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Intel Core i5-6287U

Intel Core i5-6287U: Review and Relevance in 2025

A processor for balancing performance and portability

Architecture and Technology Process: The Foundation of Skylake

The Intel Core i5-6287U is a representative of Intel's sixth generation of processors (codename Skylake), released in 2015, but still found in some new budget laptops in 2025.

CPU: 2 Cores, 4 Threads

- Technology Process: 14 nm - an outdated standard for 2025, but at its time provided a balance between energy efficiency and performance.

- Frequencies: Base - 3.1 GHz, maximum in turbo mode - 3.5 GHz.

- Hyper-Threading: Support for 4 threads improves multitasking, but 2 physical cores limit performance in resource-intensive applications.

Integrated Graphics Iris 550

- iGPU: Intel Iris Graphics 550 is one of the best integrated GPUs of its generation.

- Technologies: Support for DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.4, 4K output via DisplayPort.

- Performance: 2–3 times faster than standard Intel HD graphics, but weaker than even budget discrete GPUs (e.g., NVIDIA MX350).

Power Consumption and TDP: 28 W - A Compromise for Ultrabooks

- TDP 28 W: Higher than classic U-series (15 W), but lower than H-series processors (45 W).

- Consequences:

- Advantage: Better performance under short bursts of load (e.g., application launching).

- Disadvantage: Requires active cooling, which increases the laptop's thickness and system noise.

- Heat Dissipation: Without an efficient cooler, throttling (frequency reduction due to overheating) may occur.

Performance: What Can the Core i5-6287U Do in 2025?

Office Tasks and Multimedia

- Examples:

- Working with documents (Word, Excel), web browsing with 10–15 tabs - the processor handles it without delays.

- Streaming video (Netflix, YouTube 4K) - Iris 550 decodes H.265/HEVC hardware-accelerated, with minimal CPU load.

- Photo Editing: Photoshop, Lightroom - comfortable handling of medium-sized RAW files (up to 24 MP).

Gaming: Limited Capabilities

- CS:GO: 720p, low settings - 40–60 FPS.

- Fortnite: 720p, low settings - 25–35 FPS.

- Indie Games: Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley - 60 FPS without issues.

Turbo Boost: Short-Term Burst

- Turbo mode (up to 3.5 GHz) activates under load on 1–2 cores, but during prolonged multi-core work, the frequency drops to 3.1–3.2 GHz.

Usage Scenarios: Who Is This Processor Suitable For?

- Students: For studying, working with texts and presentations, attending lectures.

- Office Workers: Email, video conferencing, cloud services.

- Users with Light Creative Tasks: Editing short videos in 1080p (e.g., in DaVinci Resolve), photo processing.

- Not Suitable For: Gamers, engineers (CAD, 3D rendering), data science specialists.

Battery Life: How Long Will the Laptop Last?

- Working Time: Depends on battery capacity. Examples:

- Laptop with 48 Wh: 5–6 hours under moderate load (web, office).

- Under maximum load (gaming, rendering): 1.5–2 hours.

- Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel SpeedStep: Dynamic frequency scaling.

- C-States: Power off unused cores.

- OS Optimization: Windows 11/12 allocates resources more efficiently than older versions.

Comparison with Competitors: What to Choose Instead of i5-6287U?

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (2021)

- Pros: 6 cores, 12 threads, TDP 15 W, better performance in multi-threaded tasks.

- Cons: Integrated Vega 7 graphics weaker than Iris 550.

Apple M1 (2020)

- Pros: Better energy efficiency, 8 cores, support for neural networks.

- Cons: Only in macOS devices, starting price $999.

Intel Core i3-1215U (2022)

- Pros: 10 nm, 6 cores (2P+4E), better performance in multitasking.

- Cons: UHD Graphics 64EU weaker than Iris 550.

Pros and Cons of Core i5-6287U

Pros:

- Good integrated graphics

- Support for 4K video

- Low device cost

Cons:

- Only 2 cores

- High TDP for ultrabooks

- Outdated 14 nm technology process

Recommendations for Laptop Selection

- Type of Device: Ultrabook or compact laptop for work on the go.

- What to Check:

- Cooling: Two fans or copper heat pipes.

- RAM: At least 8 GB (better 16 GB for multitasking).

- Storage: SSD only (NVMe preferred).

- Examples of 2025 Models:

- Dell Inspiron 14 5480 (price: $550–650): 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Full HD display.

- Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro (price: $600–700): 16 GB RAM, touch screen.

Final Conclusion: Who Is This Processor Suitable For?

The Intel Core i5-6287U in 2025 is a choice for those looking for a budget laptop for basic tasks. Its key advantages include:

- Sufficient performance for office and study.

- Best graphics among older integrated solutions.

- Low price (new devices starting from $500).

Who Should Avoid It: Gamers, designers, engineers. For them, models with Ryzen 5 7530U or Intel Core i5-1240P are more relevant.

Advice: If you need a laptop "for a couple of years" for simple tasks - i5-6287U is acceptable. But for long-term use, it's better to pay more for modern processors (e.g., AMD Ryzen 5 7540U).

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

July 2015

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.

i5-6287U

Code Name

SkyLake

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

3.10 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.

3.50 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.50 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

CPU Socket

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

FCBGA1356

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

28 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.

1x4 | 2x2 | 1x2+2x1 and 4x1

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.

DDR4-2133 | LPDDR3-1866 | DDR3L-1600

Max Memory Size

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

32 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

4 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).

34.1 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® Iris® Graphics 550

Graphics Base Frequency

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

300 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.

1.10 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

32 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.

4096x2304@24Hz

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.

4096x2304@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.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (VGA)

N/A

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI

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.

4 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 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 Flex Memory Access

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

1040

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

2089

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

621

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1487

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2010

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3823

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

EPYC 7532

1120 +7.7%

Ryzen 5 2500X

1084 +4.2%

Core i5-6287U

1040

Ryzen 7 3750H

989 -4.9%

Core i5-8200Y

938 -9.8%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-1620 v2

2533 +21.3%

Core i3-6100

2317 +10.9%

Core i5-6287U

2089

Xeon E5-2603 v3

1910 -8.6%

Athlon 300GE

1742 -16.6%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Ryzen Embedded V1202B

667 +7.4%

Xeon X5687

645 +3.9%

Core i5-6287U

621

Xeon E5-4620 v3

599 -3.5%

Celeron G1820

579 -6.8%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i5-5287U

1680 +13%

Athlon X4 950

1581 +6.3%

Core i5-6287U

1487

Xeon E3-1220L v2

1415 -4.8%

Xeon E5-2650L

1352 -9.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E5-2687W v4

2058 +2.4%

Core i7-3770S

2039 +1.4%

Core i5-6287U

2010

Core i7-5960X

1982 -1.4%

Xeon D-2712T

1956 -2.7%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Pentium Gold G6600

4273 +11.8%

Athlon PRO 300U

4080 +6.7%

Core i5-6287U

3823

Core i5-2320

3652 -4.5%

A10 PRO-7850B

3453 -9.7%