Intel Core m5-6Y54 vs Intel Celeron N5095

Intel Core m5-6Y54

The Intel Core m5-6Y54 is a very power efficient dual-core SoC based on the Skylake architecture and has been launched in September 2015. Thanks to its extremely low TDP, the CPU can be found in passively cooled tablets and 2-in-1 notebooks. In addition to two CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at 1.1 - 2.7 GHz (2 cores: max. 2.4 GHz), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 515 GPU and a dual-channel LPDDR3-1866/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The chip 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

Actual performance of the Core m5-6Y54 greatly depends on cooling capabilities and TDP configuration of the related device. While the CPU may be almost similar to a Core i5-6200U (Skylake, 15 W) in short benchmarks, its performance will fall short of a Core i3-6100U under continuous full load. Overall, the chip has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as somewhat more demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called HD Graphics 515 represents the "GT2" version of the Skylake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). The 24 Execution Units, also called EUs, are clocked at 300 - 900 MHz (limited by available TDP headroom) and offer a performance somewhere in range of the old HD Graphics 4400 (Haswell, 15 W). Only a few games of 2015 can be played smoothly in lowest settings. For more information about performance and features, check our page for the HD Graphics 515.

Power Consumption

Specified at a TDP of 4.5 W (including CPU, GPU and memory controller), the CPU is suited for passively cooled notebooks and tablets. Optionally, the TDP can be lowered to 3.5 watts (cTDP down) or raised to 7 watts (cTDP up), affecting both heat dissipation and performance.

Intel Celeron N5095

The Celeron N5095 is an inexpensive quad-core SoC of the Jasper Lake product family designed for use in affordable SFF desktops and laptops. It features four Tremont CPU cores running at 2 GHz that Boost to up to 2.9 GHz with no thread-doubling Hyper-Threading technology in sight. A pretty basic iGPU is present as well.

The only difference between the N5095 and the N5095A is that the latter comes with support for more proprietary Intel technologies such as the Smart Sound DSP, Wake on Voice and HD Audio.

Architecture and Features

Tremont brings many improvements over Goldmont Plus, the architecture that we know from the N5030 and myriads of other N-class CPUs. An up to 30% boost in single-thread performance is to be expected thanks to smarter prefetchers, branch prediction improvements and other refinements, according to Intel. These new chips are physically larger than their immediate predecessors as a result. Either way, this is still a "small" core rather than a "big" one according to ChipsAndCheese.

The Celeron has 1.5 MB of L2 and 4 MB of L3 cache and is compatible with DDR4-2933 and LPDDR4x-2933 memory or slower. Support for Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 6 modules is baked into the chip, as are 8 PCIe 3.0 lanes for NVMe SSD speeds up to 3.9 GB/s. USB 4 or Thunderbolt aren't supported however.

Please also note that the Celeron gets soldered to the motherboard (BGA1338 socket interface) for good and is thus not user-replaceable.

Performance

The average N5095 in our database is about as fast as the Core i3-10110U, Core i3-1005G1, Celeron N5105 and also the Ryzen 3 3200U in multi-threaded workloads. Which is just enough for the most basic of tasks in late 2024.

Performance will get a significant hit if the power target is set to 10 W or 6 W instead of the Intel-recommended 15 W value.

Graphics

The DirectX 12.1-capable 16 EU UHD Graphics runs at up to 750 MHz and is in many respects similar to what Ice Lake CPUs come equipped with. This graphics adapter is capable of driving up to 3 SUHD displays simultaneously; HEVC, AVC, VP9, MPEG-2 and other popular video codecs can all be hardware-decoded. AV1 and VVC can't.

As far as gaming is concerned, it is reasonable to expect playable framerates in really old games (like Dota 2 Reborn) provided one sticks to lower resolutions such as HD 720p.

Power consumption

While most N-class chips have a 6 W long-term power target, the Celeron N5095 has a 15 W TDP to mimic much faster U-class Core processors. This isn't a great CPU for passively cooled designs.

The N5095 is built with the same 10 nm Intel process as Ice Lake-U processors for pretty unimpressive power efficiency, as of late 2024.