Intel Processor N97 vs Intel Processor N150

Intel Processor N97

The Intel Processor N97 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 up to 3.7 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 performance should be between the Intel Processor N100 and Intel Processor N200 and clearly below the Core i3-N300 and N305 due to the reduced core count. 

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 1200 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 N97 has a base power consumption of 12 W and therefore double the amount of the N100. The CPU is built with a further improved 10nm SuperFin process at Intel (called Intel 7).

Intel Processor N150

The Intel Processor N150 is the slowest mobile processor of the Twin Lake family. Twin Lake is mostly identical to Alder Lake-N, an architecture that will turn 4 in H2 2025. The N150 is meant for entry-level laptops, tablets and mini PCs with no fans; it offers 4 Efficient (Gracemont) cores that run at up to 3.6 GHz, but no Performance cores. Compared to the N250, the N150 has a significantly slower iGPU and slightly lower CPU clock speeds.

Gracemont E-cores do not support Hyper-Threading. No extra threads here.

Performance

Its multi-thread performance should be about as good as older dual-core CPUs like the Core i3-10110U. Exact figures depend on the cooling solution and TDP settings of the system. Either way, this is a pretty slow chip that is only just fast enough for basic tasks.

Graphics

The SoC comes equipped with a Xe-architecture graphics unit with 24 EUs (Execution Units) running at up to 1.0 GHz. The iGPU can drive up to 3 UHD 2160p monitors and hardware-decodes AV1 among other popular video codecs. Due to the low number of Xe cores and the single-channel RAM restriction, gaming performance is only good enough for very old games and low resolutions such as XGA 1024 x 768.

Architecture and Features

The integrated memory controller supports single-channel DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800 and LPDDR5-4800 RAM. PCIe NVMe SSD speeds are capped at 3.9 GB/s, corresponding to the PCIe 3 spec. There is no Thunderbolt / USB 4 support here, however, the latest Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking modules are supported.

Its L3 cache is relatively small at 6 MB, and it has no proper NPU (and thus no Copilot+ branding).

Power consumption

The N150 is supposed to consume 6 watts when under longer loads. This is the Intel-recommended PL1 for the chip. No data on PL2 has been provided but values higher than 15 W are unlikely.

The SoC is manufactured using the second-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 meaning power efficiency isn't great here compared to the latest 3 nm silicon from the likes of Apple.