Intel Core i5-7500 vs Intel Core i7-1370P vs Intel Pentium Gold 4415U

Intel Core i5-7500

The Intel Core i5-7500 is a fast mid-range quad-core processor for desktops based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It offers four cores (no HyperThreading and therefore also only 4 threads at once) that run at 3.4 - 3.8 GHz.

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 i5-7500 is comparable to a mobile Core i7-7700HQ. Therefore, the performance is sufficient even for demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1100 MHz. 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 slightly. Intel still specifies the TDP with 65 Watts, which is a lot more than the 45 Watts of the mobile Kaby-Lake-H CPUs but less than e.g. the Core i5-7600K (91 Watt).

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.

Intel Pentium Gold 4415U

The Intel Pentium 4415U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core SoC based on the Kaby-Lake architecture and has been launched in the first quarter of 2017. The CPU can be found in ultrabooks as well as normal notebooks. In addition to two CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at 2.3 GHz (no Turbo Boost), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 610 GPU and a dual-channel DDR4-2133/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The SoC is manufactured using a 14 nm 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

Compared to the more expensive Core i3-7100U, the 4415U offers a similar CPU performance (2.3 versus 2.4 GHz) and less level 3 cache but a slower integrated graphics card. Still, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as somewhat more demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called HD Graphics 610 (similar to the HD Graphics 510) represents the "GT1" version of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). Its 12 Execution Units, also called EUs, are clocked at 300 - 950 MHz and offer a performance somewhat below the older HD Graphics 4400. Only a few games of 2015 can be played smoothly in lowest settings.

Power Consumption

Specified at a TDP of 15 W (including CPU, GPU and memory controller), the CPU is best suited for small notebooks and ultrabooks (11-inches and above). Optionally, the TDP can be lowered to 10 watts (cTDP down), reducing both heat dissipation and performance and allowing even more compact designs.