AMD Ryzen Z1 vs Intel Celeron N4505

AMD Ryzen Z1

The AMD Ryzen Z1 is a fast mid-range laptop processor of the Phoenix series. It offers 6 cores (hexa core) based on the Zen 4 architecture that supports SMT (hyperthreading, 12 threads). The cores clock from 3.2 (base) up to 4.9 GHz (single core boost). The processor includes 6 MB L2 cache and 16 MB L3 cache.

Thanks to the new Zen 4 architecture and higher clock speeds, the Ryzen Z1 is clearly faster than the old Ryzen 5 6600U (Zen 3, 6 cores, 4.5 GHz). Compared to the similar Ryzen 5 7540U, the Z1 offers a higher boost clock, lower (optional TDP) and no AI accelerator.

The chip integrates a modern and fasts RDNA 3 graphics card (iGPU) called Radeon 740M with 4 of the 12 CUs and 2.5 GHz clock speed. Furthermore, the Phoenix series include a video engine with AV1 de- and encoding and a dual-channel DDR5-5600 / LPDDR5x-7500 memory controller (with ECC support). The connectivity features includes 2 possible USB 4 (40 Gbps) ports and 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes for a GPU and SSDs.

The Phoenix series uses a single monolithic design (unlike the chiplet design of the 7045HX series) and is manufactured in the modern 4nm process at TSMC. The TDP can be configured between 35 and 45 Watt.

Intel Celeron N4505

The Intel Celeron N4505 is a dual-core SoC of the Jasper Lake series that is primarily intended for inexpensive and small desktops and was announced in early 2021. The two Tremont CPU cores clock between 2 and 2.9 GHz (single core Burst) and offer no HyperThreading (SMT). The N4505 uses 1.5 MB L2 and 4 MB L3 cache. The chip is built with Intel's first-gen 10 nm process, just like Ice Lake family processors.

CPU Architecture

The processor architecture is called Tremont and a complete redesign compared to the old Golmont Plus cores in the predecessor. According to Intel, the single thread performance of a core could be improved by 30% on average (10 - 80% in all tests of SPECint and SPECfp).

Features

In addition to the dual-core CPU block, the SoC integrates a 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics GPU clocked from 450 - 750 MHz and a LPDDR4(x) dual channel memory controller (up to 16 GB and 2933 MHz). The chip now also partly integrates Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 8 PCIe 3.0 lanes, 14 USB 2.0/ 3.2 ports and two SATA 6.0 ports. The package got bigger and measures 35 x 24 mm (compared to 25 x 24 mm for the N5030 e.g.). The SoC is directly soldered to the mainboard (BGA) and can't be easily replaced.

Performance

The average N4505 in our database is just as fast as AMD's dual-core Athlon Silver 3050e and Intel's previous-gen Celeron N4100, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. In other words, the Celeron is good for basic day-to-day activities but not much more than that, as of mid 2022.

Power consumption

This Celeron series SoC has a default TDP, also known as the long-term Power Limit, of 10 W, which is low enough to allow for passively cooled designs.

The N4505 is manufactured on the first-gen or the second-gen (no exact data available) 10 nm Intel process making for average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.