Intel Processor N100 vs Intel Core i5-6400T vs Intel Core i7-6700T

Intel Processor N100

The Intel Processor N100 is an entry-level mobile CPU for thin and light laptops from the Alder Lake-N series. It was announced in early 2023 and offers no performance cores and 4 of the 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The chip does not support HyperThreading and clocks with 1 to 3.4 GHz. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 6 MB L3-cache.

Performance

The average N100 in our database delivers unimpressive multi-thread benchmark scores that are most similar to those of the Core i3-1115G4. The chip is fast enough for many day-to-day tasks, but not much more than that; the other thing to keep in mind is that of the two N100-toting systems tested by us as of October 2023, both have rather high CPU power limits. The chip will be noticeably slower if limited to just six or seven Watts.

Features

The Alder Lake-N chips only support single channel memory with up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 or LPDDR5-4800. The chip also supports Quick Sync and AV1 decoding (most likely same engine as in Alder Lake). Furthermore, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are partly integrated (but no Thunderbolt). External chips can be connected via PCIe Gen3 x9 (via the PCH).

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers only 24 of the 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at only 450 - 750 MHz. Due to the single channel memory, low clock speeds, and low shader count, the gaming performance of the iGPU is very limited.

Power consumption

The N100 has a base power consumption of only 6 W and is therefore suited for fanless cooling. The CPU is built with a further improved 10nm SuperFin process at Intel (called Intel 7).

Intel Core i5-6400T

The Intel Core i5-6400T is a frugal quad-core desktop processor based on the Skylake architecture, which was announced in August 2015. The CPU, which is manufactured in a 14 nm process, runs at 2.2-2.8 GHz and does not support Hyperthreading (only 4 threads simultaneously).

Architecture

Intel uses Skylake to replace both Broadwell as well as Haswell and therefore uses one core design for all TDP classes between 4.5-45 Watts. Several improvements of the Skylake architecture include bigger Out-to-Order-Buffer, optimizations for pre-fetching as well as bigger gains by Hyperthreading. However, the changes are small for a "Tock" – a new micro architecture – in general, so the per-MHz performance is only between 5-10 % (compared to Haswell) or less than 5 % higher (compared to Broadwell), respectively.

Performance

Depending on the utilization of Hyperthreading, the performance is roughly on par with the old Core i7-2670QM mobile processor (Sandy Bridge, 2.2-2.8 GHz, Hyperthreading), but sometimes also much higher.

Graphics

Graphics are handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 530 with 24 EUs (Execution Units), which is clocked at 350 - 950 MHz. Compared to the HD Graphics 4600 (Haswell, 20 EUs), the performance is increased by around 25 percent. The overall GPU performance is still low-end, so modern games can, if at all, only be played smoothly with low settings.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 35 Watts, so it can also be used in notebooks (although bigger ones).

Intel Core i7-6700T

The Intel Core i7-6700T is a quad-core processor based on the Skylake architecture, that has been launched in September 2015. It is generally intended for desktops but due to the relatively low TDP of 35 Watt is is also used in some laptops. In addition to four CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at 2.8 - 3.6 GHz, the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 530 GPU and a dual-channel DDR4-2133/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The CPU is manufactured using a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Skylake replaces both Haswell and Broadwell and brings the same microarchitecture in every TDP class from 4.5 to 45 W. The extensive improvements of the Skylake design include increased out-of-order buffers, optimized prefetching and branch prediction as well as additional performance gains through Hyper-Threading. Overall, however, performance per clock has been increased by only 5 to 10 percent (compared to Haswell) respectively under 5 percent (compard to Broadwell), which is quite modest for a new architecture ("Tock").

Performance

According to the specified clock rates and the improved architecture, the Core i7-6700T performs roughly on par with the former, somewhat higher clocked Intel Core i7-3770K (Ivy Bridge). Therefore, the CPU is also well suited for demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called HD Graphics 530 represents the "GT2" version of the Skylake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). The 24 Execution Units, also called EUs, are clocked at 350 - 1100 MHz and offer a performance about 20 percent above the old HD Graphics 4600. Games of 2015 can thus be played smoothly in low or medium settings. For more information about performance and features, check our page for HD Graphics 530.

Power Consumption

Specified at a TDP of 35 W (including CPU, GPU and memory controller), the CPU is best suited for bigger notebooks 15-inches in size and above or small desktops.