News Intel E-Core-Only N100 Gaming Benchmarks Emerge

[Admin]

Intel's rather new N100 Alder Lake-N SoC was tested in a series of gaming benchmarks and found to offer surprisingly good performance per watt — even if the performance isn't anything spectacular.

Intel E-Core-Only N100 Gaming Benchmarks Emerge : Read more

 

[tamalero]

I'd love to get a more general benchmark. Gaming obviously isnt the goal!

For example, those could work great as home server/router or NAS.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'm sure if paired with a reasonably decent GPU, it would've performed better.

 

[usertests]

ETA Prime:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPGeXF-yKqw

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_sBF2d9tI

(both videos contain incorrect dual-channel hopium)

I'm sure if paired with a reasonably decent GPU, it would've performed better.

Alder Lake - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

N97 is clocked faster, for whatever reason, while the N200, i3-N300, and i3-N305 have the full 32 execution units instead of 24 EUs in N100.

I think the real problem is that all of Alder Lake-N is limited to single-channel memory, so even though LPDDR5/DDR5 can be used, the benefits over Jasper Lake are muted or non-existent. It would be even worse for any models using DDR4-3200 or slower.

If we see similar lineups with Crestmont and future E-cores, I hope they will get better treatment and be cheaper (8-core N300/N305 prices are stupid high last time I checked, even though this is supposed to be a cheap, small die).

These SoCs have direct competition in the form of AMD's Mendocino. Too bad those aren't going into SBCs.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Pentium-Silver-N6005-Processor-Benchmarks-and-Specs.514831.0.html

 

[bit_user]

First, let's be clear about something: these have been shipping for several months, at least. This isn't one of those articles reporting on leaked benchmarks of a pre-launch product. Toms could've reviewed one, but the mini-PC market has been traditionally under-served by the reviews here.

Second, the SoC has a total of 9 PCIe 3.0 lanes. So, it'd really interesting if there were a N100 board with an open-ended x4 slot. The cores in these things are Skylake-tier, which means they should be a viable option for 1080p gaming, when paired with a dGPU like RX 6400 or A380. There are even 8-core versions, in the N300 and N305.

Finally...

a 6W TDP that is non-configurable

I don't believe it. I measured a "10 W" Gimini Lake R using up to 34 W, at the wall. All that was plugged into it was Ethernet, HDMI, a bootable USB stick, and 2x DDR4 DIMMs. So, most of that was getting burned by the SoC, itself.

While not being officially advertised as configurable, these are primarily laptop SoCs and you bet Intel provided some way for device makers to constrain them for thermal and power reasons.


Thanks for reporting on this, but please do try to get one or more of these in-house, for some proper testing. It would be even better if you could find one on a mini-ITX board with an x4 slot to test with a dGPU.

 

[bit_user]

I think the real problem is that all of Alder Lake-N is limited to single-channel memory, so even though LPDDR5/DDR5 can be used, the benefits over Jasper Lake are muted or non-existent. It would be even worse for any models using DDR4-3200 or slower.

Yes. Jasper Lake maxed out at 2x DDR4-2400, while Alder Lake-N supports either 1x DDR4-3200 or 1x DDR5-4800. That makes the DDR4 configuration just 2/3rds as fast as Jasper Lake's top config, while the DDR5 option merely achieves parity.

Meanwhile, not only are the cores and GPU faster, but also you can now get 8 CPU cores. When using the iGPU, I'm sure Alder Lake N can get very bandwidth-starved.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Pentium-Silver-N6005-Processor-Benchmarks-and-Specs.514831.0.html

Not sure what your point was by adding this. The N6005 is Jasper Lake (previous gen, using Tremont cores), while these are Alder Lake-N (with Gracemont cores).

 

[HideOut]

How is this a new article? I mean EVERY youtuber has reviewed this. Projecttinyminimicro anyone? THG needs to get some help...

 

[usertests]

Not sure what your point was by adding this. The N6005 is Jasper Lake (previous gen, using Tremont cores), while these are Alder Lake-N (with Gracemont cores).

Proof to the audience that it has 2 memory channels. It also has a fact that you missed, namely that Jasper Lake supports DDR4/LPDDR4X-2933, not merely DDR4-2400. Further confirmation here:

Intel Launches Jasper Lake: Tremont Atom Cores For All

www.anandtech.com

All the CPUs support dual channel DDR4-2933, as well as LPDDR4X-2933, which is an odd combination as usually the LPDDR4X transfer rate is higher, such as LPDDR4X-3600.

 

[bit_user]

It also has a fact that you missed, namely that Jasper Lake supports DDR4/LPDDR4X-2933, not merely DDR4-2400.

Sorry, it seems I got it mixed up with Gemini Lake-R.

Intel® Pentium® Silver J5040 Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Pentium® Silver J5040 Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

 

[Giroro]

I guess I must not have any of the world records for this CPU any more.. I didn't did anything impressive, I was simply the only person to bother running any recorded benchmarks for months.
These things have been easily available and cheap as dirt for like over half a year. Now mine lives in a chicken coop so I can watch chickens.

Wish I knew how to sell my YouTube channel so more than like 4 people could have heard about it.
But sure, these are the people who get coverage, this late.
YouTube is truly a terrible net-loss to society. I should probably just give up and delete my channels. 5+ figures and two years of investment can't even get a channel monetized. What a waste of life.

 

[Giroro]

Proof to the audience that it has 2 memory channels. It also has a fact that you missed, namely that Jasper Lake supports DDR4/LPDDR4X-2933, not merely DDR4-2400. Further confirmation here:

Intel Launches Jasper Lake: Tremont Atom Cores For All

www.anandtech.com

I have a N100. It absolutely does not support dual channel memory.

 

[bit_user]

I have a N100. It absolutely does not support dual channel memory.

Yes, we're all in agreement. @usertests meant that Jasper Lake (e.g. the N6005) supported dual-channel. It's the prior generation, based on Tremont cores and made on the Intel 10 node. Also, I think it has a Gen11 iGPU, rather than Xe.

 

[bit_user]

Wish I knew how to sell my YouTube channel so more than like 4 people could have heard about it.
But sure, these are the people who get coverage, this late.
YouTube is truly a terrible net-loss to society. I should probably just give up and delete my channels. 5+ figures and two years of investment can't even get a channel monetized.

Why not at least put a link in your signature?

Also, I don't see anything really wrong with linking to specific videos, in the relevant contexts.

Before Twitter added cross-site linking restrictions, did you try tweeting links to your videos?

It feels to me like making compelling content only gets you half-way there. The other half is promoting yourself and building your followers. Not that I have any experience with any of this.

 

[thestryker]

The atom versions for communications are dual channel DDR5 5200 only which is really interesting, but those don't have graphics. The others are pretty much identical to the client versions. Even with the low bandwidth the N100 ought to make for a very interesting CPU for micro HTPC type devices.

 

[usertests]

I have a N100. It absolutely does not support dual channel memory.

Yes. To clarify:

Jasper Lake (Tremont) supports dual-channel DDR4-2933 and LPDDR4X-2933. Example: Intel Pentium Silver N6005.

Alder Lake-N (Gracemont), which is the direct successor to Jasper Lake, supports single-channel DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800, and LPDDR5-4800. Example: Intel Processor N100.

So as far as I can tell, it's a regression in maximum memory capabilities any way you slice it, despite allowing faster DDR5/LPDDR5 to be used. And that could affect the graphics performance and other areas.

The atom versions for communications are dual channel DDR5 5200 only which is really interesting, but those don't have graphics. The others are pretty much identical to the client versions. Even with the low bandwidth the N100 ought to make for a very interesting CPU for micro HTPC type devices.

The x7425e, x7213e, and x7211e only support 1 memory channel according to Intel.

If you're talking about "Grand Ridge", a sequel to the 24 E-core Tremont-based "Snow Ridge", that seems to have been delayed for years:

More Details About Intel's Grand Ridge and Sierra Forest CPUs Emerge

Another Atom-class edge/datacenter SoC emerge.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[Bikki]

Portable console will love these 6w quad e-cores and integrated graphics. AMD can take notes for their next chip.

 

[usertests]

Portable console will love these 6w quad e-cores and integrated graphics. AMD can take notes for their next chip.

I'd like to see the N100 tested against AMD's dual-core (e.g. Athlon Gold 7220U) and quad-core (e.g. Ryzen 3 7320C) Mendocino chips to see which one is the best for a "portable console".

 

[thestryker]

The x7425e, x7213e, and x7211e only support 1 memory channel according to Intel.

If you're talking about "Grand Ridge", a sequel to the 24 E-core Tremont-based "Snow Ridge", that seems to have been delayed for years:

More Details About Intel's Grand Ridge and Sierra Forest CPUs Emerge

Another Atom-class edge/datacenter SoC emerge.

www.tomshardware.com

Nope I'm talking about the C1100, C1110 and C1130 which aren't properly listed on Ark yet.

 

[cfbcfb]

I'd love to get a more general benchmark. Gaming obviously isnt the goal!

For example, those could work great as home server/router or NAS.

I've seen more benchmarks. Looks to have roughly the same performance as an 8th gen i5 quad core.

tl;dr: Pretty good performance for a low wattage part considering that i5 is a 65w part.

I'm interested in seeing how a 2 performance core, 16 efficiency core works out in general workloads.

 

[bit_user]

Even with the low bandwidth the N100 ought to make for a very interesting CPU for micro HTPC type devices.

It only has low bandwidth in a relative sense. It ought to perform similar to a Skylake i5-6500, I think. That supported DDR4-2133. So, the N100 (just going by official support, here) would have 75% as much bandwidth on DDR4, or 112.5% as much on DDR5.

As for HTPC usage, you get a Xe-LP iGPU which is quite capable for video playback and can even handle some very casual gaming. What I like most about it is that it's virtually the same iGPU as Intel launched in Tiger Lake, 2.5 years ago. So, the drivers for it should be very mature. Not a science project, like some of these ARM-based SoCs.

 

[bit_user]

Portable console will love these 6w quad e-cores and integrated graphics. AMD can take notes for their next chip.

It's not 6W in practice. Also, its GPU is weaker than the Steam Deck's, for instance.

 

[bit_user]

Nope I'm talking about the C1100, C1110 and C1130 which aren't properly listed on Ark yet.

Not all models show up in their menus. Some need to be searched for. Those tend to be customer-specific or otherwise specially-targeted models.

 

[thestryker]

It only has low bandwidth in a relative sense. It ought to perform similar to a Skylake i5-6500, I think. That supported DDR4-2133. So, the N100 (just going by official support, here) would have 75% as much bandwidth on DDR4, or 112.5% as much on DDR5.

As for HTPC usage, you get a Xe-LP iGPU which is quite capable for video playback and can even handle some very casual gaming. What I like most about it is that it's virtually the same iGPU as Intel launched in Tiger Lake, 2.5 years ago. So, the drivers for it should be very mature. Not a science project, like some of these ARM-based SoCs.

I meant low bandwidth in the IGP sense as the Xe-LP is much better than anything put in these type of low power chips previously.

After I got my router box from china I'd thought about getting one of the small handheld machines for connecting to a television. The new IGP would be perfect for that so it's a lot more tempting proposition now.

 

[TerryLaze]

It's not 6W in practice. Also, its GPU is weaker than the Steam Deck's, for instance.

It's 6w TDP , we have had this discussion for years...you need to cool it for 6w to keep it running and not shut down on you.
It's the same with AMD and their TDP vs PPT numbers...
Do we know if the W rating of the steam deck CPU is TDP or PPT?!?!?!
Because PPT can be 30% higher.

 

[bit_user]

It's 6w TDP , we have had this discussion for years...you need to cool it for 6w to keep it running and not shut down on you.

My point is that it's almost certainly using more than 6 W. We just don't know much.

This claims the default PL2 of the N200 (another PL1=6W SoC) is 25W:

Intel introduces Alder Lake N-series chips for laptops priced below $400 - Liliputing

Intel introduces Alder Lake N-series chips for laptops priced below $400

liliputing.com

Of course, these can be customized by the OEM, so whoever is doing the benchmarks should run a utility that can check. Or, better yet, just collect data on the package power during their tests.