Intel Core i3-N305 vs Intel Core i9-13950HX vs Intel Core i5-13450HX

Intel Core i3-N305

The Intel Core i3-N305 is an entry-level mobile CPU for thin and light laptops from the Alder Lake-N series. It was announced in early 2023 and offers no performance cores and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The chip does not support HyperThreading and clocks with up to 3.8 GHz. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 6 MB L3-cache.

Performance

We have not tested a single system built around the N305, as of September 2023. Expect the chip to be 50% to 100% faster than the N95 (4 cores, 4 threads, up to 3.4 GHz).

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

Features

The Alder Lake-N chips only support single channel memory with up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 or LPDDR5-4800. The chip also supports Quick Sync and AV1 decoding (most likely same engine as in Alder Lake). Furthermore, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are partly integrated (but no Thunderbolt). External chips can be connected via PCIe Gen3 x9 (via the PCH).

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offersall 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.25 GHz. In addition to the single channel memory, the gaming performance is very limited of the iGPU.

Power consumption

The i3 has a base power consumption of 15 W and can be configured down to 9 W. The CPU is built with a further improved 10nm SuperFin process at Intel (called Intel 7).

Intel Core i9-13950HX

The Intel Core i9-13950HX is a fast high-end mobile processor of the Raptor Lake-HX series. Is was announced in early 2023 and is based on the desktop Core i9-13000K with combined 24 cores and 32 threads. Eight fast Raptor Cove performance cores (P-cores) clocked from 2.2 to 5.5 GHz (single core, all core boost 4.9 GHz) with HyperThreading and sixteen Gracemont efficiency cores without HyperThreading clocked from 1.6 to 4 GHz. The 13950HX is very similar to the Core i9-13980HX, but with vPro Enterprise support and a 100 MHz reduced boost of the P-cores.

Compared to Alder Lake, Raptor Lake offers improved P-cores (Raptor Cove micro-architecture) with bigger Caches and more E-Cores (same Gracemont micro-architecture). Furthermore, the chip supports faster DDR5 memory (up to 5600 MHz for the 13980HX).

Performance

The average 13950HX in our database is in the same league as the i9-13980HX and the i9-13900HX while being noticeably faster than the Ryzen 9 7845HX, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very, very fast chip, as of mid 2023.

Thanks to its powerful cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 145 W, the MSI GE78HX 13VH-070US is among the fastest laptops built around the 13950HX that we know of.

Power consumption

The chip's "minimum assured" power consumption is 45 W while its Turbo power consumption isn't supposed to go over 157 W. Intel suggests the "base" power consumption should be set to 55 W, which laptop makers aren't really obliged to do. Most will go for a higher value to get better performance.

This i9 series processor is manufactured on Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i5-13450HX

The Intel Core i5-13450HX is a fast mid-range mobile processor of the Raptor Lake series. Is was announced in early 2023. The CPU integrates 6 fast Raptor Cove performance cores (P-cores) with HyperThreading and 4 Gracemont efficiency cores without HyperThreading. The P-Cores clock between 2.4 GHz (base) up to 4.6 GHz (single core boost, all-core 4.5 GHz). The smaller E-Cores clock between 1.8 and 3.4 GHz. All cores can access the combined 20 MB L3 cache (compared to the 36 MB of the i9 models).

Compared to Alder Lake, Raptor Lake offers improved P-Cores (Raptor Cove micro-architecture) with bigger Caches and more E-Cores (same Gracemont micro-architecture). Furthermore, the chip supports faster DDR5 memory (up to 5600 MHz for the 13980HX, but only 4800 MHz for the i5).

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 13450HX as of August 2023, we have tested several systems featuring the Core i5-12600K, a CPU with very similar specs (six P-cores mated to four E-cores, both running at insignificantly faster clock speeds than what the 13450HX has). Based on that, we expect the 13450HX to be 10% to 15% behind the Ryzen 7 7840HS and the Ryzen 9 7940HS, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned.

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

Power consumption

The chip's "minimum assured" power consumption sits at 45 W. Its Turbo power consumption is not supposed to go over 157 W and its "base" power consumption is supposed to be around 55 W. Most laptop makers will probably go for a value much higher than 55 W to extract as much performance out of the chip as possible.

The i5-13450HX is built with Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.