Intel Celeron 5305U vs Intel Celeron 7300 vs Intel Pentium 8500

Intel Celeron 5305U

The Intel Celeron 5305U is a low-power dual-core SoC for laptops, based on the Comet Lake architecture, which was introduced in 2020. Compared to Kaby Lake and Whiskey Lake, there are apparently no differences with Comet Lake apart from the two additional cores in the Top model Core i7-10710U. The processor is still manufactured using the mature 14nm process (14nm++ like Whiskey Lake). The processor cores clock at a fixed 2.3 GHz (no Turbo) and also only offer 2 threads (no HyperThreading). Compared to the more powerful Core i3, i5 and i7 variants, the Celeron does not offer SSE (2) support.

You can find more information about the Comet Lake architecture and the available processors on our Comet Lake topic page.

According to Intel, the integrated graphics card is called Intel UHD Graphics, but is an old Intel UHD Graphics 610. It is clocked in the Celeron 5205U at 300 - 900 MHz and is only sufficient for very demanding games. The CPU also offers an integrated DDR4-2666 / LPDDR4x 2933 / LPDDR3-2133 dual-channel memory controller as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoder and encoder.

Performance

The performance of the Celeron 5305U is in the lowest entry-level class of notebook processors in 2020. Due to the lack of Turbo and only 2 cores, the CPU cannot score points in either single-core or multi-core tasks. The processor is therefore only suitable for undemanding tasks such as surfing with a few tabs and office tasks.

The power consumption and performance can be set from 15 to 12.5 watts by the notebook manufacturer via cTDP-down. However, the processor then only runs at 800 MHz and significantly reduced performance. Even at 15 watts, however, the processor is suitable for thin and light notebooks.

Intel Celeron 7300

The Intel Celeron 7300 is an entry-level mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers one performance core (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The CPU does not support HyperThreading leading to only 5 supported threads at once. The clock rate of the performance cluster is 1000 MHz, the one of the efficient cluster is 700 MHz. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 8 MB L3-cache. Compared to the faster Core i3-1215U, the Celeron offers one less P-core and lower clock speeds (no Turbo).

Performance

Thanks to the 5 cores, the multi-threaded performance should be clearly faster than the older dual-core Tiger Lake CPUs with 15 Watt (like the Intel Core i3-1115G4). However, due to the missing Turbo and the low clock speed, the single core performance will be very low.

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (14 lanes combined with Gen 3).

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 48 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 0.8 GHz.

The CPU is rated at 15 W base power (TDP, PL1) and 55 W max. power (PL2). The minimum assured power is 12 Watt. The whole SoC is manufactured in a 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.

Intel Pentium 8500

The Intel Pentium 8500 is an entry-level low-power mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers one performance core (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 6 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 1 to 4.4 GHz on the performance cluster and 0.7 to 3.3 GHz on the efficient cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 8 MB L3-cache. Compared to the faster Core i3-1210U, the Pentium offers one less P-core.

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 8500 as of August 2023, it's safe to expect the chip to be about 20% slower than the i3-1215U, as far as multi-thread performance is concerned. Which is pretty terrible as of Q3 2023.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 48 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 0.8 GHz.

Power consumption

This Pentium has a Base power consumption of 9 W, with 29 W being its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption. TDP values this low allow for passively cooled laptops, tablets, mini-PCs as long as performance is not a priority.

The CPU is made with Intel's 3rd generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.