Intel Core i3-7020U vs Intel Core i3-1005G1

Intel Core i3-7020U

The Intel Core i3-7020U is a dual-core processor of the Kaby Lake architecture. It offers two CPU cores clocked at 2.3 GHz (without Turbo Boost) and integrates HyperThreading to work with up to 4 threads at once. The architectural differences are rather small compared to the Skylake generation, therefore the performance per MHz should be very similar. The SoC includes a dual channel DDR4 memory controller and Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card (clocked at 300 - 1000 MHz). It is manufactured in an improved 14nm FinFET process at Intel. Compare to the old i3-7100U, the newer i3-7020U is clocked 100 MHz lower (CPU cores) and therefore the current entry level model for the Core i3 line. The similar Pentium Gold 4415U offers less Cache (2 versus 3 MB) and a slower GPU.

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.

Intel Core i3-1005G1

The Intel Core i3-1005G1 is a low-power, Ice Lake family processor (SoC) featuring 2 cores, 4 threads, 4 MB of L3 cache and the UHD G1 (32 EUs) iGPU. It saw the light of day in 2019. The chip is designed for use in highly portable laptops of the more affordable flavour; the CPU cores run at 1.2 GHz to 3.4 GHz which is not a lot.

Architecture & Features

Ice Lake family chips are powered by Sunny Cove CPU cores.The latter aim to do what Palm Cove cores (that we never really got a chance to get a taste of) were expected to do, delivering a double-digit IPC uplift over the venerable Skylake architecture thanks to a range of small improvements across the board including scheduler improvements, larger caches and buffers, and support for new instruction sets.

Thunderbolt 3 support is built right into the Core i3 (meaning it has several PCIe 3 lanes exclusive to Thunderbolt devices, reducing the number of additional components required for Thunderbolt to work) and so is Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 6 support (making it easier for Intel to sell its proprietary WLAN cards to laptop makers). The Core i3-1005G1 also has the DL Boost and GNA features for applications centered around machine learning.

The 4 GT/s bus is indicative of a consumer-grade chip, since CPUs for gaming laptops and portable workstations usually employ the faster 8 GT/s bus. RAM support is nothing to sneeze at, at up to DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4-3733. NVMe SSDs are supported, with data transfer rates limited to 3.9 GB/s (this is what four PCIe 3 lanes are good for). SATA drives and even eMMC chips are also natively supported here.

This is not a user-replaceable CPU, as it gets permanently soldered to the motherboard (BGA1526 socket interface).

OS support is limited to 64-bit Windows 10 and 64-bit Windows 11, as well as many Linux distros.

Performance

The average 1005G1 in our database is a disappointment, its multi-thread benchmark scores only matching those of Intel's Core i5-7267U and AMD's Ryzen 3 2300U. This is unfortunately in line with what we've been seeing from other Ice Lake family processors; they tend to be held back by their comparatively low clock speeds. While not as slow as many Celerons and Pentiums, this Core i3 will still look out of place in anything but the most affordable laptops and mini-PCs.

With its long-term CPU power limit of 25 W, the Lenovo V17-IIL 82GX008TGE is among the fastest laptops built around this Core i3 that we know of.

Graphics

The Core i3-1005G1 features the UHD Graphics G1 (32 EUs) graphics adapter running at up to 900 MHz. This DX12-compatible iGPU is not much faster than the dated UHD 620 graphics solution, making it almost useless to gamers, and there are no cutting-edge features such as ray tracing support to be found here, either. The list of supported resolutions tops out at 5120 x 3200, and there is no hardware AV1 codec support meaning such a video will be SW-decoded with rather low energy efficiency. The usual HEVC, AVC and VP9 options are supported, thankfully.

The G1 will drive up to 3 monitors simultaneously, provided the system has the outputs required. Higher-end Ice Lake chips are equipped with the G4 (48 EUs) or the G7 (64 EUs) adapters that are significantly faster.

Power consumption

The Core i3 has a 15 W default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit), a value that laptop makers are allowed to reduce slightly - 13 W being the lower limit - resulting in lower clock speeds and lower performance. Either way, that's a tad too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

The SoC is built with Intel's second-gen 10 nm process (not "10 nm SuperFin" or "Intel 7") for average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.