Intel Core i5-1030G7 vs Intel Core i3-1000NG4

Intel Core i5-1030G7

The Intel Core i5-1030G7 is a power efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Ice -Lake-Y generation that was announced in Mai 2019 (Computex). It integrates four Sunnycove processor cores (8 threads thanks to HyperThreading) clocked at 0.8 (base) - 3.8 (single core Turbo) GHz. All four cores can turbo up to 3.2 GHz using Turbo Boost. According to Intel the Sunnycove cores achieve 18% more IPCs (Instructions per Clock).

Combined with the two additional cores, the previous Y-series dual core processors (Amber Lake-Y) should be always slower. Short burst performance should be excellent, long workloads will depend on the TDP settings and cooling solution in the laptop / tablet.

The biggest improvement for Ice-Lake is the integrated Gen 11 graphics card called Iris Plus Graphics. The Core i5-1030G7 integrates the biggest G7 variant with 64 CUs clocked at 300 - 1050 MHz. The Iris Plus G7 should be twice as fast as the predecessors and best the AMD Vega 10 GPU in current Ryzen APUs. However, in the Y-series the gaming performance will be again depending on the cooling solution and may degrade clearly over time (compared to the Core i7-1065G7 with 15 - 25 Watt e.g.).

Other improvements for Ice Lake are the AI hardware acceleration and the partial integration of Thunderbolt and WiFi 6 in the chip. The integrated DDR4 memory controller supports modules with up to 3200 MHz (and LPDDDR4 3733).

Power consumption

This Core i5 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 9 W, a value that laptop manufacturers are allowed to increase just slightly (12 W being the upper limit) resulting in higher clock speeds and higher performance. The processor is built with Intel's 1st gen 10 nm process for OK, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i3-1000NG4

The Intel Core i3-1000NG4 is a power efficient dual-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Ice -Lake-Y generation that was announced in Mai 2019 (Computex). It integrates two Sunnycove processor cores (4 threads thanks to HyperThreading) clocked at 1.1 (base) - 3.2 GHz (single and dual core Turbo). According to Intel the Sunnycove cores achieve 18% more IPCs (Instructions per Clock) and therefore the CPU performance should be similar to the higher clocked Amber-Lake-Y CPUs like the Core i5-8200Y (1.3 - 3.9 GHz).

Compared to the normal Core i3-1000G4, the i3-1000NG4 offers a smaller package size (22 x 16.5 versus 26.5 x 18.5 mm).

The biggest improvement for Ice-Lake is the integrated Gen 11 graphics card called Iris Plus Graphics. The Core i7-1030G4 integrates the smaller G4 variant with 48 of the 64 CUs clocked at 300 - 900 MHz.  However, in the Y-series the gaming performance will be again depending on the cooling solution and may degrade clearly over time (compared to the Core i5-1035G4 with 15 - 25 Watt e.g.). The faster graphics card is also the main difference to the similar named Core i3-1000G1.

Other improvements for Ice Lake are the AI hardware acceleration and the partial integration of Thunderbolt and Wifi 6 in the chip. The integrated DDR4 memory controller supports modules with up to 3200 MHz (and LPDDDR4 3733).

The Core i3-1000NG4 is produced in the new 10nm process at Intel that should offer a comparable performance to the 7nm process at TSMC. The TDP is specified at 9 Watts and therefore the CPU can be used in thin and light laptops with either a passive or an active cooling system.