Intel Celeron N5105 vs Intel Celeron J4025

Intel Celeron N5105

The Intel Celeron N5105 is a quad-core SoC of the Jasper Lake series that is primarily intended for inexpensive desktops and was announced in early 2021. The four Tremont CPU cores clock between 2 and 2.9 GHz (single core Burst) and offer no HyperThreading (SMT). The N5105 uses 1.5 MB L2 and 4 MB L3 cache. The chip is manufactured in 10nm at Intel (most likely in the same process as Ice Lake).

CPU Architecture

The processor architecture is called Tremont and a complete redesign compared to the old Golmont Plus cores in the predecessor. According to Intel, the single thread performance of a core could be improved by 30% on average (10 - 80% in all tests of SPECint and SPECfp).

Features

In addition to the quad-core CPU block, the SoC integrates a 24 EU Intel UHD Graphics GPU clocked from 450 - 800 MHz and a LPDDR4(x) dual channel memory controller (up to 16 GB and 2933 MHz). The chip now also partly integrates Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 8 PCIe 3.0 lanes, 14 USB 2.0/ 3.2 ports and two SATA 6.0 ports. The package got bigger and measures 35 x 24 mm (compared to 25 x 24 mm for the N5030 e.g.). The SoC is directly soldered to the mainboard (BGA) and can't be easily replaced.

Performance

The average N5105 in our database is in the same league as the Core i3-1005G1 and the Ryzen 3 3250U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are.

Power Consumption

Similar to the predecessor, Intel specifies the TDP with 10 Watts (mobile and lower clocked N5100 6W). The chip can therefore be cooled passively in theory, but SKUs with fans are possible as well.

Intel Celeron J4025

The Intel Celeron J4025 is an energy-efficient, dual-core processor (SoC) of the Gemini Lake Refresh product family; as such, it is designed for use in mini-PCs of the most affordable flavor. The Celeron was launched in Q4 2019. Its CPU cores run at 2 GHz to 2.9 GHz (single core boost). Other key specs include a DDR4/LPDDR4 memory controller (up to 2,400 MHz and up to 8 GB, with independent reports claiming as much as 32 GB will work just fine) and the integrated UHD Graphics 600 graphics adapter.

Architecture

Just like Apollo Lake family products, the ever-popular N3350 included, Celeron J4025 is manufactured by Intel on a 14 nm process. What makes these newer Celerons different are the slightly improved processor cores with double the L2 cache and also, somewhat counterintuitively, their smaller chip area.

The Goldmont Plus microarchitecture is familiar to us from Gemini Lake processors like the N4000. A moderately large 4 MB L2 cache features prominently on the rather short list of Goldmont Plus' strong sides, allowing for a marginal increase in performance-per-MHz figures compared to Goldmont. Still, Gemini Lake Refresh processors are a clear step-down from the Core i3/i5/i7/i9 series processors, both in performance and in features.

J4025 has six PCI-Express 2.0 lanes at its disposal. While very few J4025-based SBCs, nettops and laptops feature an NVMe M.2 slot, you can use an NVMe SSD as a boot drive with this processor (read/write rates will be limited to 2 GB/s though). Furthermore, partial Wi-Fi 5 support is built into the CPU. The Celeron also supports up to eight USB 3.0 ports and two SATA III storage devices.

Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. They solder it straight on to the motherboard for good (FCBGA1090 socket interface).

Performance

The Celeron J4025 is positioned in the lower entry level and only slightly faster than the mobile Celeron N4020. Therefore, it is best suited for basic tasks like word processing and web browsing with just two or three tabs open.

Graphics

The UHD Graphics 600 is based on Intel's Generation 9 architecture, much like HD Graphics 520 or UHD Graphics 615 or so many other widespread Intel iGPUs.

Just like HD Graphics 500, the UHD Graphics 600 supports DX 12 and has 12 EUs clocked at up to 650 MHz. The Iris Plus G7 iGPU that certain 10th Gen Ice Lake processors have packs 64 EUs, for reference. As a low-end solution, UHD Graphics 600 will let you play some seriously old titles, but that's about it.

Perhaps more importantly, this graphics solution will let you run up to 3 monitors with resolutions as high as 4096x2160@60. Furthermore, it will have no trouble HW-decoding AVC, HEVC and VP9 videos. The newer AV1 codec will be decoded via software, with the limited CPU horsepower imposing a hard limit on the video resolution that can be played back without stuttering. 1080p60 YouTube videos are out of reach while 720p25 videos run fine, to give you an example.

Power Consumption

As a J-series CPU, the TDP is rated at 10 Watts and therefore 4 W higher than the mobile N4020.