Intel Core i3-1125G4 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 vs Intel Core i7-1185G7

Intel Core i3-1125G4

The Intel Core i3-1125G4 is a 28 W quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks of the Tiger Lake family (UP3) that was introduced in September 2020. It integrates four Willow Cove processor cores (8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading). Each core can clock from 2 GHz (guaranteed base speed @ 28 W) to 3.7 GHz (single-core boost). All cores at once can clock at up to 3.3 GHz. The faster Core i7 models offer more Level 3 cache (12 versus 8 MB in the i5) and higher clocked cores.

Another novelty is the integrated Xe GPU based on the completely new Gen 12 architecture. In the i3-1125G4 Intel names the GPU UHD Graphics and offers only 48 of the 96 EUs clocked at 400 - 1250 MHz. The GPU and CPU can together use the 8 MB of L3 cache.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (four lanes), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6 in the chip.

Performance

While we have not tested a single laptop built around the 1125G4 as of October 2023, we expect the chip's multi-thread performance to be 10% to 20% lower than that of the Core i5-1135G7 (4 cores, 8 threads, somewhat higher clock speeds).

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Power consumption

This Core i3 series chip has a default TDP of 12 W to 28 W, the expectation being that laptop makers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance. Either way, that's a little too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

The i3-1125G4 is manufactured on Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8226

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 is an entry-level ARM-SoC for Android smartphones. It integrates four Cortex-A7 cores at up to 1.2 GHz (Quad-Core) and a Adreno 305 graphics card at 450 MHz. Furthermore, a HSPA+ radio, WLAN (b,g,n) and Bluetooth 4.0 are integrated in the SoC.

Intel Core i7-1185G7

The Intel Core i7-1185G7 is a power-efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Tiger Lake-U generation (UP3) that was introduced September 2020. It integrates four Willow Cove processor cores (8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading). Each core can clock from 1.2 GHz (12 W base clock speed), 3 GHz (28 W base clock speed) to 4.8 GHz (single-core boost). All cores at once can clock at up to 4.3 GHz. At the time of announcement, the i7-1185G7 is the fastest model of the line-up. Since early 2021, the i7-1185G7 supports management features like vPro.

Another novelty is the integrated Iris Xe iGPU based on the completely new Gen 12 architecture. It should offer a significantly higher performance compared to the older Iris Plus G7 (Ice Lake). In the i7-1185G7 it uses 96 EUs and clocks between 400 - 1,350 MHz. The GPU and CPU can together use the 12 MB of L3 cache.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (four lanes), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6 in the chip.

Performance

The average 1185G7 in our database is just as fast as AMD's hexa-core Ryzen 5 4500U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While the i7 is not the fastest Tiger Lake chip by any stretch of imagination, it's more than usable for your productivity and creative apps, with a bit of gaming possible as well.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 55 W, the Stealth 15M A11SEK is among the fastest laptops powered by the 1185G7 that we know of. It can be almost twice as fast in CPU-bound workloads as the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This little Core i7 here has a default TDP of 12 W to 28 W, the expectation being that laptop manufacturers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance. Either way, that's a tad too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

The chip is manufactured on Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.