Intel Core i3-N300 vs Intel Core i5-1035G1 vs Intel Processor N50

Intel Core i3-N300

The Intel Core i3-N305 is an entry-level mobile CPU for thin and light laptops from the Alder Lake-N series. It was announced in early 2023 and offers no performance cores and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The chip does not support HyperThreading and clocks with up to 3.8 GHz (single core, 3 GHz all core Turbo). The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 6 MB L3-cache. 

Performance

The performance depends on the cooling and TDP settings and should be somewhere similar to the old  Alder Lake Pentium 8500 (1 performance core, 4 efficiency cores, max. 4.4 GHz and 8 MB L3-cache). The multi-threaded performance should be quite good with the 8 cores but will suffer due to the low TDP. Single thread performance will suffer due to the missing P-cores and relatively low boost clock speeds.

Features

The Alder Lake-N chips only support single channel memory with up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 or LPDDR5-4800. The chip also supports Quick Sync and AV1 decoding (most likely same engine as in Alder Lake). Furthermore, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are partly integrated (but no Thunderbolt). External chips can be connected via PCIe Gen3 x9 (via the PCH).

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offersall 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.25 GHz. In addition to the single channel memory, the gaming performance is very limited of the iGPU.

Power consumption

The i3 has a base power consumption of 7 W and is therefore even suited for fanless cooling. The CPU is built with a further improved 10nm SuperFin process at Intel (called Intel 7).

Intel Core i5-1035G1

The Intel Core i5-1035G1 is a low-power, Ice Lake family processor (SoC) featuring 4 cores, 8 threads, 6 MB of L3 cache and the UHD G1 (32 EUs) iGPU. It saw the light of day in H2 2019. The chip is designed for use in highly portable laptops; its CPU cores run at 1.0 GHz to 3.6 GHz, with only 3.2 GHz achievable if all the cores are loaded.

Unlike the costlier Core i5-1035G4, the 1035G1 has the 32 EU UHD Graphics G1 iGPU at its disposal as opposed to the more powerful 48 EU Iris Plus G4; CPU cores run at a slightly lower clock rate in the case of the 1035G1, too.

Architecture & Features

Ice Lake family chips are powered by Sunny Cove CPU cores.The latter aim to do what Palm Cove cores (that we never really got a chance to get a taste of) were expected to do, delivering a double-digit IPC uplift over the venerable Skylake architecture thanks to a range of small improvements across the board including scheduler improvements, larger caches and buffers, and support for new instruction sets.

Thunderbolt 3 support is built right into the Core i5 (meaning the latter has several PCIe 3 lanes exclusive to Thunderbolt devices, reducing the number of additional components required for Thunderbolt to work) and so is Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 6 support (making it easier for Intel to sell its proprietary WLAN cards to laptop makers). The Core i5-1035G1 also has the DL Boost and GNA features for applications centered around machine learning.

The 4 GT/s bus is indicative of a consumer-grade chip, since CPUs for gaming laptops and portable workstations usually employ the faster 8 GT/s bus. RAM support is nothing to sneeze at, at up to DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4-3733. NVMe SSDs are supported, with data transfer rates limited to 3.9 GB/s (this is what four PCIe 3 lanes are good for). SATA drives and even eMMC chips are also natively supported here.

This is not a user-replaceable CPU, as it gets permanently soldered to the motherboard (BGA1526 socket interface).

OS support is limited to 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11, as well as many Linux distros.

Performance

The Core i5-1035G1 is a lower mid-range CPU, as of mid 2022. It is good for more than just the basics while being no match for true high-performers such as the mighty Core i7-10850H.

According to our in-house testing, the Core i5 delivers multi-thread performance that is similar to what the Core i7-10610U, the Core i7-1160G7 and the Ryzen 5 PRO 3500U have to offer. Your mileage may vary depending on how competent the cooling solution of your system is and how high the CPU power limits are.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15IIL05 is among the fastest laptops featuring the 1035G1 that we have tested.

Graphics

The UHD Graphics G1 is based on Intel's Gen 11 architecture. The UHD Graphics runs at up to 1,050 MHz and has 32 EUs for fairly unimpressive performance; the Iris Plus G4 has 48 EUs while the Iris Plus G7 has 64 EUs, for reference. This iGPU will drive up to 3 monitors simultaneously and is DX12-compatible. The resolution options are capped at 5120 by 3200. There is no hardware AV1 codec support here, meaning such a video will be SW-decoded with rather low energy efficiency. The usual HEVC, AVC and VP9 codecs are supported, thankfully.

The UHD Graphics is significantly faster than the UHD Graphics 620, yet it's still not as good as a proper discrete graphics card would be. It will let one play certain games, F1 2020 included, provided one is content with the 720p resolution and low quality settings.

Power consumption

The Core i5-1035G1 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term Power Limit) of 15 W. Laptop makers are free to increase that value somewhat, with 25 W being the upper limit, or reduce it (values as low as 13 W are possible). Clock speeds and performance will change accordingly as a result. Either way, an active cooling solution will be required to dissipate the heat.

The chip is manufactured on Intel's second-generation 10 nm process (not "10 nm SuperFin" or "Intel 7") for average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

Intel Processor N50

The Intel Processor N50 is an entry-level mobile CPU for thin and light laptops from the Alder Lake-N series. It was announced in early 2023 and offers no performance cores and 2 of the 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The chip does not support HyperThreading and clocks with up to 3.4 GHz. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 6 MB L3-cache. 

Performance

The performance is clearly lower than the Processor N100 (4 cores, 3.4 GHz) due to the reduced core count. The single thread performance however, should be similar. Compared to older processors, the N50 should be comparable to dual core Skylake based CPUs like the Intel Core m3-8100Y (2x 3.4 GHz, 5W).Features

The Alder Lake-N chips only support single channel memory with up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 or LPDDR5-4800. The chip also supports Quick Sync and AV1 decoding (most likely same engine as in Alder Lake). Furthermore, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are partly integrated (but no Thunderbolt). External chips can be connected via PCIe Gen3 x9 (via the PCH).

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers only 16 of the 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at only up to 750 MHz. Due to the single channel memory, low clock speeds, and low shader count, the gaming performance of the iGPU is very limited.

Power consumption

The N50 has a base power consumption of only 6 W and is therefore suited for fanless cooling. The CPU is built with a further improved 10nm SuperFin process at Intel (called Intel 7).