Intel Core i3-6100H Review

The Core i3-6100H is one of Intel's entry-level Laptop processors. It was released in 2015 with 2 cores and 4 threads. With base clock at 2.7GHz, max speed at 2.7GHz, and a 35W power rating. The Core i3-6100H is based on the Skylake-M 14nm family and is part of the Core i3 series.

Core i3-6100H is also the successor of Intel's last gen Core i3-4100M processor that was based on the Haswell and 22nm process and was released in 2013.

Now, we're asking ourselves whether or not the Intel Core i3-6100H finally dethrones the Pro A6-8500B as the de facto ruler of the mainstream processors. Ultimately, it depends: the Core i3-6100H doesn't reach the same single-core performance as AMD, but we're starting to see more games adopt multi-threaded CPUs, so that doesn't matter as much.

Intel Core i3 6th Generation, and the Skylake-M architecture itself, is notable because it leads 14nm processors to the mainstream for the first time. But, there’s a lot more going on under the hood than just a smaller manufacturing node.

But, like most humans, if you do things other than gaming, the Core i3-6100H offers a better mixture of performance in single- and multi-threaded applications. The Core i3-6100H offers twice the threads of the price-comparable Pro A6-8500B, and it wields them to great effect in threaded workloads. As such, rendering and encoding remain a strong suit of the Core i3 chips, and Intel's improvements to AVX throughput have yielded impressive results.

Out of the box, the Core i3-6100H is a better all-arounder than the Pro A6-8500B and offers incrementally higher performance than its downstream counterpart. The bundled cooler reduces platform costs, and a wide array of motherboards offers plenty of choices for builders.

Intel Core i3 6 Generation is finally here, and the Intel Core i3-6100H might just be the poster child for what this generation of processors has in store for consumers. Sure, it might have stuck with the 2-core, 4-thread setup, which it inherited from its predecessor, the Core i3-4100M. However, with the new 14nm manufacturing process, it delivers a far better performance at lower power consumption.

This decision to 14nm has brought a beefy 15% boost to IPC (instructions per clock) performance. Effectively, compared to a Core i3 7.5-Generation processor at the same clock speed, you will get a straight 15% increase in performance. That’s not big enough to be evident in day-to-day workloads, but it does still mean something.

The Intel Core i3-6100H is another impressive release from Intel and its 6 Generation of Core i3 chips. With it, you’re getting 2-cores and 4-threads, with a boost clock of 2.7GHz. It may not be the strongest contender ever made on paper, but when you see and feel the actual performance gains it offers, you’re certainly getting a lot of bang for your $225 buck.

Bear in mind, however, that if you already have something like the Core i3-4100M, this generation doesn't offer the biggest boost in performance. You might want to wait another year or so before dropping a few hundred bucks, or even opt to splurge on a higher-end but pricier chip.

One of the nice things about the Intel Core i3-6100H processors is that the retail boxed models come with a CPU cooler. So, you can pick something like the Intel Core i3-6100H up for $225 and don’t need to spend any extra money on CPU cooling.

The Intel Core i3-6100H retail boxed processor comes with the traditional ‘pancake’ CPU cooler. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done on this processor which is rated at 35W TDP. You do not need to have an aftermarket cooling solution unless you want to.

Bottom Line, the Intel Core i3-6100H does not get much media attention since it is entry-level 6 Gen Core Skylake-M processor, but it is a very capable processor that still delivers a good computing experience for entry-level users.