Intel Processor N97 vs Intel Core i5-10210U
Intel Processor N97
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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 Core i5-10210U
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The Intel Core i5-10210U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks based on the Comet Lake (CML-U) generation and was announced in August 2019. Compared to the similar Whiskey Lake processors (e.g. Core i5-8665U), the only difference is support for higher memory speeds (up to LPDDR4-2933 vs DDR4-2400) and two additional cores in the top model (not in this i5). The processor cores are clocked between 1.6 and 4.2 GHz (all 4 cores 3.9 GHz max). Thanks to Hyper-Threading 8 threads can be used. Compared to the faster i5-10510U, the level 3 cache was reduced from 8 to 6 MB. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.
The integrated graphics adapter however is still the same as in the previous generations. It's still called Intel UHD Graphics 620 and clocked from 300 - 1100 MHz in the i5. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder.
Performance
The average 10210U in our database is just as fast as the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U, the Intel Core i7-8565U and the Intel Core i5-1035G1 are, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While the i5 is not a performance monster, it sails through basic day-to-day workloads with little effort.
Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term power limit of 30 W, the Frost Canyon NUC (NUC10i5FNK) is among the fastest systems powered by the 10210U that we know of. It can be more than twice as fast in CPU-bound workloads as the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.
Power consumption
This Core i5 series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 15 W, a value that laptop makers are free to change to anything between 10 W and 25 W with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly as a result. By going for the lowest value, it is possible to build a passively cooled system around the i5. Please note that Comet Lake-U processors can briefly consume as much as 80 W or even 90 W when under heavy loads.
The Core i5-10210U is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for very low, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.
| Model | Intel Processor N97 | Intel Core i5-10210U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Alder Lake-N | Comet Lake-U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | Intel Alder Lake-N | Intel Comet Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: Comet Lake Comet Lake-U |
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| Clock | <=3600 MHz | 1600 - 4200 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 6 MB | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 4 / 4 4 x 3.6 GHz Intel Crestmont E-Core | 4 / 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 12 Watt | 15 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 10 nm | 14 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| max. Temp. | 105 °C | 100 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) ( - 1200 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1100 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | ark.intel.com | ark.intel.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L1 Cache | 256 KB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 1 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Socket | BGA1528 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | LPDDR3-2133/DDR4-2666/LPDDR4-2933 RAM, PCIe 3, 4 GT/s bus, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Hyper-Threading, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SGX |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Processor N97 → 100% n=42
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-10210U → 130% n=42
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
