Intel Core i3-1110G4 vs Intel Core i7-870 Comparison

The recorded data delivers a clean sweep: the Intel Core i3-1110G4 beats the Intel Core i7-870 in every single shared benchmark, by margins of roughly 19 percent. That verdict holds in both single-core and multi-core tests, which is remarkable given the i3 has half the cores of the i7. The generational and architectural gap between a Tiger Lake mobile chip and a Nehalem desktop chip more than compensates for the core-count disadvantage, and the database shows the two chips landing in the same overall percentile despite the i3's dominance in direct comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU is faster overall?

A: The Core i3-1110G4. It wins all five shared Cinebench tests, with a lead of 18.8% in Cinebench R15 multi-core (322 vs 271), 18.7% in R20 multi-core (1344 vs 1132), 18.9% in R20 single-core (189 vs 159), 18.7% in R23 multi-core (3202 vs 2697), and 18.9% in R23 single-core (452 vs 380).

Q: Can the Core i7-870 win anything?

A: Not in the recorded head-to-head results. The i7-870 takes zero wins across the five shared tests, despite having 4 cores and 8 threads versus the i3's 2 cores and 4 threads.

Q: How do the two compare against the broader CPU landscape?

A: Identically. Both chips sit in the 25th percentile versus all CPUs in the database. Their average benchmark scores are nearly tied as well: 945 for the i3-1110G4 and 928 for the i7-870.

Q: Are these chips still in production?

A: No, only one is. The i3-1110G4 is listed as Active, while the i7-870 is End-of-life.

Q: Do they use the same socket or memory?

A: No. The i3-1110G4 uses Intel BGA 1598 and DDR4, while the i7-870 uses Intel Socket 1156 and DDR3. They are not interchangeable platforms.

Q: Which has integrated graphics?

A: The i3-1110G4, with Iris Xe Graphics G4. The i7-870 has no integrated graphics listed in the database.

Architecture Differences

These chips come from entirely different eras of Intel design. The Core i7-870 is a Nehalem-architecture part, codenamed Lynnfield, built on a 45 nm process at Intel. It packs 774 million transistors onto a 296 mm² die and launched in September 2009 as a desktop processor.

The Core i3-1110G4 is a Tiger Lake-U mobile part with Willow Cove cores, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm node, and released in September 2020. Transistor count and die size are not recorded for it, but the node advantage alone explains much of the performance story: eleven years of process refinement allow the i3 to reach a boost clock of 3.90 GHz against the i7's 3.60 GHz, all within a 15 W TDP versus the i7's 95 W.

Cache design also diverges sharply. The i7-870 carries 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core with 8 MB of shared L3. The i3-1110G4 has larger per-core caches, 96 KB of L1 and 1.25 MB of L2 per core, but a smaller 6 MB shared L3. The Tiger Lake part also supports a far newer platform feature set: PCIe Gen 4 with 16 CPU lanes versus PCIe Gen 2 with 16 CPU lanes on the Lynnfield chip, and DDR4 memory delivering 59.7 GB/s of bandwidth over a dual-channel bus. Memory bandwidth is not recorded for the i7-870, but its DDR3 support places it a full memory generation behind.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Core i3-1110G4 wins every shared test, and the margins are strikingly consistent. In Cinebench R15 multi-core it scores 322 against 271, an 18.8% lead. Cinebench R20 multi-core goes 1344 to 1132, an 18.7% gap. R23 multi-core reads 3202 to 2697, again 18.7% in the i3's favor.

Single-core results are just as one-sided: 189 versus 159 in R20 (18.9%) and 452 versus 380 in R23 (18.9%). The single-core numbers matter most here, because they isolate per-thread capability. The i3's Willow Cove cores at up to 3.90 GHz simply outclass Nehalem cores at up to 3.60 GHz by a wide margin.

The multi-core numbers carry the real surprise. A 2-core, 4-thread processor beating a 4-core, 8-thread processor by nearly 19% in every multi-core test inverts the usual core-count logic. Per-thread, the i3-1110G4 is doing dramatically more work; the i7-870's doubling of cores and threads cannot come close to closing the per-thread deficit. The database credits the i3 with 5 wins and the i7 with 0 across the shared suite.

Contextualizing against the broader field, both chips average in the low-to-mid 900s (945 versus 928) and both sit at the 25th percentile of all recorded CPUs. The i3-1110G4's nearest rivals by average score include the AMD A8-7670K (944 average, within 0.1%), the AMD Phenom II X6 1045T (946, -0.1%), the Intel Xeon X5560 (946, -0.1%), and the Intel Pentium Gold G5400T (946, -0.1%). The i7-870's neighbors are the Intel Core i5-4288U (927, 0.1%), Core i3-4350T (926, 0.2%), Celeron G6900TE (925, 0.4%), and Core i7-4600U (931, -0.4%). In other words, both are entry-tier performers by modern standards, but the i3 is the stronger of the two in every direct measurement.

Specification Differences

• Cores/Threads: i3-1110G4 has 2 cores and 4 threads; i7-870 has 4 cores and 8 threads.
• Base Clock: i3-1110G4 at 1800.00 base (1.8 GHz class) versus i7-870 at 2.93 GHz; the i3 boosts far higher at 3.90 GHz versus 3.60 GHz.
• TDP: 15 W for the i3-1110G4 versus 95 W for the i7-870, a massive efficiency gap in the mobile chip's favor.
• Process Node: 10 nm versus 45 nm.
• Architecture/Codename: Tiger Lake (Tiger Lake-U, Willow Cove-U) versus Nehalem (Lynnfield).
• Cache: i3 leads in per-core L1 (96 KB vs 64 KB) and L2 (1.25 MB vs 256 KB); the i7 leads in shared L3 (8 MB vs 6 MB).
• Memory: DDR4 with 59.7 GB/s bandwidth on the i3 versus DDR3 on the i7; bandwidth not recorded for the i7. Both use dual-channel buses.
• PCIe: Gen 4, 16 CPU lanes on the i3 versus Gen 2, 16 CPU lanes on the i7.
• Integrated Graphics: Iris Xe Graphics G4 on the i3; none listed for the i7.
• Socket: Intel BGA 1598 (soldered mobile) versus Intel Socket 1156 (desktop).
• Market Segment: Mobile versus Desktop.
• Production Status: Active versus End-of-life.
• Release Date: September 2020 versus September 2009.
• Part Number: SLBJG recorded for the i7-870 only.
• Neither chip has an unlocked multiplier, and neither supports ECC memory.

Where Each One Wins

The Core i3-1110G4 wins every recorded performance category. It is faster in single-core workloads by about 19% in both R20 and R23, faster in multi-core workloads by about 19% in R15, R20, and R23, and it achieves this at a fraction of the power draw thanks to its 15 W TDP. It also brings modern platform features: PCIe Gen 4 connectivity, DDR4 with 59.7 GB/s of bandwidth, and integrated Iris Xe Graphics G4, meaning it can drive a display without a discrete GPU. Its Active production status further favors it for any new build decision.

The Core i7-870 wins nothing in the benchmark data. Its only quantifiable advantages are structural rather than measured: more physical cores, more threads, and a larger shared L3 cache at 8 MB. The database shows these assets do not translate into wins in any test. Its Socket 1156 desktop format allows the chip to be installed and replaced, unlike the i3's soldered BGA 1598 packaging, but that is a platform property, not a performance result.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded data, the Core i3-1110G4 is the choice in every scenario the benchmarks measure. It is approximately 19% faster in single-core and multi-core rendering alike, despite having half the cores and threads, and it does so at a 15 W TDP versus the i7-870's 95 W. Users prioritizing responsiveness, throughput, efficiency, or modern connectivity (PCIe Gen 4, DDR4, integrated graphics) have no reason to prefer the Lynnfield part on performance grounds.

The i7-870 makes sense only in context the benchmarks do not measure: it is a socketed desktop processor on Socket 1156, relevant solely for maintaining or working within that legacy DDR3 platform. As a performance proposition, the database renders a unanimous verdict, five wins to zero for the Core i3-1110G4, with both chips nonetheless occupying the same 25th percentile of the overall CPU field, a reminder that even the winner here is an entry-tier performer by modern standards.