Intel Xeon E-2176M vs Intel Core i5-7Y54

Intel Xeon E-2176M

The Intel Xeon E-2176M is a high-end processor for professional laptops with six cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture. The processor clocks at between 2.7 - 4.4 GHz (4.1 GHz with 6 cores) and can execute up to twelve threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. 

According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process. The Xeon E-2176M is the second fastest model after the Xeon E-2178M / Core i9-8950HK in early 2018. Compared to the similar consumer Core i7-8850H, the mobile Xeon offers support for ECC main memory, is slightly higher clocked and offers more L3 cache.

The Coffee Lake architecture is similar to Kaby Lake and differs only in the amount of cores (now six cores for the high end versions) and the improved 14nm process (14nm++ according to Intel).

Performance

Due to the two additional cores, performance has increased by almost 50% compared to a similar clocked Kaby Lake processor.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is unchanged to the older Intel HD Graphics 630 an maybe only slightly higher clocked. We do expect a performance improvement, but as a low-end solution it will probably only display current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 45 watts and therefore the i9 is only suited for big laptops with good cooling solutions.

Intel Core i5-7Y54

The Intel Core i5-7Y54 is a very efficient dual-core SoC for tablets and passively cooled notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in the end of August 2016. The CPU consists of two processor cores clocked at 1.2-3.2 GHz (2-core Turbo not specified yet). Thanks to Hyper Threading, the processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously. The chips also includes the Intel HD Graphics 615 GPU, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L/LPDDR3) as well as VP9 and H.265 video de- and encoder. It is still produced in a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors. 

Architecture

Intel basically used the familiar micro architecture from the Skylake generation, so the per-MHz performance is identical. Only the Speed-Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of the voltages and clocks was improved, and the matured 14 nm process now also enables much higher frequencies and better efficiency than before. 

Performance

Despite the changed designation, the Core i5-7Y54 is the successor to the Core m5-6Y54 (Skylake Y-series), so the chip does not reach the performance level of other Core i processors due to the lower TDP. Thanks to its high Turbo clock, the 7Y54 can sometimes keep up with the 15 Watt models for short peak load and single-thread scenarios, but the clocks will drop significantly under sustained workloads. The CPU is still suitable for many more demanding applications as well as multitasking. 

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 615 GPU has 24 Execution Units (EUs) like the old HD Graphics 515 and runs with clocks between 300 and 950 MHz in combination with this processor. The performance heavily depends on the TDP limit as well as the memory configuration; with fast LPDDR3-1866 RAM in dual-channel mode, the GPU should sometimes be able to compete with the HD Graphics 520, but can also be much slower in other scenarios. Modern games from 2016 will, if at all, only run smoothly in the lowest settings.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now also supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14 nm process with FinFET transistors, so the power efficiency was once again improved significantly. The typical TDP for the Y-series is specified at 4.5 Watts, and can be adjusted in both directions depending on the usage scenario.