Intel Celeron 5305U vs Intel Core i7-1265U vs Intel Core i7-10610U

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 Core i7-1265U

The Intel Core i7-1265U is a high-end mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 2  performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 12 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 1.8 to 4.8 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.3 to 3.6 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 12 MB L3 cache. The 1265U offers "Enterprise" vPro management features. Compared to the P-series (28W) or H-series (45W), the 15W TDP may limit the sustained performance.

Performance

Thanks to the 10 cores, the multi-threaded performance should be clearly faster than the older quad-core Tiger Lake CPUs with 15 Watt (like the Intel Core i7-1160G7). The sustained performance will be limited by the TDP setting and thermals and therefore only short term loads. Thanks to the architectural improvements of the big Golden Cove cores, the single thread performance should be better than similar clocked Tiger Lake CPUs.

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 all 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.25 GHz.

The CPU is rated at 15 W base power (TDP, PL1) and 55 W max. Turbo power (PL2) and the whole SoC is manufactured on a 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.

Intel Core i7-10610U

The Intel Core i7-10610U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks based on the Comet Lake (CML-U) generation and was announced in August 2019. Compared to the similar Whiskey Lake processors (e.g. Core i7-8665U), the only difference is support for higher memory speeds (DDR4-2666 vs 2400) and two additional cores in the top model (not in this i7-10610U). The processor cores are clocked between 1.8 and 4.9 GHz (unverified). Thanks to Hyper-Threading 8 threads can be used. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

Compared to the similar Core i7-10510U, the 10610U supports vPro.

The integrated graphics adapter however is still the same as in the previous generations. It should be still called Intel UHD Graphics 620 and clock from 300 - 1150 MHz in the i7. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder and an integrated dual channel DDR4-2666 / LPDDR4x 2933 / LPDDR3-2133 memory controller.

Performance

The average 10610U in our database is in the same league as the Core i5-1035G1 and also the Core i5-8257U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term power limit of 25 W, the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G7 is among the fastest laptops built around the 10610U that we know of. It can be about 30% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Core i7 has a default TDP of 15 W (also known as the long-term power limit). Laptop manufacturers are free to change that value to anything between 10 W and 25 W, with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly. Perhaps more importantly, short-term power consumption of 10th gen Comet Lake U processors can be as high as 80 W or even 90 W, making passively cooled designs rather unlikely to appear.

Core i7-10610U is manufactured on an old, as of late 2022, 14 nm Intel process for subpar energy efficiency.