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Intel Core i5-1240U vs Intel Core i7-1260U vs Intel Core i3-1215U

Intel Core i5-1240U

► remove from comparison Intel i5-1240U

The Intel Core i5-1240U is a mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 2  performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 12 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 1.1 to 4.4 GHz on the performance cluster and 0.8 to 3.3 GHz on the efficient cluster. 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 12 MB L3 cache.  Compared to the similar Core i7-1260U, the 1240U offers lower clocked CPU cores, a slower iGPU, but the same "Enterprise" vPro management features.

Performance

Compared to the old 7 Watt Comet Lake-Y series (like the i7-10510Y), the performance should be clearly better thanks to the 10 cores and the improved architecture of the P-cores. Compared to the 15 W U-series (like the similar specified Core i5-1245U) the sustained performance will be clearly limited by the 9 Watt TDP. As always, the performance will also greatly depend on the cooling solution, especially for fanless laptops and tablets.

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 80 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 0.9 GHz.

The CPU is rated at 9 W base power (TDP, PL1) and 29 W max. Turbo power (PL2) and the whole SoC is manufactured on a 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.

Intel Core i7-1260U

► remove from comparison Intel i7-1260U

The Intel Core i7-1260U is a mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 2  performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 12 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 1.1 to 4.7 GHz on the performance cluster and 0.8 to 3.5 GHz on the efficient cluster. 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 12 MB L3 cache. The 1260U offers "Enterprise" vPro management features. Compared to the P-series (28W) or H-series (45W), or even the 15W U-series, the 9W TDP will limit the sustained performance.

Performance

Compared to the old 7 Watt Comet Lake-Y series (like the i7-10510Y), the performance should be clearly better thanks to the 10 cores and the improved architecture of the P-cores. Compared to the 15 W U-series (like the similar specified Core i7-1265U) the sustained performance will be clearly limited by the 9 Watt TDP. As always, the performance will also greatly depend on the cooling solution, especially for fanless laptops and tablets.

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers all 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 0.95 GHz.

Power consumption

This 12th gen Core i7 processor has a Base power consumption of 9 W, with 29 W being its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption. It is built with Intel's 2nd gen 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent energy efficiency.

Intel Core i3-1215U

► remove from comparison Intel i3-1215U

The Intel Core i3-1215U is a mid-range mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 2 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 8 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 1.2 to 4.4 GHz on the performance cluster and 0.9 to 3.3 GHz on the efficient cluster. 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 10 MB L3-cache. Compared to the faster i5 and i7 models, the i3 does not include vPro features.

Performance

The average 1215U in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 3 5300U and also the Core i7-1185G7, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is decent enough of a result, as of late 2022. For an entry-level CPU, that is.

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

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 64 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.1 GHz.

The CPU is rated at 15 W base power (TDP, PL1) and 55 W max. Turbo power (PL2) and the whole SoC is manufactured in a 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.

ModelIntel Core i5-1240UIntel Core i7-1260UIntel Core i3-1215U
SeriesIntel Alder Lake-MIntel Alder Lake-MIntel Alder Lake-M
CodenameAlder Lake-UAlder Lake-UAlder Lake-U
Series: Alder Lake-M Alder Lake-U
Intel Core i7-1265U1.3 - 4.8 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1255U1.2 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1245U1.2 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1235U0.9 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1260U0.8 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1250U0.8 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1240U « 0.8 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1230U0.7 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1215U0.9 - 4.4 GHz6 / 8 cores10 MB L3
Intel Pentium 85050.9 - 4.4 GHz5 / 6 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1210U0.7 - 4.4 GHz6 / 8 cores10 MB L3
Intel Pentium 85000.7 - 4.4 GHz5 / 6 cores8 MB L3
Intel Celeron 73050.9 - 1.1 GHz5 / 5 cores8 MB L3
Intel Celeron 73000.7 - 1 GHz5 / 5 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1265U1.3 - 4.8 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1255U1.2 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1245U1.2 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1235U0.9 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1260U « 0.8 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1250U0.8 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1240U0.8 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1230U0.7 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1215U0.9 - 4.4 GHz6 / 8 cores10 MB L3
Intel Pentium 85050.9 - 4.4 GHz5 / 6 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1210U0.7 - 4.4 GHz6 / 8 cores10 MB L3
Intel Pentium 85000.7 - 4.4 GHz5 / 6 cores8 MB L3
Intel Celeron 73050.9 - 1.1 GHz5 / 5 cores8 MB L3
Intel Celeron 73000.7 - 1 GHz5 / 5 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1265U1.3 - 4.8 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1255U1.2 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1245U1.2 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1235U0.9 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1260U0.8 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1250U0.8 - 4.7 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1240U0.8 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1230U0.7 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1215U « 0.9 - 4.4 GHz6 / 8 cores10 MB L3
Intel Pentium 85050.9 - 4.4 GHz5 / 6 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1210U0.7 - 4.4 GHz6 / 8 cores10 MB L3
Intel Pentium 85000.7 - 4.4 GHz5 / 6 cores8 MB L3
Intel Celeron 73050.9 - 1.1 GHz5 / 5 cores8 MB L3
Intel Celeron 73000.7 - 1 GHz5 / 5 cores8 MB L3
Clock800 - 4400 MHz800 - 4700 MHz900 - 4400 MHz
L1 Cache928 KB928 KB544 KB
L2 Cache9.5 MB9.5 MB5 MB
L3 Cache12 MB12 MB10 MB
Cores / Threads10 / 1210 / 126 / 8
TDP9 Watt9 Watt15 Watt
Technology10 nm10 nm10 nm
max. Temp.100 °C100 °C100 °C
SocketBGA1781BGA1781BGA1744
FeaturesLPDDR4x-4266/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Director, DL Boost, GNA, vPro Enterp., RPE, 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, TMELPDDR4x-4266/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Director, DL B., GNA, vPro Ent., RPE, 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, TMEDDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Dir., DL Boost, GNA, 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
iGPUIntel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs ( - 900 MHz)Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs ( - 950 MHz)Intel UHD Graphics 64EUs (Alder Lake 12th Gen) ( - 1100 MHz)
Architecturex86x86x86
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comark.intel.comark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i5-1240U
35.3 pt (49%)
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i7-1260U
35.4 pt (49%)
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i3-1215U
34.3 pt (48%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
7902 Points (7%)
7444 Points (7%)
min: 4561     avg: 5182     median: 5181.5 (5%)     max: 5802 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
1559 Points (66%)
1538 Points (65%)
min: 1442     avg: 1512     median: 1511.5 (64%)     max: 1581 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
596 Points (66%)
588 Points (65%)
min: 557     avg: 582     median: 581.5 (65%)     max: 606 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
2990 Points (7%)
2838 Points (7%)
min: 1734     avg: 1966     median: 1966 (5%)     max: 2198 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
1242 Points (8%)
1117 Points (7%)
min: 786     avg: 809     median: 809 (5%)     max: 832 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
226 Points (68%)
222 Points (67%)
min: 208     avg: 217.5     median: 217.5 (66%)     max: 227 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
11 Points (14%)
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
2.8 Points (69%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
7879 Points (48%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
19430 Points (14%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
40308 Points (28%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
12816 Points (16%)
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
98.3 s (1%)
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
3.4 s (1%)
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
7944 Points (13%)
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
31097 MIPS (18%)
32008 MIPS (18%)
min: 20873     avg: 22883     median: 22883 (13%)     max: 24893 MIPS
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
4446 MIPS (53%)
4746 MIPS (57%)
min: 4934     avg: 5032     median: 5031.5 (60%)     max: 5129 MIPS
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
50.1 fps (17%)
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
199.3 fps (46%)
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
9.1 fps (16%)
8.5 fps (15%)
min: 5.31     avg: 5.3     median: 5.3 (9%)     max: 5.33 fps
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
1.1 GB/s (0%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
1.7 GB/s (29%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
11.6 GB/s (30%)
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
744 Seconds (9%)
801 Seconds (10%)
min: 1246     avg: 1250     median: 1249.5 (16%)     max: 1253 Seconds
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
407 Seconds (3%)
431 Seconds (3%)
min: 645     avg: 665     median: 664.5 (5%)     max: 684 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
0.5 sec (11%)
0.5 sec (11%)
min: 0.547     avg: 0.5     median: 0.5 (12%)     max: 0.551 sec
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
0 Points (0%)
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
7.3 s (2%)
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
15.8 s (1%)
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
372.4 s (2%)
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
12746 Points (34%)
12771 Points (35%)
min: 7942     avg: 9992     median: 9991.5 (27%)     max: 12041 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
58615 Points (48%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
58454 Points (47%)
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
10240 Points (26%)
10684 Points (27%)
7972 Points (20%)
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
15715 Points (28%)
16174 Points (29%)
min: 10502     avg: 12516     median: 12516 (22%)     max: 14530 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
6274 Points (26%)
6180 Points (26%)
min: 3321     avg: 3539     median: 3539 (15%)     max: 3757 Points
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Single-Core
2082 Points (63%)
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Multi-Core
5213 Points (21%)
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
1596 Points (67%)
1560 Points (66%)
min: 1506     avg: 1539     median: 1539 (65%)     max: 1572 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
7066 Points (13%)
7072 Points (13%)
min: 4502     avg: 5259     median: 5258.5 (9%)     max: 6015 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
1547 Points (7%)
1555 Points (7%)
1501 Points (7%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
7029 Points (22%)
7077 Points (22%)
6005 Points (19%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
6801 Points (68%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
23138 Points (26%)
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
659 ms (1%)
572 ms (1%)
min: 607     avg: 608     median: 608 (1%)     max: 609 ms
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
78716 Points (71%)
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
221 Points (64%)
213 Points (61%)
min: 215     avg: 237.5     median: 237.5 (68%)     max: 260 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
266 Points (55%)
236 Points (49%)
min: 256     avg: 312     median: 312 (65%)     max: 368 Points
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
1363 Points (52%)
min: 1201     avg: 1267     median: 1267 (49%)     max: 1333 Points
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
48.2 Watt (8%)
38 Watt (7%)
min: 28.1     avg: 31.1     median: 31.1 (5%)     max: 34 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
45.9 Watt (8%)
38.5 Watt (7%)
min: 33     avg: 40.5     median: 40.5 (7%)     max: 47.9 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
6.7 Watt (4%)
5 Watt (3%)
min: 3.9     avg: 4.3     median: 4.3 (3%)     max: 4.68 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
7.8 Watt (9%)
5.3 Watt (6%)
min: 5.41     avg: 5.7     median: 5.7 (6%)     max: 6.07 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
27.1 Points per Watt (20%)
29 Points per Watt (22%)
min: 17.4     avg: 20.6     median: 20.6 (15%)     max: 23.8 Points per Watt

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-1240U → 100% n=23

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-1260U → 99% n=23

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i3-1215U → 87% n=23

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

v1.26
log 28. 09:40:05

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#4 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:35:32 +0100 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#5 composed specs +0.037s ... 0.038s

#6 did output specs +0s ... 0.038s

#7 getting avg benchmarks for device 14108 +0.016s ... 0.053s

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#9 getting avg benchmarks for device 14104 +0.011s ... 0.073s

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#11 getting avg benchmarks for device 14098 +0.014s ... 0.095s

#12 got single benchmarks 14098 +0.025s ... 0.119s

#13 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.119s

#14 No cached benchmark found, getting uncached values +0.123s ... 0.243s

#15 min, max, avg, median took s +0.179s ... 0.422s

#16 return log +0s ... 0.422s

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)