AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme vs Intel Core i5-1135G7 vs AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS

AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme

The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme is a fast high-end laptop processor of the Phoenix series and fastest model of the U-series. It offers 8 cores (octa core) based on the Zen 4 architecture that supports SMT (hyperthreading , 16 threads). The cores clock from 3.3 (base) up to 5.1 GHz (single core boost). The processor includes 8 MB L2 cache and 16 MB L3 cache.

The performance of the R7 7840U is, depending on the workload, only slightly below the Ryzen 7 7840HS (higher base clock speed and TDP). Compared to the previous generation Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U, the 7840U is clearly faster thanks to the Zen 4 architecture and higher clock speeds. Compared to the similar Ryzen 7 7840U, the Z1 Extreme offers no AI engine.

The chip integrates a modern and fasts RDNA 3 graphics card (iGPU) called Radeon 780M with 12 CUs and up to 2.7 GHz clock speed. Furthermore, the Phoenix series include a video engine with AV1 de- and encoding, a new Xilinx FPGA based XDNA AI accelerator (Ryzen AI) that should be faster than the AI engine in the Apple M2 SOC and a dual-channel DDR5-5600 / LPDDR5x-7500 memory controller (with ECC support). The connectivity features includes 2 possible USB 4 (40 Gbps) ports and 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes for a GPU and SSDs.

The Phoenix series uses a single monolithic design (unlike the chiplet design of the 7045HX series) and is manufactured in the modern 4nm process at TSMC. The TDP can be configured between 15 and 30 Watt.

Intel Core i5-1135G7

The Intel Core i5-1135G7 is a quad-core, mid-range SoC designed to be used in ultra-light laptops. The Tiger Lake-UP3 processor was introduced in September 2020. It features four Willow Cove CPU cores running at 2.4 GHz (base clock speed @ 28 W TDP) Boosting up to 4.2 GHz (1-core Boost). The all-core Boost clock speed sits at 3.8 GHz. This is a Hyper-Threading-enabled CPU, allowing for up to 8 concurrent processing threads.

Architecture

A sizeable performance-per-MHz boost is one of the multiple strengths of Tiger Lake compared to the older Ice Lake and Comet Lake product families. Core i5-1135G7 is compatible with dual-channel DDR4-3200 or quad-channel LPDDR4x-4267 RAM, supports PCI-Express 4.0 (4 lanes) and is capable of HW-accelerating AI workloads. Thunderbolt 4, USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6 support is partially baked into the chip. Four PCI-Express 4.0 lanes allow for read/write rates of up to 7.9 GB/s, provided a suitably fast NVMe SSD is used.

The i5 is manufactured on Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin that is supposedly comparable to TSMC's 7 nm process that Ryzen 4000 series laptop-grade processors are manufactured on. Both the CPU cores and the iGPU enjoy access to 8 MB of L3 cache. Higher-end Core i7-11x5 processors are notable for their larger Level 3 cache (12 MB versus 8 MB), faster iGPUs and higher clock speeds. Core i5-1135G7 is supposed to be permanently soldered to the motherboard (BGA1449 socket interface) and is thus not user-replaceable.

Performance

The average i5-1135G7 in our database delivers multi-thread benchmark scores close to those of the Core i7-10810U, Core i5-1145G7, Core i5-1230U and also the Ryzen 7 3780U. The performance may not be ground-breaking, but it’s still on the sunnier side. This Core i5 will have no difficulty coping with some light gaming and video editing on the go, and the usual web browsing and spreadsheet editing will pose no problem to it, either.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 25 W, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 14ITL05 is among the fastest laptops built around the 1135G7 that we know of. It can be about 60% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Graphics

The 80 EU Iris Xe Graphics G7 is based on Intel's Gen 12 architecture. The iGPU is somewhat faster than the older Iris Plus G7 (Ice Lake) and much faster than the UHD 620 (Comet Lake). The 80 EUs are clocked at 400 MHz to 1,300 MHz. This graphics adapter can drive up to 4 monitors in resolutions up to SUHD 4320p@60 and hardware decode the AVC, HEVC, VP9 and last but not the least AV1 video streams. The iGPU's gaming performance is close to what a typical GeForce MX250 has in store; casual gamers will be happy with the Xe as it will easily handle most titles at 720p on low or medium quality settings. An important thing to keep in mind is that the iGPU has no video memory of its own, making fast RAM a necessity.

Power consumption

Just like all other Tiger Lake-UP3 chips, the i5-1135G7 has a default TDP of 12 W to 28 W, the expectation being that laptop makers will go for a higher value to get higher clock speeds and thus better performance. Either way, these values are a tad too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

The CPU is built with Intel's 3rd generation 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for decent, as of mid 2022, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS

The Ryzen 7 7840HS is a powerful Phoenix family chip that saw the light of day in H1 2023. The processor features 8 cores (16 threads thanks to SMT support) running at 3.8 GHz. The highest Boost clock speed achievable is 5.1 GHz.

Not only does this APU has full might of the Zen 4 architecture at its disposal, it also comes with the new Ryzen AI technology that's set to make generative AI more ubiquitous than ever before. Last but not the least, the Radeon 780M serves as the integrated GPU.

Architecture & Features

Phoenix family chips are powered by the Zen 4 architecture, much like Dragon Range family chips are. The latter however lacks hardware AI workload acceleration capabilities that Phoenix has. Ryzen AI is coming after Intel's DL Boost and GNA technologies; time will tell if this move by AMD is a good idea.

Perhaps more importantly, Zen 4 introduces AVX512 support (which Zen 3 chips did not have) and, thanks to a plethora of other improvements including larger caches/registers/buffers across the board, is set to bring a double-digit IPC improvement.

Elsewhere, the 7840HS has 16 MB of L3 cache and a seriously fast RAM controller (up to LPDDR5x-7500 and up to DDR5-5600, ECC-enabled memory included). PCI-Express speeds are capped at 1.97 GB/s per lane which corresponds to the 4.0 spec.

This Ryzen 7 series chip is designed to run 64-bit Windows 11, 64-bit Windows 10 or Linux; please note that it isn't overclockable and neither is it user-replaceable. It gets soldered down for good instead (FP7, FP7r2, FP8 socket interfaces).

Performance

The average 7840HS in our database is in the same league as the Core i7-12700H, Core i7-12850HX, Core i9-12900H, Core i9-13900H and also the Ryzen 9 7940HS, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very fast chip, as of Q3 2023.

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

Graphics

The Radeon 780M (12 CUs / 768 shaders, up to 2,700 MHz) is capable of powering 4 monitors simultaneously with resolutions as high as SUHD 4320p. It will also have little issue hardware-encoding and hardware-decoding the most widely used video codecs (AV1, HEVC, AVC). As far as gaming is concerned, the thing will let you play most games at 1080p as long as you are fine with moderate quality settings. Long story short, this is the best iGPU money can buy, as of H2 2023.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are, how competent the cooling solution of your system is, how fast the RAM of your system is (there is no dedicated VRAM here).

Power consumption

This Ryzen 7 series chip has a long-term power limit (default TDP) of 35 W to 54 W, giving system makers a choice between improving battery life and making the system they're designing insanely fast. Either way, an active cooling solution is a must for a laptop or a mini-PC built around this APU.

The 7840HS is built with TSMC's 4 nm process for high, as of late 2023, energy efficiency.