Intel Core i5-10310Y vs Intel Core i3-7100U vs Intel Core i5-7267U

Intel Core i5-10310Y

The Intel Core i5-10310Y is a extremely power efficient quad-core SoC for small laptops and tablets based on the Comet Lake (CML-Y) generation and was announced in August 2019. Compared to the similar Amber Lake processors (e.g. Core i7-8500Y), the only difference are two additional cores in the top models (except i3-10110Y). The processor cores are clocked between 1.1 and 4.1 GHz (all 4 cores 2.8 GHz max). Thanks to HyperThreading 8 threads can be used. Compared to the faster i7-10510Y, the level 3 cache is reduced to 6 MB and the clock rates are lower.

More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 10310Y as of August 2023, it's realistic to expect the chip to be about half as fast as the Core i5-10210U (Comet Lake, 4 cores, 8 threads, up to 4.2 GHz) in multi-thread workloads. Those 4 cores of the 10310Y are set to be very much constrained by the low TDP target leading to high DPC latencies and generally unresponsive system behaviour no matter the activity.

The integrated graphics adapter is still the same as in the previous generations. It should be still called Intel UHD Graphics 615 and clock from 300 - 1050 MHz in the i5. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder.

The chip is now produced in the 14nm++ process (Amber Lake Y was 14nm+) but not 10nm like Ice Lake Y. The TDP is specified at 7 Watts but can be varied from 5.5 to 9 Watt from the manufacturer (cTDP up/down) resulting in different performance (especially Turbo durations).

Intel Core i3-7100U

The Intel Core i3-7100U is a dual-core processor of the Kaby Lake architecture. It offers two CPU cores clocked at 2.4 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 Skylake Core i3-6100U, the i3-7100U offers a 100 MHz improved clock speed.

 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 i5-7267U

The Intel Core i5-7267U is a fast dual-core SoC for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. The CPU has two processor cores clocked at 3.1-3.5 GHz (two cores also up to 3.5 GHz). The processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper Threading. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 GPU with 64 MB eDRAM, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

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.

Performance

The performance of the 28-Watt CPU should be on par with the Core i7-7500U (2.7-3.5 GHz, no eDRAM, 15 Watts), but it should be a bit slower on practice due to the missing level 4 eDRAM and the lower TDP. This means the i5 is still one of the faster dual-core processors and should be sufficient for most scenarios. Some games might still require a real quad-core processor and therefore nit run perfectly on the dual-core processor, despite Hyper Threading.

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 650 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 920MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Pro 550, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors announced in January should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel specifies the TDP with 28 Watts, which can be reduced to 23 Watts (cTDP Down) depending on the usage scenario. The TDP is pretty high compared to the common 15-Watt TDP for dual-core processors, but allows a better utilization of CPU and GPU Turbo.