Intel Core i3-8100T Processor

The Intel Core i3-8100T — 4 cores and 4 threads at 3.10 GHz, 6 MB Intel Smart Cache, 35 W processor base power, FCLGA1151. Supplied from stock with a 1-year warranty.

The 35 W Coffee Lake quad that keeps 1L machines alive

The i3-8100T is the low-power member of Intel's 8th Generation Core i3 line, built on Coffee Lake and launched in Q2 2018 on a 14 nm process. Its job is simple: deliver four full physical cores inside a 35 W envelope, so it can run in a 1-litre chassis, a fanless enclosure or a 24/7 gateway without a large heatsink.

That 35 W figure is the whole point of the T suffix. The standard i3-8100 runs the same four cores at 3.60 GHz and draws 65 W; the 8100T settles at a fixed 3.10 GHz and gives up Turbo Boost entirely in exchange for roughly half the heat. There is no Hyper-Threading either, so it is 4 cores / 4 threads — but each of those four cores is a full desktop-class core, which is why the part still feels responsive in office, POS, kiosk and light-virtualisation duty long after dual-core chips of the same era became painful.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 is on package, so the platform needs no discrete card for display output, and Quick Sync gives it hardware H.264/H.265 encode and decode — useful for digital signage and NVR builds where the box has to transcode video continuously at low power.

Technical specifications

Instruction set extensions: Intel SSE4.1, SSE4.2 and AVX2. AVX-512 is not present on Coffee Lake desktop parts, and Optane persistent memory is not supported. Security and management: AES-NI, Intel Boot Guard, OS Guard, VT-x with EPT and VT-d, plus Intel Quick Sync Video on the UHD 630 engine.

Which systems take this processor

Anything on the FCLGA1151 socket with an Intel 300 series or C246 chipset. In practice the i3-8100T turns up in two very different places:

• 1-litre and micro commercial desktops — Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q / M920q Tiny, HP EliteDesk 800 G4 Desktop Mini, Dell OptiPlex 5060 / 7060 Micro. This is the part's natural home: the 35 W ceiling is what those chassis were designed around.
• Entry workstations and small servers — Supermicro X11SCH-F, ASUS P11C-X, ASRock Rack E3C246D4I and similar C246 boards, where ECC memory and a low thermal envelope matter more than core count.

One caveat when buying a board separately: the 300 series chipsets support 8th and 9th Generation Core out of the box, while C246 boards were sold mainly for Xeon E-2100/E-2200 and a few of them list Core support only from a specific BIOS revision. Tell us the board or the machine model when you enquire and we will confirm before you order.

How it compares across the i3 line

Against the 7th Generation 7100T this is the most substantial jump in the table: double the physical cores and double the cache at the same 35 W, which is why the 8100T still holds up where a dual-core does not. The 9100T adds only a Turbo bin on the same four cores, and the 10100T brings Hyper-Threading back but moves to LGA1200 and a new board. If you are refreshing an existing 300-series or C246 platform, the 8100T is the drop-in that buys the most per watt.

How each processor is tested before it ships

1. Visual inspection of the integrated heat spreader, substrate and contact pads; the sSpec laser marking (SR3Y8 on our i3-8100T stock) is verified against the Intel specification sheet.
2. Burn-in on an FCLGA1151 diagnostic board with a matched pair of DDR4 DIMMs.
3. Both memory channels and the primary PCIe lanes are validated, then the CPU is identified in the BIOS and in the operating system.
4. A sustained multi-threaded load test at full core count, with the clock and thermal readings recorded.
5. Thermal paste cleaned off, final inspection, then packaging in an anti-static tray with foam — which is how it arrives to you.

Warranty and lead time

Every processor is covered by a 1-year warranty against defects in workmanship and function. If a part fails within the period we replace it or refund it, and we cover return shipping on a verified fault. Stock is held in our own warehouse and normally dispatches within three to seven working days; tracking is issued at dispatch.

Purchasing and volume enquiries

The minimum order quantity for this processor is 2 units. Price is quotation-based rather than listed, because CPU pricing moves with each incoming batch — send us the quantity you need and we will come back with a firm quote and the current lead time. Larger quantities ship from the same production batch so the sSpec and the stepping stay consistent across your order.