Intel Core i5-11400F vs Intel Core i5-1250P
Intel Core i5-11400F
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The Intel Core i5-11400F is a fast six-core desktop processor based on the new Rocket Lake architecture, which was introduced in March 2021. The processor clocks with a base clock of 2.6 GHz and reaches an all-core boost of 4.2 GHz under load. In single-thread applications, the Intel Core i5-11400F even reaches up to 4.4 GHz. Intel also gives the Rocket Lake processors the Hyperthreading feature, which allows the i5-11400F to process up to 12 threads simultaneously. As known, the Intel Core i5-11400F is manufactured in the 14 nm process. Nevertheless, many changes have been made with the Rocket Lake architecture, which is also reflected in the performance compared to the Comet Lake. The Intel Core i5-11400F is a non-K CPU, which means that there is no freely selectable multiplier. Thus, the scope for overclocking is relatively small.
Performance
Compared to the Intel Core i5-10400F, the Core i5-11400F offers a significantly better IPC. This can be seen clearly in the single-core benchmarks. But the multi-core performance also benefits from the better IPC compared to Comet-Lake. A performance increase of up to 20 percent can be expected. The Core i5 has to do without the TVB (Thermal Velocity Boost). However, 4.2 GHz is still possible when all cores are loaded. Due to the very high single-thread performance, the Intel Core i5-11400F is best suited for video games.
Graphics
The processors marked with "F" in the nomenclature don't offer an integrated graphics unit. All other non-F processors can fall back on the Intel UHD Graphics 750 and also allow operation without a dedicated graphics card.
Power consumption
The TDP turns out relatively low with 65 watts. This is the PL1 value. For Turbo, the Intel Core i5-11400F offers a higher TDP of up to 154 watts with PL2. However, this may only be applied for a maximum of 28 seconds (dew). A good air cooler should be able to handle the resulting waste heat, so no AiO is necessary for this processor.
Intel Core i5-1250P
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The Intel Core i5-1250P is a mid-range Alder Lake-P family SoC designed for use in ultra-light, ultra-thin (yet actively cooled) laptops. It was announced in early 2022 and it has 4 performance cores, as opposed to the 6 cores of the top-of-the-line i7-1280P (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) mated to 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The i5's P-cores are Hyper-Threading-enabled for a total of 16 threads when combined with its E-cores. The clock speeds range from 1.7 GHz to 4.4 GHz for the performance cluster and 1.2 GHz to 3.3 GHz for the efficient cluster. The shortcomings of this processor as compared with the slightly faster Core i5-1260P include the smaller L3 cache, slower iGPU model, lower clock speeds. Full vPro feature set is enabled in the case of this i5, though ("Enterprise" tier, allowing for remote device management).
Architecture
The i5 is a continuation of Intel's efforts to use the ARM-developed big.LITTLE technology for its own benefit. A single "little" Alder Lake core is supposed to be as fast as a Skylake core (as found in the venerable Core i7-6700HQ among other options) which is six years old at this point. All of Core i5-1250P's CPU cores enjoy access to 12 MB of L3 cache. The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to LPDDR5-5200, DDR5-4800, LPDDR4x-4267 or DDR4-3200; Intel recommends using no more than 64 GB, for reference. Just like the other 12th Gen Intel Core processors, this Core i5 comes with the Thread Director which is a new functionality designed to help Windows 11 decide which cores to use for what workload for best performance and efficiency possible. Hardware acceleration of AI algorithms is supported via GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). The alluringly fast PCI-Express 5.0 spec has not found its way into Alder Lake P processors, so users will have to be content with PCI-Express 4.0 for the time being. Four PCI-Express 4 lanes allow for a read/write rate of up to 7.9 GB/s, provided a suitably fast NVMe SSD is used.
Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. It gets permanently soldered on to the motherboard (FCBGA1744 socket interface).
Performance
The average 1250P in our database nearly matches the Ryzen 5 5500U and the Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U in multi-thread performance, trailing behind the Core i5-1240P just slightly. This is a great CPU for nearly all tasks imaginable, as long as one does not expect it to be as fast as the mighty Core i7-12700H.
Your mileage may vary depending on how high the Power Limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is. The latter is really important as a single Golden Cove core can eat more than 20 W when under heavy load.
Graphics
The built-in graphics adapter in the form of the 80 EU Iris Xe running at up to 1.4 GHz has seen little change from what was built into certain 11th Gen Tiger Lake UP3 processors, like a Core i5-1135G7, which is hardly a downside as this iGPU is loaded with modern features, AV1 video decoding capability and SUHD 4320p monitor support included. The Xe isn't a stranger to a bit of casual gaming; that said, your mileage may vary depending on how high the Power Limits are and how capable the cooling solution of a laptop is. Expect something close to NVIDIA's MX250 or in other words, acceptable framerates in most games when playing at 1080p / Low settings. Fast RAM is a prerequisite for decent performance as the Xe has to make do with no dedicated video memory.
Power consumption
The i5's base power consumption (also known as the default TDP or Power Limit 1) is 28 W; its maximum Turbo power consumption (also known as the PL2) is not supposed to exceed 64 W. As for the "Minimum Assured" power consumption, Intel's guidelines mention 20 W. All in all, an active cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this.
The i5-1250P is built with Intel's fourth-gen 10 nm manufacturing process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency. Despite that, the i5 is more power-hungry than certain 7 nm U-class AMD Ryzen 5000 chips delivering similar, or even higher, performance.
| Model | Intel Core i5-11400F | Intel Core i5-1250P | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Rocket Lake | Alder Lake-P | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | Intel Rocket Lake | Intel Alder Lake-P | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: Alder Lake-P Alder Lake-P |
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| Clock | 2600 - 4400 MHz | 1200 - 4400 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L1 Cache | 480 KB | 1.1 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 3 MB | 10 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 12 MB | 12 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 6 / 12 | 12 / 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 65 Watt | 28 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 14 nm | 10 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Die Size | 276 mm2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| max. Temp. | 100 °C | 100 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Socket | LGA1200 | BGA1744 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | DDR4-3200 RAM, PCIe 4, 8 GT/s bus, DL Boost, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, AVX-512, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | DDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200, PCIe 4, Thr. Director, DL Boost, GNA, Remote Platform Erase, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $157 U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | ark.intel.com | ark.intel.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs ( - 1400 MHz) |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-11400F → 100% n=41
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-1250P → 89% n=41
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
