Intel Core i5-7300HQ vs Intel Core i7-1370P

Intel Core i5-7300HQ

The Intel Core i5-7300HQ is a quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. Compared to the faster Core i7 models, the Core i5 does not support Hyper Threading and has lower clocks. The CPU cores run at 2.5 - 3.5 GHz (4 cores up to 3.1, 2 cores up to 3.3 GHz). The processor is also equipped with the HD Graphics 630 GPU as well as a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L-1600/DDR4-2400). It is 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 should be quite similar to the old Core i5-6440HQ (2.6 - 3.5 GHz, Skylake) that offers the same per-MHz performance and only 100 MHz higher core speed. The performance is therefore sufficient even for demanding tasks.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1000 MHz (i7 models up to 1100). The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors, which were 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 still specifies the TDP with 45 Watts, but it can also be reduced to 35 Watts by the notebook manufacturers (cTDP down). This will obviously affect the performance, because the Turbo Boost cannot be maintained for longer periods.

Intel Core i7-1370P

The Intel Core i7-1370P is the flagship Alder Lake-P CPU, which is to say, an expensive 28 W part meant for use in ultra-light (yet actively cooled) laptops. This CPU will probably be announced in early 2023 and it has 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) mated to 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture) according to a leak on Geekbench. The P-cores are Hyper-Threading-enabled for whopping 20 threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock speeds can reach up to 5.2 GHz for the performance cluster (1.9 GHz base speed) and 1.4 GHz to 3.9 GHz for the efficiency cluster. The CPU is quite similar to the older Core i7-1280P but probably offers higher clock speeds.

Full vPro feature set is supported by this Core i7 ("Enterprise" tier, allowing for remote device management).

Architecture

The i7 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 just 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 a Core i7-1280P's CPU cores enjoy access to 24 MB of L3 cache. The integrated memory controller supports up to 64 GB of LPDDR5-5200, DDR5-4800, LPDDR4x-4267 or DDR4-3200 RAM. Just like the other 12th Gen Intel Core processors, Core i7-1280P comes with 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). PCI-Express 5.0 support 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. The CPU still only supports PCIe 4.0 x8 for a GPU and two PCIe 4.0 x4 for SSDs.

Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. It gets soldered permanently on to the motherboard (BGA1744 socket interface).

Performance

Multi-thread performance is most comparable to AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS, Ryzen 9 PRO 6950HS, Intel Core i9-11980HK. Which is impressive but comes with a catch; long-term performance sustainability will be rather poor unless the Power Limits are very high and the cooling solution is a truly capable one.

Graphics

The built-in graphics adapter in the form of the 96 EU Iris Xe running at up to 1.5 GHz has seen no change from what was built into the 11th Gen Tiger Lake-UP3 processors, like a i7-1165G7, which is hardly a downside as this iGPU is loaded with modern features such as AV1 video decoding capability and SUHD 4320p monitor support. 

Power Consumption

The i7's base power consumption (also known as the default TDP value or PL1) is 28 W, with 64 W being its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption (also known as the PL2). The "Minimum Assured" power consumption is fairly high at 20 watts. All in all, an active cooling solution is nearly a must.

Core i7-1370P is built with Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7.