Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 vs Intel Core i5-10210Y vs Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2
► remove from comparison![Qualcomm SD 7c Gen 2](fileadmin/_processed_/a/5/csm_Qualcomm_Snapdragon_7c_Gen_2_Compute_Platform_2abd50ca39.jpg)
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Compute Platform (or SD7c Gen2) is a ARM based SoC for Windows laptops. It integrates two fast Kryo 495 Gold cores (based on the ARM Cortex-A76 architecture) at up to 2.55 GHz and six small Kryo 495 Silver cores (ARM Cortex-A55) for power efficiency. Compared to the previous generation, the clock speeds were slightly increased.
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 can offer up to 60% better productivity performance per watt in Windows 10 compared to Gemini Lake Refresh chips such as the Intel Celeron N4020 and, to a good extent, the Pentium Silver N5030.
The integrated X15 LTE modem supports Cat.12 download (600 MBit/s) and Cat.13 upload speeds (150 MBit/s). Furthermore, Wifi-5 and Bluetooth 5.0 are integrated in the SoC. In addition to the Adreno 618 graphic card, the SoC also integrates a Hexagon 692 NPU.
The chip is produced in 8nm (compared to the more modern 7LPP process of the 8cx) and intended for the use in thin and light laptops without a fan.
Intel Core i5-10210Y
► remove from comparison![Intel i5-10210Y](fileadmin/_processed_/5/7/csm_Intel_10th_Gen_Core_i5_badge_8755998727.jpg)
The Intel Core i5-10210Y is a extremely power efficient quad-core SoC for small laptops and tablets based on the Comet Lake (CML-Y) generation and was announced in August 2019. Compared to the similar Amber Lake processors (e.g. Core i7-8500Y), the only difference are two additional cores in the top models (except i3-10110Y). The processor cores are clocked between 1 and 4 GHz (all 4 cores 2.7 GHz max). Thanks to HyperThreading 8 threads can be used. Compared to the faster i7-10510Y, the level 3 cache is reduced to 6 MB and the clock rates are lower. The similar Core i5-10310Y offers 100 MHz higher clock speed, but the minimal configurable TDP is 1 W higher.
More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.
Performance
While we have not tested a single system built around the 10210Y as of August 2023, it's realistic to expect the chip to be about half as fast as the Core i5-10210U (Comet Lake, 4 cores, 8 threads, up to 4.2 GHz) in multi-thread workloads. Those 4 cores of the 10210Y are slated to be very much constrained by the low TDP target leading to high DPC latencies no matter the day of the week and generally unresponsive system behaviour.
The integrated graphics adapter is still the same as in the previous generations. It should be still called Intel UHD Graphics 615 and clock from 300 - 1050 MHz in the i5. Furthermore, the SoC integrates a VP9 and H.265 de- and encoder.
The chip is now produced in the 14nm++ process (Amber Lake Y was 14nm+) but not 10nm like Ice Lake Y. The TDP is specified at 7 Watts but can be varied from 4.5 to 9 Watt from the manufacturer (cTDP up/down) resulting in different performance (especially Turbo durations). Set to 4.5 W TDP passive cooling should be possible.
Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y
► remove from comparison![Intel Pentium 6500Y](fileadmin/_processed_/9/1/csm_pentium_gold_066c35a3b4.jpg)
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.
Model | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 | Intel Core i5-10210Y | Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Qualcomm Snapdragon | Intel Amber Lake | Intel Amber Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Cortex-A76 / A55 (Kryo 468) | Amber Lake-Y | Amber Lake-Y | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Amber Lake Amber Lake-Y |
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Clock | 2550 MHz | 1000 - 4000 MHz | 1100 - 3400 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 2 x 2.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 6 x 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A55 | 4 / 8 | 2 / 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 7 Watt | 7 Watt | 5 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 8 nm | 14 nm | 14 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | X15 LTE Modem, Adreno 618 GPU | DDR3L-1600/LPDDR3-2133 RAM, PCIe 3, 4 GT/s bus, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Hyper-Threading, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SGX | DDR3L-1600/LPDDR3-1866 RAM, PCIe 3, 4 GT/s bus, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Hyper-Threading, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SGX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Qualcomm Adreno 618 | Intel UHD Graphics 615 (300 - 1050 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 615 (300 - 900 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | ARM | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | www.qualcomm.com | ark.intel.com | ark.intel.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 128 KB | 128 KB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 512 KB | 512 KB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 6 MB | 4 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 100 °C | 100 °C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | BGA1377 |