicon.