Intel Celeron J4115 vs Intel Core 3 N355

Intel Celeron J4115

The Intel Celeron J4115 is a quad-core SoC primarily for inexpensive mini PCs and was announced late 2017. It runs at 1.8 GHz to 2.5 GHz (Single Core Burst) and is based on the Gemini Lake platform. Similar to the Apollo Lake predecessors, the chip is manufactured on a 14 nm process with FinFETs but offers slightly improved processor cores, double the amount of L2 cache, all in a smaller package. Partial Wi-Fi 5 support is baked into the chip. Besides four CPU cores, the chip also includes a DirectX 12 capable GPU as well as a DDR4/LPDDR4 memory controller (dual-channel, up to 2400 MHz). The processor is not replaceable as it is directly soldered to the mainboard.

Architecture

The processor architecture ist still called Goldmont Plus. Compared to the older Goldmont cores in Apollo Lake, they feature a larger L2 cache (now 4 MB). That means the per-clock-performance should be a bit better, but not anywhere near the Core CPUs like Kaby Lake Y.

Performance

The average J4115 in our database only just matches the Core i5-4260U, a somewhat more power-hungry SoC that saw the light of day in 2014, in multi-thread performance. This means the Celeron is a very basic CPU that isn't really ready to handle anything beyond the most basic tasks such as writing e-mails and listening to Spotify.

Graphics

The UHD Graphics 600 (Gemini Lake) is based on Intel's Generation 9 architecture, which supports DirectX 12 and is also used for the Kaby Lake / Skylake / Apollo Lake graphics adapters (like HD Graphics 520). Equipped with 12 EUs and a clock of up to 750 MHz, the performance should be roughly on par with the older HD Graphics 500 (Apollo Lake).

The chip also includes an advanced video engine with hardware support for the playback of VP9 and H.265 (8-bit color-depth).

Power consumption

Like most other J-class Intel processors, the Celeron has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 10 W. This is low enough to allow laptop makers to build passively cooled laptops, mini-PCs, tablets and other gadgetry around the chip.

The Intel Celeron J4115 is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for poor, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core 3 N355

The Intel Core 3 N355 (sometimes referred to as the Intel Processor N355) is a mobile processor of the Twin Lake family which is mostly identical to Alder Lake-N, an architecture that will turn 4 in H2 2025. The chip is meant for entry-level laptops, tablets and mini PCs; it offers 8 Efficient (Gracemont) cores that run at up to 3.9 GHz but no Performance cores.

The E-cores do not support Hyper-Threading. No extra threads here.

Performance

The performance of the Core 3 CPU depends heavily on the cooling solution and TDP settings of the system. Provided both are good enough, it will deliver multi-thread benchmark cores on par with older quad-core CPUs like the Ryzen 3 5300U and Core i7-1165G7, which should be enough to run most day-to-day tasks in 2025. Its single-core performance is much less impressive due to the lack of P-cores.

The Alder Lake-N Core i3-N305 (8 cores, up to 3.8 GHz) that was introduced in early 2023 should be just a few percentage points slower than the N355.

Graphics

The SoC comes equipped with a Xe-architecture graphics unit with 32 EUs (Execution Units) running at up to 1.35 GHz. The iGPU can drive up to 3 UHD 2160p monitors and hardware-decodes AV1 among other popular video codecs. Due to the low number of Xe cores and the single-channel RAM restriction, gaming performance is only good enough for older games and fairly low resolutions. GTA V is perfectly playable at 768p on Medium.

Architecture and Features

The integrated memory controller supports single-channel DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800 and LPDDR5-4800 RAM. PCIe NVMe SSD speeds are capped at 3.9 GB/s, corresponding to the PCIe 3 spec. There is no Thunderbolt / USB 4 support here, however, the latest Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking modules are supported.

Its L3 cache is relatively small at 6 MB, and it has no proper NPU (and thus no Copilot+ branding).

Power consumption

The Intel Core 3 N355 is supposed to consume 15 watts when under longer loads. This is the Intel-recommended PL1 for the chip. While no data on PL2 has been provided, we do know that Asus has given the Core 3 a power limit of 35 watts (PL2) in the NUC 14 Essential.

The SoC is manufactured using the second-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 meaning power efficiency isn't great here compared to the latest 3 nm silicon from the likes of Apple.