Intel Core m3-7Y30 vs Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y vs Intel Core i7-7700HQ

Intel Core m3-7Y30

The Intel Core m3-7Y30 is a very efficient dual-core SoC for tablets and passively cooled notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in the end of August 2016. The CPU consists of two processor cores clocked at 1.0-2.6 GHz (2-core Turbo not specified yet). Thanks to Hyper Threading, the processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously. The chips also includes the Intel HD Graphics 615 GPU, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L/LPDDR3) as well as VP9 and H.265 video de- and encoder. It is still produced in a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors. 

Architecture

Intel basically used the familiar micro architecture from the Skylake generation, so the per-MHz performance is identical. Only the Speed-Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of the voltages and clocks was improved, and the matured 14 nm process now also enables much higher frequencies and better efficiency than before. 

Performance

Since Intel basically removed the Core m5 and Core m7 series or included them into the higher i5 and i7 series, respectively, the m3-7Y30 is officially the last Core-m chip. Thanks to its high Turbo clock, the 7Y30 can sometimes keep up with the 15 Watt models for short peak load and single-thread scenarios, but the clocks will drop significantly under sustained workloads. The CPU is still suitable for many more demanding applications as well as multitasking. Thanks to the improved efficiency, the CPU can often even beat the Core m5 and m7 siblings from the previous Skylake generation.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 615 GPU has 24 Execution Units (EUs) like the old HD Graphics 515 and runs with clocks between 300 and 900 MHz in combination with this processor. The performance heavily depends on the TDP limit as well as the memory configuration; with fast LPDDR3-1866 RAM in dual-channel mode, the GPU should sometimes be able to compete with the HD Graphics 520, but can also be much slower in other scenarios. Modern games from 2016 will, if at all, only run smoothly in the lowest settings.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now also supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14 nm process with FinFET transistors, so the power efficiency was once again improved significantly. The typical TDP for the Y-series is specified at 4.5 Watts, and can be adjusted in both directions depending on the usage scenario.

Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y

The Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y is an energy-efficient, dual-core SoC designed for use in Windows tablets and passively cooled laptops. The Pentium is based on the old Amber Lake architecture that was initially introduced in 2018. The CPU was unveiled in Q1 2021; it is, in fact, not very different from Intel Core m3-8100Y, the only difference between the two being the slightly slower iGPU model (23 EU UHD Graphics 615 vs 24 EU UHD Graphics 615).

The two CPU cores run at 1.1 GHz to 3.4 GHz and are Hyper-Threading-enabled for 4 processing threads in total.

Architecture

Amber Lake family products are not known to have many improvements compared to the previous Kaby Lake and Skylake processors. They all share nearly the same per-MHz performance and nearly the same set of capabilities. Amber Lake processors do, however, have slightly higher clock speeds in comparison to their immediate predecessors.

Pentium 6500Y has a built-in dual-channel DDR3L-1600/LPDDR3-1866 memory controller as well as several PCI-Express 3.0 lanes for connecting graphics cards, SSDs and other devices. Four PCI-Express 3.0 lanes allow for read/write rates of up to 3.9 GB/s, provided a suitably fast NVMe SSD is used.

Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. It is supposed to get soldered permanently on to the motherboard (BGA1515 socket interface).

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 6500Y as of August 2023, we have tested at least one laptop featuring the Core i3-10100Y, a chip that's just a little faster (Amber Lake, 2 cores, 4 threads, up to 3.9 GHz). Based on that, we expect the 6500Y to trail behind the AMD 3020e and the AMD 3050e just slightly. In other words, this is a very slow chip, as of mid 2023.

Graphics

The Intel UHD Graphics 615 normally has 24 Execution Units at its disposal but, for reason unbeknownst to us, just 23 EUs are active in the case of this Pentium. The graphics adapter is not much different from the HD Graphics 615 as found in 7th Gen Y-class Intel Core processors. As such, it has no support for SUHD 4320p monitors, nor can it HW-decode AV1, the latest video codec. Just the more usual VP9, AVC and HEVC are supported.

The UHD Graphics runs at 300 MHz to 900 MHz. This is not a GPU that a gamer would be happy with; very poor 3D performance is to be expected because of the thermal constraints (both Core m3-8100Y and Pentium 6500Y were created with thin tablets and ultra-thin laptops in mind) as well as the rather low TDP of the SoC. Most games will not be playable even if set to Lowest quality preset at 720p resolution. The least graphically intensive titles, like Farming Simulator 19, will pose no problem for the iGPU, though.

Power consumption

The chip is manufactured on one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for fairly unimpressive, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

The Pentium 6500Y has a default TDP of 5 W (also known as the long-term power limit), half a watt higher than its immediate predecessors; despite the difference, a value this low makes the Pentium more than suitable for use in ultra-thin, passively cooled laptops, tablets, mini-PCs. The default TDP can be reduced slightly (with 3.5 W being the lowest Intel-recommended value) or increased (up to 7 W are possible) by laptop makers if needed, with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly as a result.

Intel Core i7-7700HQ

The Intel Core i7-7700HQ is a fast quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake H architecture (7th generation Core), which was announced in January 2017 at CES. It is the successor to the Core i7-6700HQ from the Skylake generation and is manufactured in an improved 14 nm+ process, so the clocks are 200 MHz higher at the same TDP. The architecture was not changed, only the video engine got an update (see our Kaby Lake article).

The integrated graphics card is called Intel HD Graphics 630, but the architecture does not differ from the 530 GPU from the Skylake generation and only the clocks are slightly higher. 

Performance

Thanks to the 200 MHz higher clocks (5.5-7.6% depending on the Boost), the CPU performance is increased and roughly on par with the Core i7-6970HQ (2.8-3.7 GHz but with 128 MB eDRAM). The TDP can also be reduced to 35 Watts (cTDP down), but this will reduce the performance.

Power Consumption

Due to its 45-Watt TDP, the CPU will be used in bigger notebooks with at least 15 inches most of the time.