Intel Core i7-1360P vs Intel Core i5-7260U vs Intel Core i3-7100U

Intel Core i7-1360P

The Intel Core i7-1360P is a higher-end Raptor Lake-P (Alder Lake-P refresh) family CPU, an expensive 28 W part meant for use in ultra-light, ultra-thin (yet actively cooled) laptops. This CPU was announced in early 2023 and it has 4 of the 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores are Hyper-Threading-enabled for a total of 16 threads when combined with the E-cores. The P-cores clock from 2.2 GHz (base) to 5 GHz (single core boost) and the E-Cores from 1.6 to 3.7 GHz.

Performance

The average 1360P in our extensive database is in the same league as the Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Which is a pretty good result, as of mid 2023.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 40 W, the NUC 13 Pro Kit NUC13ANK is among the fastest systems built around the 1360P that we know of. It can be more than two times as fast in CPU-bound workloads as the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

The CPU still only supports PCIe 4.0 x8 for a GPU and two PCIe 4.0 x4 for SSDs.

The i7-1360P is rated at 28 Watt tDP (PL1, 64 Watt PL2 for short bursts). The CPU is manufactured in the further improved Intel 7 process (10nm SuperFin).

Intel Core i5-7260U

The Intel Core i5-7260U is a fast dual-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. The CPU has two processor cores clocked at 2.2-3.4 GHz (two cores also up to 3.4 GHz). The processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper Threading. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU with 64 MB eDRAM, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to the Core i7-7360U, the i5-7260 does have lower CPU (-200 MHz Turbo, -100 MHz Base) and GPU (-50 MHz) clocks.

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

At 2.2-3.4 GHz, the Core i5-7260U has much lower clocks compared to the old Core i5-6267U (2.9-3.3 GHz), but has slightly higher Turbo clocks. Similar to the 6267U, the i6-7260U can also use the 64 MB eDRAM, which should increase the performance in some scenarios.

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 640 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-950 MHz (i7 models up to 1050 MHz) and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 920MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Pro 540, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors 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 15 Watts, which is typical for ULV chips. Depending on the usage scenario, the TDP can vary between 7.5 (cTDP Down) and 25 Watts.

Intel Core i3-7100U

The Intel Core i3-7100U is a dual-core processor of the Kaby Lake architecture. It offers two CPU cores clocked at 2.4 GHz (without Turbo Boost) and integrates HyperThreading to work with up to 4 threads at once. The architectural differences are rather small compared to the Skylake generation, therefore the performance per MHz should be very similar. The SoC includes a dual channel DDR4 memory controller and Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card (clocked at 300 - 1000 MHz). It is manufactured in an improved 14nm FinFET process at Intel. Compare to the old Skylake Core i3-6100U, the i3-7100U offers a 100 MHz improved clock speed.

 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.