Intel Core i3-6006U vs Intel Core i5-7200U vs Intel Core i5-7300HQ

Intel Core i3-6006U

The Intel Core i3-6006U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core SoC based on the Skylake architecture and has been launched in November 2016. The CPU can be found in small and light notebooks. In addition to two CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at (rather low) 2 GHz (no Turbo Boost), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 520 GPU (clocked at only 900 MHz) and a dual-channel DDR4-2133/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The SoC is manufactured using a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Skylake replaces both Haswell and Broadwell and brings the same microarchitecture in every TDP class from 4.5 to 45 W. The extensive improvements of the Skylake design include increased out-of-order buffers, optimized prefetching and branch prediction as well as additional performance gains through Hyper-Threading. Overall, however, performance per clock has been increased by only 5 to 10 percent (compared to Haswell) respectively under 5 percent (compard to Broadwell), which is quite modest for a new architecture ("Tock").

Performance

According to the specified clock rates and the improved architecture, the Core i3-6100U should perform slightly above the similar clocked Core i5-5005U of the Broadwell architecture. Thus, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as more demanding applications and light multitasking.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called HD Graphics 520 represents the "GT2" version of the Skylake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). The 24 Execution Units, also called EUs, are clocked at 300 - 900 MHz and offer a performance somewhere in range of a dedicated GeForce 820M. Games of 2015 can thus be played smoothly in low settings. For more information about performance and features, check our page for the HD Graphics 520. Clocked at 900 MHz, the i3-6006U features currently the slowest variant of the HD Graphics 520 (clocks up to 1050 MHz in the Core i7 models).

Power Consumption

Specified at a TDP of 15 W (including CPU, GPU and memory controller), the CPU is best suited for small notebooks and ultrabooks (11-inches and above). Optionally, the TDP can be lowered to 7.5 watts (cTDP down), reducing both heat dissipation and performance and allowing even more compact designs.

Intel Core i5-7200U

The Intel Core i5-7200U is a dual-core processor of the Kaby Lake architecture. It offers two CPU cores clocked at 2.5 - 3.1 GHz and integrates HyperThreading to work with up to 4 threads at once. The architectural differences are rather small compared to the Skylake generation, therefore the performance per MHz is very similar. The SoC includes a dual channel DDR4 memory controller and Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card (clocked at 300 - 1000 MHz). It is manufactured in an improved 14nm FinFET process at Intel. Compared to the old Skylake based Core i5-6200U, the i5-7200U offers a 300 MHz higher clock speed.

Intel Core i5-7300HQ

The Intel Core i5-7300HQ is a quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. Compared to the faster Core i7 models, the Core i5 does not support Hyper Threading and has lower clocks. The CPU cores run at 2.5 - 3.5 GHz (4 cores up to 3.1, 2 cores up to 3.3 GHz). The processor is also equipped with the HD Graphics 630 GPU as well as a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L-1600/DDR4-2400). It is manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

The performance should be quite similar to the old Core i5-6440HQ (2.6 - 3.5 GHz, Skylake) that offers the same per-MHz performance and only 100 MHz higher core speed. The performance is therefore sufficient even for demanding tasks.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1000 MHz (i7 models up to 1100). The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors, which were announced in January, should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel still specifies the TDP with 45 Watts, but it can also be reduced to 35 Watts by the notebook manufacturers (cTDP down). This will obviously affect the performance, because the Turbo Boost cannot be maintained for longer periods.