Intel Processor N100 vs Intel Core i5-1140G7

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 i5-1140G7

The Intel Core i5-1140G7 is a power-efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Tiger Lake-U generation (UP4) that was introduced in early 2021. It integrates four Willow Cove processor cores (8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading). The guaranteed base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and can range from 0.8 (7 W TDP) to 1.8 GHz (15 W TDP). The Turbo clock speed is specified at 4.2 GHz for one core, all cores can reach up to 3.5 GHz.

Another novelty is the integrated Xe graphics card with 80EUs based on the completely new Gen 12 architecture. It offers a significantly higher performance compared to the older Iris Plus G7 (Ice Lake). In the i5-1140G7 it uses 80 of the 96 EUs and clocks between 400 - 1100 MHz. The GPU and CPU can together use the 8 MB of L3 cache.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (four lanes), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6 in the chip. The i5-1140G7 also supports the management feature vPro.

Performance

The average 1140G7 in our database is in the same league as the N95 and also the Pentium 7505, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a pretty poor result, as of early 2023.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are, and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Power consumption

This Core i5 has a default TDP of 7 W to 15 W, the expectation being that laptop manufacturers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance. Those values are rather low, meaning at least a few passively cooled designs are to be expected.

Core i5-1140G7 is manufactured on Intel's 2nd generation 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for decent, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.