Intel Core i3-1115G4 vs Intel Core i7-1165G7

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 introduced 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).

The operating range of the UP3 series is specified at 12 to 28 Watt. Therefore, the processor is also suited for thin and light laptops.

Intel Core i7-1165G7

The Intel Core i7-1165G7 is a quad-core SoC designed for the sleeker laptops. The Tiger Lake-UP3 processor was unveiled in September 2020. It features four Hyper-Threading-enabled Willow Cove cores running at 2.8 GHz (base clock speed @ 28 W TDP) Boosting up to 4.7 GHz (single-core Boost frequency). The all-core Boost frequency is 4.1 GHz. The i7 was the second-fastest model of the TGL-UP3 lineup at launch. The costlier Core i7-1185G7's base clock speed is 200 MHz higher, its Boost clock speed is 100 MHz higher, and its Iris Xe G7 iGPU is slightly faster as well at up to 1,350 MHz.

Architecture

A sizeable performance-per-MHz boost is one of the many benefits of the Tiger Lake generation compared to the older Comet Lake and Ice Lake product families. A Core i7-1165G7 is compatible with dual-channel DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4x-4267 RAM, supports PCI-Express 4.0 (4 lanes) and is capable of HW-accelerating certain AI workloads. The Thunderbolt 4, USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6 support is partially baked into the chip. The i7 CPU is manufactured on the second-gen 10 nm Intel SuperFin process that is supposed to be comparable to the 7 nm TSMC process Ryzen 4000 processors are manufactured on. Both the CPU cores and the iGPU have access to 12 MB of L3 cache. The SoC gets soldered straight to the motherboard (BGA1449 socket) and is not user-replaceable.

Performance

The Boost sustainability depends a lot on the cooling system performance as well as the TDP settings. The average Core i7-1165G7 from our database is just as fast as the Core i7-10610U, Core i7-10810U, Core i5-10300H, Core i7-8559U in multi-core benchmarks. In the meantime, the single-thread testing reveals the i7 to be just as fast as the Core i9-10900K, Ryzen 5 5600H, Ryzen 7 5800H, Ryzen 9 5950X, Ryzen 7 5800X, Core i7-11370H. This is a very decent CPU for thin and light laptops released in 2020 and 2021. While it is not quite as fast as the higher-wattage competition, the i7 will have no trouble chewing through the video editing and rendering jobs on the go with a bit of gaming possible as well (even if there is no dedicated graphics card). More on this below.

Graphics

The Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96 EUs) iGPU is based on the Gen 12 architecture. It is a lot faster than the older Iris Plus G7 (Ice Lake) and especially the UHD Graphics 620 (Comet Lake). In the case of the Core i7, the Xe GPU uses 96 of the 96 EUs running at 400 MHz to 1,300 MHz. The 96 EU Xe iGPU can drive up to 4 monitors simultaneously in resolutions as high as SUHD 4320p, and the built-in video decoder can handle the AVC, HEVC, VP9 and last but not the least AV1 video streams. The gaming performance is comparable to entry-level discrete graphics cards such as the Nvidia GeForce MX350, surpassing anything we have seen on an AMD APU thus far.

Power Consumption

The 10 nm manufacturing process and low core count render the Tiger Lake-U processors relatively energy-efficient. The TGL-UP3 series CPUs' default TDP value is in the range of 12 W to 28 W (the OEMs get to set the value according to their needs), making the i7 a good fit for thin and light laptops and high-end tablets alike. Performance sustainability is likely to be an issue in passively cooled setups though.