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Intel Core i7-1260P

Intel i7-1260P

The Intel Core i7-1260P is an upper mid-range 28 W Alder Lake CPU designed for use in ultra-light laptops. It was announced in early 2022 and it features 4 performance cores as opposed to the 6 cores of the top-of-the-line i7-1280P (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) mated to 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores are Hyper-Threading-enabled for a total of 16 threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock speeds range from 2.1 GHz to 4.7 GHz for the performance cluster and 1.5 GHz to 3.4 GHz for the efficient cluster. The i7's shortcomings as compared to Intel Core i7-1270P include the marginally lower clock speeds and limited vPro feature set ("Essentials" tier only, not allowing for remote device management).

Architecture

The i7 is a continuation of Intel's efforts to use the ARM-developed big.LITTLE technology for its own benefit. A single "littile" Alder Lake core is supposed to be just as fast as a Skylake core (as found in the venerable Core i7-6700HQ among other options) which is six years old at this point. All of an Core i7-1260P's CPU cores enjoy access to 18 MB of L3 cache. The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to LPDDR5-5200, DDR5-4800, LPDDR4x-4267 or DDR4-3200; Intel recommends using no more than 64 GB, for reference. Just like the other 12th Gen Intel Core processors, Intel Core i7-1260P comes with Thread Director which is a new functionality designed to help Windows 11 decide which cores to use for what workload for best performance and efficiency possible. Hardware acceleration of AI algorithms is supported via GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). PCI-Express 5.0 support has not found its way into Alder Lake P processors, so users will have to be content with PCI-Express 4.0 for the time being. Four PCI-Express 4 lanes allow for a read/write rate of up to 7.9 GB/s, provided a suitably fast NVMe SSD is used.

Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. It gets soldered permanently on to the motherboard (BGA1744 socket interface).

Performance

Multi-thread performance is most comparable to AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U and Intel Core i5-11260H. This is a great CPU for ultra-thin laptops, capable of punching above its weight as long as the Power Limits are high enough and the cooling solution is a good one.

Graphics

The built-in graphics adapter in the form of the 96 EU Iris Xe running at up to 1.4 GHz has seemingly seen no change from what was built into certain Tiger Lake-UP3 processors, like a i7-1165G7. Which is hardly a downside as this iGPU is loaded with modern features such as AV1 video decoding capability and SUHD 4320p monitor support. Up to 4 monitors can be used simultaneously with this graphics adapter. Its gaming performance is bound to be tied to how high the Power Limits and how good the cooling solution of a laptop are; expect something close to NVIDIA's MX350 or in other words, acceptable framerates in most games when playing at 1080p / Medium settings. Fast RAM is a prerequisite for decent performance as the Iris Xe has to make do with no dedicated video memory. Last but not the least, we discovered that the GPU utilization when playing YouTube UHD 2160p60 videos is higher than it was with Tiger Lake chips.

Power consumption

The i7's base power consumption (also known as the default TDP or Power Limit 1) is 28 W, with 64 W being its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption (also known as the PL2). Its "Minimum Assured" power consumption sits at 20 W. All in all, an active cooling solution is nearly a must for a CPU like this one here.

The Core i7-1260P is manufactured on Intel's fourth-gen 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency. Despite that, many 7 nm U-class AMD Ryzen 5000 parts are less power-hungry while being as fast (or even faster in certain use cases) as the i7.

SeriesIntel Alder Lake-P
CodenameAlder Lake-P

Series: Alder Lake-P Alder Lake-P

Intel Core i7-1280P compare1.3 - 4.8 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1270P compare1.6 - 4.8 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1260P « 1.5 - 4.7 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1250P compare1.2 - 4.4 GHz12 / 16 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1240P compare1.2 - 4.4 GHz12 / 16 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1220P compare1.1 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Clock Rate1500 - 4700 MHz
Level 1 Cache1.1 MB
Level 2 Cache10 MB
Level 3 Cache18 MB
Number of Cores / Threads12 / 16
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)28 Watt
Manufacturing Technology10 nm
Max. Temperature100 °C
SocketBGA1744
FeaturesDDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thread Director, DL Boost, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, Hyper-Threading, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA
GPUIntel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs ( - 1400 MHz)
64 Bit64 Bit support
Architecturex86
Announcement Date01/04/2022
Product Link (external)Intel Alder Lake-P i7-1260P

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU
41.6 pt (61%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
min: 6860     avg: 9551     median: 9711 (16%)     max: 12150 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
min: 1433     avg: 1695     median: 1737.5 (76%)     max: 1812 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 541     avg: 653     median: 670 (77%)     max: 698 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 2634     avg: 3694     median: 3761.5 (16%)     max: 4748 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 1081     avg: 1625     median: 1626 (17%)     max: 2034 Points
01052103154205256307358409451050115512601365147015751680178518901995Tooltip
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 174.8     avg: 236.8     median: 243 (74%)     max: 260 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 20.06     avg: 21.9     median: 22 (31%)     max: 23.6 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 2.93     avg: 3.1     median: 3.1 (79%)     max: 3.15 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
min: 8490     avg: 8737     median: 8793 (53%)     max: 8927 points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
min: 33137     avg: 41867     median: 44516 (32%)     max: 47948 points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
min: 53950     avg: 63721     median: 63721 (46%)     max: 73492 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
min: 13568     avg: 14036     median: 14036 (76%)     max: 14504 Points
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
min: 235.874     avg: 262.5     median: 237.1 (3%)     max: 314.4 s
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
min: 3.641     avg: 6     median: 4.5 (1%)     max: 9.8 s
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
min: 6559     avg: 10179     median: 7200 (14%)     max: 16777 points
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
min: 29214     avg: 39648     median: 41260.5 (26%)     max: 47064 MIPS
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
min: 4668     avg: 5335     median: 5373 (64%)     max: 5791 MIPS
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
min: 77.75     avg: 94.1     median: 94.1 (34%)     max: 110.5 fps
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
min: 224     avg: 245     median: 245 (58%)     max: 266 fps
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
min: 7.57     avg: 11     median: 11.5 (25%)     max: 13.6 fps
0510152025Tooltip
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
min: 1     avg: 1.1     median: 1.1 (37%)     max: 1.1 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
min: 1.8     avg: 1.9     median: 1.9 (35%)     max: 1.9 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
min: 10.4     avg: 11.2     median: 11.6 (35%)     max: 11.6 GB/s
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
min: 494     avg: 638     median: 623 (8%)     max: 861 Seconds
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
min: 264     avg: 344.2     median: 328 (2%)     max: 463 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
min: 0.4559     avg: 0.5     median: 0.5 (10%)     max: 0.569 sec
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
min: 8954     avg: 12154     median: 12963.5 (28%)     max: 14103 Points
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
min: 7.718     avg: 7.8     median: 7.8 (2%)     max: 7.842 s
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
min: 17.183     avg: 17.4     median: 17.4 (1%)     max: 17.587 s
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
min: 407.751     avg: 420.7     median: 424.8 (2%)     max: 429.697 s
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
min: 44438     avg: 56424     median: 62250 (58%)     max: 66354 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
min: 6250     avg: 14081     median: 14251 (39%)     max: 18968 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
min: 58070     avg: 71340     median: 72467.5 (60%)     max: 81448 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
min: 61536     avg: 73824     median: 76374 (63%)     max: 81012 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
min: 67100     avg: 76553     median: 78260 (66%)     max: 82492 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
min: 7812     avg: 12377     median: 12296 (31%)     max: 16042 Points