Intel Core i5-110 socket: LGA 1200

What the Core i5-110 is

The Intel Core i5-110 is a 6-core Comet Lake desktop part on Socket LGA 1200, re-released in the third quarter of 2025. It runs 6 Skylake-derived cores with Hyper-Threading for 12 threads at 2.9 GHz base with boost to 4.3 GHz, backed by 12 MB of L3 cache and a 65 W TDP. Intel lists it under the Comet Lake family on FCLGA1200 at a 200 USD recommended price, matching the Core i5-10400 from 2020 in every specification.

Six identical cores suit repair jobs, office refreshes and classroom fleets where an installed LGA 1200 board needs a drop-in replacement rather than a platform migration. The 2.9 GHz base keeps sustained office throughput steady, while bursts to 4.3 GHz clear interactive spikes. The 14 nm process and Skylake lineage show their age against modern parts, but the installed base of 400 and 500 series boards is the reason the SKU exists.

Against the Core i5-10400 beside it, nothing changes except the name, so street prices decide between the two boxes. Against modern 65 W towers on LGA 1700 or LGA 1851, the 110 trades efficiency and lanes for a cheap board re-use. UHD Graphics 630 covers office displays without a card. See Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works for why chipset series plus BIOS revision together decide board fit.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 110 fits LGA 1200 in the FCLGA1200 package, the same socket as 10th Gen Comet Lake and 11th Gen Rocket Lake. Boards with 400 or 500 series chipsets that already run the i5-10400 generally take the 110 too, since silicon, power and firmware requirements match. Still, the 110 should appear on the vendor CPU list where the maker maintains one, because some early BIOS revisions predate the new branding.

Memory is DDR4 up to 2666 MT/s in two channels up to 128 GB. New LGA 1200 boards are old stock or used, not current retail, so buyers verify stock before planning a build around this socket. A move from any other socket is a full platform change with board, memory and cooler replaced together.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory on LGA 1200 for this class is DDR4 up to 2666 MT/s in two channels up to 128 GB. Two channels keep 12 threads supplied in office and classroom mixes. Population order follows the board manual.

PCI Express connectivity is 16 lanes of Gen 3 from the CPU. That lane budget feeds a budget discrete card plus SATA or NVMe storage through the chipset without strain, but Gen 4 and Gen 5 cards negotiate down to Gen 3 speeds. Lane splits follow the board block diagram.

Graphics come from Intel UHD Graphics 630 from 350 MHz to 1.1 GHz, enough for office displays and 4K video. Cooling uses standard LGA 1200 retention shared with LGA 1151 mountings, and the 65 W class suits the Intel stock cooler or equivalent air coolers. Firmware power limits follow the 65 W envelope.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket, the path up from the 110 starts with higher Comet Lake i7 and i9 parts or 11th Gen Rocket Lake chips on LGA 1200 boards where the BIOS lists them. Each move keeps board and memory while adding cores or frequency. Used-market pricing decides whether any of these moves beats a platform migration.

A move to LGA 1700 or LGA 1851 is a different platform with DDR4 or DDR5 options, PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 lanes, and current firmware. That change replaces board, memory and cooling from scratch. For most buyers the platform move wins on value, and the 110 only makes sense as a cheap rescue for a working LGA 1200 board.