Intel Core i7-1060NG7 vs Intel Core i5-1030G4

Intel Core i7-1060NG7

The Intel Core i7-1060NG7 is a power efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Ice -Lake-Y generation that was announced in Mai 2019 (Computex). It integrates four Sunnycove processor cores (8 threads thanks to HyperThreading) clocked at 1.2 (base) - 3.8 (single core Turbo) GHz. All four cores can turbo up to 3.4 GHz using Turbo Boost. According to Intel the Sunnycove cores achieve 18% more IPCs (Instructions per Clock).

Compared to the normal Core i7-1060G7, the i7-1060NG7 offers a smaller package size (22 x 16.5 versus 26.5 x 18.5 mm), a higher base clock of 1200 versus 1000 MHz and a 1 Watt higher TDP.

Combined with the two additional cores, the previous Y-series dual core processors (Amber Lake-Y) should be always slower. Short burst performance should be excellent, long workloads will depend on the TDP settings and cooling solution in the laptop / tablet.´

The biggest improvement for Ice-Lake is the integrated Gen 11 graphics card called Iris Plus Graphics. The Core i7-1060NG7 integrates the biggest G7 variant with 64 CUs clocked at 300 - 1100 MHz. The Iris Plus G7 should be twice as fast as the predecessors and best the AMD Vega 10 GPU in current Ryzen APUs. However, in the Y-series the gaming performance will be again depending on the cooling solution and may degrade clearly over time (compared to the Core i7-1065G7 with 15 - 25 Watt e.g.).

Other improvements for Ice Lake are the AI hardware acceleration and the partial integration of Thunderbolt and Wifi 6 in the chip. The integrated DDR4 memory controller supports modules with up to 3200 MHz (and LPDDDR4 3733).

The Core i7-1060NG7 is produced in the new 10nm process at Intel (2nd generation) that should offer a comparable performance to the 7nm process at TSMC. The TDP is specified at 10 Watts and therefore the CPU can be used in thin and light laptops. Intel offers a configurable TDP of up to 12 Watts for the partners resulting in significant performance differences (due to longer periods of Turbo Boost).

Intel Core i5-1030G4

The Intel Core i5-1030G4 is a power efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Ice -Lake-Y generation that was announced in Mai 2019 (Computex). It integrates four Sunnycove processor cores (8 threads thanks to HyperThreading) clocked at 0.7 (base) - 3.5 (single core Turbo) GHz. All four cores can turbo up to 3.2 GHz using Turbo Boost. According to Intel the Sunnycove cores achieve 18% more IPCs (Instructions per Clock).

The biggest improvement for Ice-Lake is the integrated Gen 11 graphics adapter called Iris Plus Graphics. The Core i7-1030G4 integrates the smaller G4 variant with 48 of the 64 CUs clocked at 300 - 1050 MHz. However, in the Y-series the gaming performance will be again depending on the cooling solution and may degrade clearly over time (compared to the Core i5-1035G4 with 15 - 25 Watt e.g.).

Other improvements for Ice Lake are the AI hardware acceleration and the partial integration of Thunderbolt and WiFi 6 in the chip. The integrated DDR4 memory controller supports modules with up to 3200 MHz (and LPDDDR4-3733).

Performance

While we have not tested a single system powered by the 1030G4 as of August 2023, it's safe to expect the chip to be about half as fast as the Core i5-1035G7 (Ice Lake, 4 cores, 8 threads, up to 3.7 GHz), as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. The 1030G4's low TDP target is set to limit the CPU's real-world Boost clock speeds significantly, leading to underwhelming performance and high DPC latencies.

Power consumption

This Core i5 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 9 W, a value that laptop manufacturers are allowed to increase slightly (12 W being the upper limit) resulting in higher clock speeds and higher performance. The CPU is built with Intel's second-gen 10 nm process for OK, as of mid-2022, energy efficiency.