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Intel Core i5-1240U vs Intel Core i7-1260U vs Intel Core i7-1255U

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 i7-1255U

► remove from comparison Intel i7-1255U

The Intel Core i7-1255U is a high-end 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 1.7 to 4.7 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.2 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. Compared to the i7-1265U (fastest U-series CPU at launch), the 1255 offers 100 MHz lower clocked CPU cores and only "Essentials" vPro management features. Compared to the P-series (28W) or H-series (45W), the 15W TDP may limit the sustained performance.

Performance

The average 1255U in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 5 5600U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Which is nothing to be ashamed of, as of mid 2023.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 28 W, the Spectre x360 13.5 14t-ef000 is among the fastest laptops built around the 1255U that we know of. It can be 20% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Architecture

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 1.25 GHz.

Power consumption

This Core i7 has a "minimum assured" power consumption of 12 W. Its Base power consumption sits at 15 W and its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption isn't supposed to exceed 55 W. All those values are too high to allow for pasisvely cooled designs.

Last but not the least, Core i7-1255U is built with Intel's fourth-gen 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

ModelIntel Core i5-1240UIntel Core i7-1260UIntel Core i7-1255U
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 i7-1255U « 1.2 - 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 i3-1215U0.9 - 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
Clock800 - 4400 MHz800 - 4700 MHz1200 - 4700 MHz
L1 Cache928 KB928 KB928 KB
L2 Cache9.5 MB9.5 MB9.5 MB
L3 Cache12 MB12 MB12 MB
Cores / Threads10 / 1210 / 1210 / 12
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, vPro Ess., 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 Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs ( - 1250 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 - i7-1255U
37.9 pt (53%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
7902 Points (7%)
7444 Points (7%)
min: 5269     avg: 8198     median: 8332 (8%)     max: 9628 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
1559 Points (66%)
1538 Points (65%)
min: 1425     avg: 1649     median: 1656 (70%)     max: 1775 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
596 Points (66%)
588 Points (65%)
min: 550     avg: 635     median: 638 (71%)     max: 682 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
2990 Points (7%)
2838 Points (7%)
min: 2095     avg: 3116     median: 3131 (8%)     max: 3702 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
1242 Points (8%)
1117 Points (7%)
min: 919     avg: 1365     median: 1400 (9%)     max: 1577 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
226 Points (68%)
222 Points (67%)
min: 161     avg: 229.4     median: 238.5 (72%)     max: 251 Points
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
31097 MIPS (18%)
32008 MIPS (18%)
min: 24126     avg: 34066     median: 36825 (21%)     max: 37365 MIPS
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
4446 MIPS (53%)
4746 MIPS (57%)
min: 5150     avg: 5308     median: 5256 (63%)     max: 5529 MIPS
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
9.1 fps (16%)
8.5 fps (15%)
min: 6.31     avg: 9.2     median: 9.7 (17%)     max: 10.1 fps
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
744 Seconds (9%)
801 Seconds (10%)
min: 683     avg: 772     median: 723 (9%)     max: 1156 Seconds
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
407 Seconds (3%)
431 Seconds (3%)
min: 372     avg: 419.7     median: 383 (3%)     max: 601 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
0.5 sec (11%)
0.5 sec (11%)
min: 0.4688     avg: 0.5     median: 0.5 (11%)     max: 0.558 sec
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
12746 Points (34%)
12771 Points (35%)
min: 8097     avg: 14121     median: 15314 (41%)     max: 16890 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
10240 Points (26%)
10684 Points (27%)
min: 7665     avg: 10433     median: 10520 (27%)     max: 12522 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
15715 Points (28%)
16174 Points (29%)
min: 11482     avg: 17380     median: 18157 (32%)     max: 20193 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
6274 Points (26%)
6180 Points (26%)
min: 1124     avg: 5468     median: 6140 (26%)     max: 7649 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
1596 Points (67%)
1560 Points (66%)
min: 1560     avg: 1640     median: 1650.5 (70%)     max: 1712 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
7066 Points (13%)
7072 Points (13%)
min: 4463     avg: 7315     median: 7989.5 (14%)     max: 8821 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
1547 Points (7%)
1555 Points (7%)
min: 1523     avg: 1607     median: 1610.5 (7%)     max: 1684 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
7029 Points (22%)
7077 Points (22%)
min: 4557     avg: 6900     median: 7294.5 (23%)     max: 8452 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
659 ms (1%)
572 ms (1%)
min: 476.2     avg: 586     median: 571 (1%)     max: 727 ms
Sunspider - Sunspider 1.0 Total Score *
97.3 ms (1%)
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
min: 75963     avg: 82625     median: 82948 (75%)     max: 88687 Points
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
221 Points (64%)
213 Points (61%)
min: 183.4     avg: 230     median: 232 (67%)     max: 249 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
266 Points (55%)
236 Points (49%)
min: 200     avg: 274.6     median: 275 (57%)     max: 366 Points
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Storage 2.0 score
9895 Points (17%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Work Score 3.0
11617 Points (54%)
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
1363 Points (52%)
min: 1329     avg: 1461     median: 1475 (56%)     max: 1573 Points
CrXPRT 2 - CrXPRT2 Performance Score
173 Points (96%)
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
48.2 Watt (8%)
38 Watt (7%)
min: 24.3     avg: 43.1     median: 44 (8%)     max: 51.2 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
45.9 Watt (8%)
38.5 Watt (7%)
min: 27.8     avg: 56.4     median: 55.6 (10%)     max: 75.9 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
6.7 Watt (4%)
5 Watt (3%)
min: 4.09     avg: 6.5     median: 6.2 (4%)     max: 11.6 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
7.8 Watt (9%)
5.3 Watt (6%)
min: 3.55     avg: 9.4     median: 6.4 (7%)     max: 30.7 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
27.1 Points per Watt (20%)
29 Points per Watt (22%)
min: 18.7     avg: 25     median: 24.5 (18%)     max: 33.1 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 i7-1255U → 107% 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
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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)