Intel Pentium Silver N5000 vs Intel Core i7-7700T

Intel Pentium Silver N5000

The Intel Pentium Silver N5000 is a quad-core SoC primarily for inexpensive notebooks and was announced late 2017. It runs at 1.1-2.7 GHz (Single Core Burst, Multi Core Burst max. 2.6 GHz) and is based on the Gemini Lake platform. Similar to the Apollo Lake predecessor, the chip is manufactured in a 14 nm process with FinFETs but offers slightly improved processor cores, double the amount of L2 cache, a smaller package, a new generation of monitor outputs (Gen 10) and a partly integrated WiFi chip. Besides four CPU cores, the chip also includes a DirectX 12 capable GPU as well as a DDR4/LPDDR4 memory controller (dual-channel, up to 2400 MHz). The SoC is not replaceable as it is directly soldered to the mainboard.

Architecture

The processor architecture was slightly reworked and is now called Goldmont Plus. It features an increased level 2 cache (to 4 MB). That means the per-clock-performance should be a bit better, but not near the Core CPUs like Kaby Lake Y.

Performance

The average N5000 in our database is in the same league as the AMD 3050e and the Pentium 4415U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a really poor result, as of Q3 2023.

The Yoga 330-11IGM is among the fastest laptops featuring the N5000 that we know of. It can be more than 30% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system built around the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

GPU Performance

The UHD Graphics 605 (Gemini Lake) is based on Intel's Gen9 architecture, which supports DirectX 12 and is also used for the Kaby Lake / Skylake / Apollo Lake graphics adapters (like HD Graphics 520). Equipped with 18 EUs and a clock of up to 750 MHz, the performance should be roughly on par with the older HD Graphics 5300 and HD Graphics 505 (Apollo Lake).

The chip also includes an advanced video engine with hardware support for the playback of VP9 and H.265 material (8-bit color-depth).

Power Consumption

Similar to the predecessor, Intel specifies the TDP with 6 Watts (SDP 4.8 Watts – Scenario Design Power). The chip can therefore be cooled passively in theory, but SKUs with fans are possible as well.

Intel Core i7-7700T

The Intel Core i7-7700T is a fast quad-core processor for desktops based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It is the top model of the 35 Watt models and significantly slower than the similar named Core i7-7700K. The four Skylake based CPU cores are clocked from 2.9 - 3.8 GHz and support HyperThreading / SMT (8 threads).

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

The performance of the i7-7700T is slightly faster than the Core i5-7600K with sufficient cooling and TDP settings. Therefore, the CPU is fine to handle even demanding tasks and apps.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1150 MHz. The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors, which were announced in January, should also support HDCP 2.2.