Intel Core i7-11850H vs Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y vs Intel Core i7-7660U

Intel Core i7-11850H

The Intel Core i7-11800H is a high end octa core SoC for gaming laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and will be announced in mid 2021. It integrates eight Willow Cove processor cores (16 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.4 GHz. The single core boost speed can reach up to 4.6 GHz, all cores can reach up to 4.2 GHz. The CPU offers 24 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory. Compared to the slower clocked i7-11800H, the 11850H offers professional management features like Intel vPro, SIPP or TXT.

Thanks to the new Tiger Lake architecture, the i9-11850H should be similar or faster than the old Intel Core i9-10875H (Comet Lake-H, 2.3 - 5.1 GHz, 16 MB L3) in single and multi threaded performance and similar to the Ryzen 9 5800H (Zen 3, 3.2 - 4.4 GHz, 16 MB L3). Therefore, the i7 is well suited for even very demanding tasks.

The SoC also includes the improved Xe graphics card called UHD graphics with all 32 EUs.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (20 lanes in the H45 series), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6E in the chip.

The chip is produced on the improved 10nm process (called 10nm SuperFin) at Intel, which should be comparable to the 7nm process at TSMC (e.g. Ryzen 4000 series). The default TDP is rated at 45 W at 2.4 GHz base speed, at 35 Watt the base clock speed decreases to 2 GHz (cTDP down).

All articles on Tiger Lake can be found on our Tiger Lake architecture hub.

Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y

The Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y is a low power entry level processor for small laptops or tablets and based on the Kaby Lake architecture. It was announced in Q1 2019 and offers two processor cores clocked at 1.7 GHz (no Turbo Boost). 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. Compared to the much faster Core m3-7Y30, the Pentium 4425 offers no Turbo Boost, different CPU and GPU clock speeds, a smaller L3 cache and a higher TDP of 6 Watt. Compared to the predecessor Pentium Gold 4415Y from 2017, the Pentium Gold 4425Y is clocked 100 MHz higher (the CPU cores).

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

Due to the missing Turbo Boost, the Pentium 4425Y offers a significantly worse single thread performance than the more expensive Core m3-7Y30. This should be noticeable in daily tasks. Compared to older CPUs, the Pentium Gold should match a Core i3-4100U (100 MHz higher clock speed but older architecture).

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 850 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 TDP is rated at 6 Watt and can be reduced to 4,5 Watt (cTDP down).

Intel Core i7-7660U

The Intel Core i7-7660U is a fast dual-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. The CPU has two processor cores clocked at 2.5-4 GHz (two cores up to 3.8 GHz). The processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper Threading. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU with 64 MB eDRAm, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to the Core i7-7600U, the 7660 does have a higher single-core Turbo of 4 GHz (+100 MHz), but a lower dual-core Turbo (-100 MHz) and a lower base frequency (-300 MHz). However, the CPU part can also use the 64 MB eDRAM as L5 cache.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

At 2.5-4 GHz, the Core i7-7660U has a slightly lower frequency (except for the single-core Turbo) compared to the Core i7-7600U, but the CPU part can also use the 64 MB eDRAM, so the performance should be similar.

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 640 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 920MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Pro 540, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors announced in January should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel still specifies the TDP with 15 Watts, which is typical for ULV chips. Depending on the usage scenario, the TDP can vary between 7.5 (cTDP Down) and 25 Watts.