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Intel Core i5-10600T

Intel Core i5-10600T: A Budget Workhorse for 2025

April 2025

Key Features: Architecture, Performance, and Highlights

The Intel Core i5-10600T processor, released in 2020, remains a popular solution for budget PCs. Its Comet Lake architecture is built on a 14nm process technology—now considered outdated in 2025—but it provides low power consumption (TDP of 35W) and adequate performance for basic tasks.

Specifications:

- 6 cores / 12 threads (base clock - 2.4 GHz, maximum - 4.0 GHz).

- Integrated graphics Intel UHD Graphics 630 (base frequency - 350 MHz, dynamic - 1.2 GHz).

- Memory support of DDR4-2666 MHz (up to 128 GB).

- Geekbench 6 scores: 1352 (single-core) / 4535 (multi-core).

Key Highlights:

- Hyper-Threading technology for multi-threaded workloads.

- Energy efficiency – ideal for compact systems.

- Compatibility with older, yet accessible components.

Compatible Motherboards: Sockets and Chipsets

The processor uses the LGA 1200 socket, supported by Intel's 400 and 500 series chipsets:

- H410/B460/H470 – budget motherboards without overclocking (e.g., ASUS Prime H410M-K, price ~$70).

- Z490/Z590 – enthusiast boards with memory overclocking and PCIe 3.0 support (e.g., MSI Z590-A Pro, ~$150).

Selection Features:

- For the i5-10600T, B460 boards are sufficient—they are cheaper and support basic features.

- Avoid H510 and newer chipsets—they are incompatible with Comet Lake.

Supported Memory: Only DDR4

The processor exclusively works with DDR4, with a maximum frequency of 2666 MHz (for H410/B460 chipsets) or 2933 MHz (Z490/Z590). In 2025, DDR4 remains accessible but is already outperformed by DDR5 in speed.

Recommendations:

- The optimal configuration is 2 modules of 8 GB DDR4-2666 (e.g., Crucial Ballistix, ~$40 for a set).

- For heavy-load tasks (rendering) – 32 GB DDR4-2933 (Corsair Vengeance LPX, ~$90).

Power Supply: Minimum Requirements

With a TDP of 35W, the processor barely loads the PSU. However, when building a system with a discrete graphics card, it's important to consider its power requirements.

Recommendations:

- For PCs without a graphics card (office tasks) – a PSU of 300–400W (Be Quiet! System Power 10, ~$45).

- With a graphics card like the NVIDIA RTX 3050 – a PSU of 500–550W (EVGA 500 GD, ~$60).

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Low power consumption and heat generation.

- 6 cores/12 threads sufficient for multitasking.

- Affordable price (~$150-180 for a new processor in 2025).

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 14nm process technology.

- No support for PCIe 4.0 and DDR5.

- Integrated graphics are weak for modern gaming.

Use Cases

1. Office PCs and Studies

- Fast document handling, browsers, Zoom. Example: a build based on i5-10600T, 16 GB DDR4, 512 GB SSD – perfect for remote work.

2. Home Media Center

- 4K video, streaming (Intel UHD 630 handles HEVC decoding).

3. Light Gaming

- Older games (CS:GO, Dota 2) on low settings. A discrete graphics card is required for modern titles.

4. Entry-Level Servers

- NAS or home server due to low TDP.

Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G (2021):

- Pros: 7nm process technology, Vega 7 graphics are stronger.

- Cons: Higher price (~$200), poorer single-core performance (Geekbench 6 Single Core — ~1250).

Intel Core i5-12400T (2022):

- Pros: 10nm process, DDR5 support, PCIe 5.0.

- Cons: More expensive (~$220), requires new motherboards.

Conclusion: The i5-10600T wins on price but falls short on technology.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Cooling

- Even the boxed cooler is sufficient (temperatures under load do not exceed 65°C).

2. Motherboard

- Choose B460 with M.2 for SSD (e.g., Gigabyte B460M DS3H).

3. Upgrade

- Do not expect future upgrades: LGA 1200 socket is considered outdated.

4. BIOS Optimization

- Enable XMP profile for memory and configure energy saving.

Final Conclusion: Who Is the i5-10600T For?

This processor is a choice for those who:

- Are building a budget PC for work, studies, or a media center.

- Are looking for a replacement for an old processor without changing the motherboard.

- Value low power consumption (e.g., for a home server).

Why is it still relevant in 2025?

- Low price and availability of components.

- Reliability and proven architecture.

If you don’t need PCIe 4.0, DDR5, or top-tier graphics, the i5-10600T will be a cost-effective foundation for a "no-frills" system.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

April 2020

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i5-10600T

Code Name

Comet Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

2.40 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

4.00 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

4.00 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1200

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

14 nm

TDP

35 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

128 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

41.6 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.20 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2160@30Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

12 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1352

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

4535

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1005

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

4661

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2426

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

11116

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-10870H

1434 +6.1%

Core i7-9700T

1386 +2.5%

Core i5-10600T

1352

Core i7-8850H

1308 -3.3%

EPYC 7552

1267 -6.3%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-4660 v4

5107 +12.6%

Xeon Silver 4109T

4829 +6.5%

Core i5-10600T

4535

Ryzen 3 PRO 5475U

4254 -6.2%

Core i7-9700E

4036 -11%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon W-2175

1050 +4.5%

Xeon Gold 6342

1026 +2.1%

Core i5-10600T

1005

Xeon Silver 4314

981 -2.4%

Core i7-6900K

961 -4.4%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Ryzen 5 2600E

5101 +9.4%

Core i5-10500H

4907 +5.3%

Core i5-10600T

4661

Core i7-1195G7

4413 -5.3%

Ryzen 5 4600H

4190 -10.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i7-6700

2508 +3.4%

Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

2463 +1.5%

Core i5-10600T

2426

Xeon E5-1650 v4

2395 -1.3%

EPYC 7413

2365 -2.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon W-2133

12636 +13.7%

Xeon E-2276M

11829 +6.4%

Core i5-10600T

11116

Core i5-9600KF

10727 -3.5%

Core i7-8700T

10234 -7.9%