Exclusive: First benchmarks of Intel's Lakefield Hybrid CPU - Innovative or unnecessary?
Intel's new Lakefield processor is supposed to be a chip with a very low power consumption for slim devices like the Samsung Galaxy Book S or the Microsoft Surface Neo. Thanks to the low TDP of 7 Watts, the processor can be cooled passively. This is supposed to be Intel's x86 alternative for ARM processor like the Snapdragon 8cx we recently reviewed in the Samsung Galaxy Book S.
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The basic principle is comparable to the big.LITTLE design we know from ARM processors, where fast cores are combined with slower, but more efficient cores. For the new Lakefield processor Core i5-L16G7, intel combines a fast Sunny Cove core (up to 3.0 GHz), which is also used for modern 10 nm Ice Lake-U CPUs, with four efficient Tremont Atom cores (also 10 nm, up to 1.8 GHz). The hybrid processor also includes a fast integrated GPU. In theory, it is a fast Ice Lake iGPU (Gen. 11) with the designation Iris Plus Graphics G7 with 64 Execution Units, but the clock is much lower compared to regular 15W models (500 vs. 1100 MHz), so the performance is more comparable to a "regular" UHD Graphics 620. Tools like GPU-Z either show the iGPU as Lakefield GT2 or UHD Graphics. In addition to a fast Wi-Fi 6 module (AX200), Lakefield also supports Intel's XMM7560 LTE modem, but the latter is not included in the Samsung Galaxy Book S.
The five cores of the Lakefield CPU do not support Hyperthreading, so each core can only execute one thread. The operating system decides how the load is distributed among the cores. In the tests, it is not easy to get specific information about the chip. The familiar tools only show the CPU load or the core clock. It is interesting that we can only see up to 2.4 GHz when we stress one core, and multi-core tests result in 100% load for four cores at ~1.9 GHz, while one core only shows 10% load at 200-300 MHz.
Update: The Tremont cores can reach up to 2,8 GHz via Boost according to Intel, so it looks like the faster Sunny Cove core is not utilized for single-core load.
Processor - Disappointing Single-Core Performance
The single-core performance of the new chip is very disappointing, because the Lakefield processor even falls behind the old Amber Lake dual-core m3-8100Y. This is mainly caused by the low clock of up to 2.4 GHz, and we could not see the advertised value of 3.0 GHz so far.
The situation is a bit better in the multi-core tests, and the new hybrid processor is at least on par with the efficient Core i7-8500Y and Pentium or Celeron models are beaten as well.
Cinebench R20: CPU (Single Core) | CPU (Multi Core)
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 4.4: 64 Bit Multi-Core Score | 64 Bit Single-Core Score
Cinebench R10: Rendering Single 32Bit | Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Browser Benchmarks
The situation is very similar in the browser benchmarks. The small Pentium and Celeron CPUs are beaten, just like the Galaxy Book S with the Snapdragon ARM processor, but all the other Core CPUs are once again much faster.
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GPU - Between UHD Graphics 615 and 620
Due to the lower clock of the iGPU, the graphics performance is much lower compared to a regular Iris Plus Graphics G7 and is sitting between the UHD Graphics 615 and UHD Graphics 620. The Adreno 680 GPU of the Snapdragon 8cx in the Galaxy Book S ARM is not much slower in 3DMark 11.
The gaming performance is affected by the low CPU performance and the results are worse compared to devices with the UHD Graphics 615. This means the Lakefield processor can only handle very simple games with low settings/resolutions.
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X-Plane 11.11 / high (fps_test=3) | |
Dell XPS 13 9300 i5 FHD | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5 | |
Huawei MateBook 13 2020 i5 | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 | |
Samsung Galaxy Book S Intel |
X-Plane 11.11 / med (fps_test=2) | |
Dell XPS 13 9300 i5 FHD | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5 | |
Huawei MateBook 13 2020 i5 | |
Samsung Galaxy Book S Intel | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 | |
Chuwi AeroBook Pro |
X-Plane 11.11 / low (fps_test=1) | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5 | |
Dell XPS 13 9300 i5 FHD | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 | |
Samsung Galaxy Book S Intel | |
Huawei MateBook 13 2020 i5 | |
Chuwi AeroBook Pro |
Dota 2 Reborn / high (2/3) | |
Dell XPS 13 9300 i5 FHD | |
Huawei MateBook 13 2020 i5 | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5 | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 | |
Samsung Galaxy Book S Intel | |
Acer Swift 7 SF714-52T-76MR | |
Chuwi AeroBook Pro |
Dota 2 Reborn / med (1/3) | |
Dell XPS 13 9300 i5 FHD | |
Huawei MateBook 13 2020 i5 | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5 | |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 | |
Samsung Galaxy Book S Intel | |
Chuwi AeroBook Pro | |
Acer Swift 7 SF714-52T-76MR |
First Impression - Lakefield fulfills its purpose, but needs some fine-tuning
Intel wants its Lakefield hybrid processor to be an alternative for the ARM processors. Based on our first tests, this could works, because the initial consumption measurements are low and the graphics performance is good considering the low TDP. The raw CPU performance, especially when you only stress one core, though, requires some fine-tuning. We cannot confirm the advertised maximum clock of 3.0 GHz for the faster Sunny Cove processor in our sample of the Galaxy Book S. We will also try to find out how the load is distributed among the cores. The subjective performance impression is good so far, we did not notice any delays or or hiccups.
The efficiency is another aspect, but as of now, it is still tricky to get exact consumption figures for the processor. We will also check the battery runtime with the Galaxy Book S. The big advantage over the ARM processor is the support of 64-bit applications, so there are no limitations when you use apps and you can just use the device as a regular notebook.