Intel Core 5 120U

The Intel Core 5 120U is a mid-range notebook CPU based on the Raptor Lake-U Refresh (RPL-U) series (Alder Lake architecture), which was introduced in January 2024. The CPU offers 2 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficiency cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support hyperthreading (therefore 12 threads together) and clock from 1.4 to 5 GHz. The E-cores clock from 0.9 - 3.8 GHz and should offer comparable performance to old Skylake cores (e.g. i7-6300HQ). The C5 120U also supports vPro Essentials management features.

Performance

Due to the high clock rates, the performance is comparable to the old Core i7-1355U. As usual with Alder Lake, the performance is heavily dependent on the cooling and the TDP settings.

Graphics unit

Like its predecessor, Intel integrates an Intel Xe-based graphics unit in Alder Lake. 80 of the 96 EUs are activated on the 120U.

Features

Like Tiger Lake, Alder-Lake-P also has WiFi 6E and Thunderbolt 4 (4x) partially integrated. The integrated memory controller supports LPDDR5-6400 and the integrated Gaussian and Neural Accelerator (GNA) is installed in version 3.0. The Quick Sync 8 media engine is the same as in Rocket Lake and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC and AV1 decode. The chip still only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

Power consumption

The Intel Core 5 120U is specified with 15 watts (PL1) TDP and 55 watts (PL2) max. turbo power. The processor is manufactured using the further improved Intel 7 process (10 nm SuperFin).

Codename	Raptor Lake-U Refresh
Series	Intel Raptor Lake-U
Series: Raptor Lake-U Raptor Lake-U Refresh Intel Core 7 150U 1.2 - 5.4 GHz 10 / 12  12 MB L3 Intel Core 5 120U « 0.9 - 5 GHz 10 / 12  12 MB L3 Intel Core 3 100U 0.9 - 4.7 GHz 6 / 8  10 MB L3
Clock Rate	900 - 5000 MHz
Level 1 Cache	928 KB
Level 2 Cache	9.5 MB
Level 3 Cache	12 MB
Number of Cores / Threads	10 / 12 2 x 5.0 GHz Intel Golden Cove P-Core 8 x 3.8 GHz Intel Gracemont E-Core
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)	15 Watt
TDP Turbo PL2	55 Watt
Manufacturing Technology	10 nm
Max. Temperature	100 °C
Socket	BGA1700
Features	Thread Director
GPU	Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs ( - 1250 MHz)
64 Bit	64 Bit support
Architecture	x86
Announcement Date	01/09/2024
Product Link (external)	ark.intel.com

Benchmarks