Intel Core i3-1115G4 vs AMD Ryzen 7 3780U vs AMD Ryzen 5 3580U

Intel Core i3-1115G4

The Intel Core i3-1115G4 is a dual-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Tiger Lake-U generation (UP3) that was launched in September 2020. It integrates two Willow Cove processor cores (4 threads thanks to HyperThreading). Each core can clock from 3 GHz (base speed) to 4.1 GHz (single- and dual-core boost). The faster Core i5 and i7 models offer more cores and are therefore significantly faster.

Another novelty is the integrated Xe graphics card based on the completely new Gen 12 architecture. In the i3-1115G4 Intel is naming the GPU UHD Graphics and offers only 48 of the 96 EUs clocked at 400 - 1250 MHz. GPU and CPU can together use the 6 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 WiFi 6 in the chip.

The chip is produced on the second-gen 10 nm Intel SuperFin process that should be comparable to the 7 nm TSMC process (e.g. Ryzen 4000 series).

Performance

Multi-thread peformance is most comparable to what the Intel Core i5-8250U and the AMD Ryzen 5 3450U deliver. This makes the i3 a more than decent option for day-to-day tasks; that said, any workload of the more taxing kind (such as exporting a high-bitrate, hour long UHD video) will be enough to bring the i3 to its knees.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 25 W, the ThinkPad L15 G2-20X4S0KU00 is one of the fastest laptops powered by the 1115G4 we know of. It can be more than 20% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Core i3 series chip has a default TDP of 12 W to 28 W, the expectation being that laptop makers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance. Either way, that's a tad too high to allow for passively cooled laptops, tablets, mini-PCs.

The Core i3-1115G4 is built with Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for decent, as of mid 2022, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 7 3780U

The AMD Ryzen 7 3780U,a Microsoft Surface edition chip, is a mobile SoC that was announced in Oct 2019 as part of the new Surface Laptop 15. It combines four Zen+ cores (8 threads) clocked at 2.3 - 4 GHz with a Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics card with 11 CUs (704 Shaders) clocked at up to 1400 MHz. Specified at 15 Watt TDP, the SoC is intended for thin mid-range laptops.

Compared to the similar Ryzen 7 3700U, the 3780U offers the faster Vega 11 instead of the Vega 10 GPU.

The Picasso SoCs use the Zen+ microarchitecture with slight improvements that should lead to a 3% IPC (performance per clock) improvements. Furthermore, the 12nm process allows higher clock rates at similar power consumptions.

The integrated dual-channel memory controller supports up to DDR4-2400 memory. As the features of the Picasso APUs are the same compared to the Raven Ridge predecessors, we point to our Raven Ridge launch article.

Performance

While we have not tested a single system powered by the 3780U as of August 2023, it's safe to expect the chip to be about as fast as the Ryzen 7 3700U, as far as multi-thread performance is concerned.

AMD Ryzen 5 3580U

The AMD Ryzen 5 3580U, a Microsoft Surface Edition chip, is a mobile SoC that was announced in October 2019 as part of the Surface Book 15. It combines four Zen+ cores (8 threads) clocked at 2.2 - 3.8 GHz with a Radeon RX Vega 9 graphics adapter with 9 CUs (576 Shaders) clocked at up to 1300 MHz. Compared to the similar Ryzen 5 3500U, the 3580 integrates a faster GPU with 9 instead of 8 CUs.

The Picasso SoCs use the Zen+ microarchitecture with slight improvements that should lead to a 3% IPS (performance per clock) improvements. Furthermore, the 12nm process allows higher clock rates at similar power consumptions.

The integrated dual-channel memory controller supports up to DDR4-2400 memory. As the features of the Picasso APUs are the same compared to the Raven Ridge predecessors, we point to our Raven Ridge launch article.

Performance

The average 3580U in our extensive database is in the same league as the Core i5-1035G7 and also the Core i7-10510U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a fairly decent result, as of mid 2021.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 5 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 15 W, a value that laptop manufacturers - or should we say, Microsoft - are allowed to change to anything between 12 W and 35 W with clock speeds and performance changing correspondingly. Those values are not low enough to allow for fan-free designs, for better or worse.

The CPU is built with a fairly old, as of late 2022, 12 nm process for lower-than-average energy efficiency.