
Apple MacBook Air 2020 Core i5 Review – The best MacBook you can get? – No
Intel Core i5-1030NG7 | Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | 13.30" | 1.3 kg
The Intel Core i5-1030NG7 is a power efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Ice -Lake-Y generation that was announced in Mai 2019 (Computex). It integrates four Sunnycove processor cores (8 threads thanks to HyperThreading) clocked at 1.1 (base) - 3.8 (single core Turbo) GHz. All four cores can turbo up to 3.2 GHz using Turbo Boost. According to Intel the Sunnycove cores achieve 18% more IPCs (Instructions per Clock).
Compared to the normal Core i5-1030G7, the i5-1030NG7 offers a smaller package size (22 x 16.5 versus 26.5 x 18.5 mm), a higher base clock of 1100 versus 800 MHz and a 1 Watt higher TDP.
Combined with the two additional cores, the previous Y-series dual core processors (Amber Lake-Y) should be always slower. Short burst performance should be excellent, long workloads will depend on the TDP settings and cooling solution in the laptop / tablet.
The biggest improvement for Ice-Lake is the integrated Gen 11 graphics card called Iris Plus Graphics. The Core i5-1030NG7 integrates the biggest G7 variant with 64 CUs clocked at 300 - 1050 MHz. The Iris Plus G7 should be twice as fast as the predecessors and best the AMD Vega 10 GPU in current Ryzen APUs. However, in the Y-series the gaming performance will be again depending on the cooling solution and may degrade clearly over time (compared to the Core i7-1065G7 with 15 - 25 Watt e.g.).
Other improvements for Ice Lake are the AI hardware acceleration and the partial integration of Thunderbolt and Wifi 6 in the chip. The integrated DDR4 memory controller supports modules with up to 3200 MHz (and LPDDDR4 3733).
The Core i5-1030NG7 is produced in the new 10nm process at Intel (2nd generation) that should offer a comparable performance to the 7nm process at TSMC. The TDP is specified at 10 Watts and therefore the CPU can be used in thin and light laptops. Intel offers a configurable TDP of up to 12 Watts for the partners resulting in significant performance differences (due to longer periods of Turbo Boost).
Codename | Ice Lake Y | ||||||||||||||||
Series | Intel Ice Lake | ||||||||||||||||
Series: Ice Lake Ice Lake Y
| |||||||||||||||||
Clock Rate | 1100 - 3500 MHz | ||||||||||||||||
Level 1 Cache | 192 KB | ||||||||||||||||
Level 2 Cache | 2 MB | ||||||||||||||||
Level 3 Cache | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||
Number of Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 | ||||||||||||||||
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power) | 10 Watt | ||||||||||||||||
Manufacturing Technology | 10 nm | ||||||||||||||||
Features | AVX512, DL Boost, Turbo Boost 2.0 | ||||||||||||||||
GPU | Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) (300 - 1050 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||
64 Bit | 64 Bit support | ||||||||||||||||
Architecture | x86 | ||||||||||||||||
Announcement Date | 03/20/2020 |
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5: Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), 13.30", 1.3 kg
External Review » Apple MacBook Air 2020 i5
» MacBook Air 2020: Why does Apple sabotage the Air?
» The new 2020 MacBook Air Core i5 has arrived: Faster CPU, but still way too loud
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