Intel’s focus at CES this year was on gaming laptop chips, although it did show off the SKUs of its new 12th-generation P- and U-series CPUs, which will be found in new ultrabooks, convertibles, foldables, and more. To be clear, things in the world of Intel mobile chips are changing.
“We’re now expanding our 12th Gen Intel Core processor family to bring a big leap forward in performance for thin-and-light laptops,” said Chris Walker, Intel’s corporate vice president and general manager of Mobility Client Platforms. “We’re providing consumers and companies with leadership performance and cutting-edge technology, from ultra-thin form factors to enthusiast-grade performance in a stylish design.”
The new 28W P-series is now available.
Intel has had two major options for laptops for many years. The H-series included powerful devices such as gaming laptops and mobile workstations, while the U-series included ultrabooks and convertibles. There was also a Y-series for fanless devices for a while, but it was absorbed into the U-series.
Up until the seventh generation, U-series CPUs were dual-core, whereas H-series processors were quad-core. U-series CPUs were quad-core from ninth through eleventh generations, whereas H-series chips had even more cores. However, Intel adapts when competitors force it to, with AMD releasing Ryzen CPUs with high core counts and Qualcomm having better power management with its large chips. A SMALL amount of architecture.
The P-series is being introduced with Intel 12th generation, and the reason it’s so noteworthy is that it’ll be replacing the U-series in a number of products. While many luxury laptops have been U-series, P-series processors will be included in devices such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 series, HP Elite Dragonfly, and Dell XPS 13 Plus. In other words, the U-series will cater to both the mainstream and the luxury markets, whereas earlier it served both. Of course, this depends on the device, as U9 processors will still be used in ultra-thin gadgets.
| Processor Number | Processor Cores | Processor Threads | Performance Cores | Efficient Cores | L3 Cache | Max Turbo Frequency (P-cores) | Max Turbo Frequency (E-cores) | Base Frequency (P-cores) | Base Frequency (E-cores) | Processor Graphics | Max Graphics Frequency | Processor Base Power | Max Turbo Power | Intel vPro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i7-1280P | 14C | 20T | 6P | 8E | 24MB | 4.8GHz | 3.6GHz | 1.8GHz | 1.3GHz | 96EU | 1.45GHz | 28W | 64W | Enterprise |
| Core i7-1270P | 12C | 16T | 4P | 8E | 18MB | 4.8GHz | 3.5GHz | 2.2GHz | 1.6GHz | 96EU | 1.4GHz | 28W | 64W | Enterprise |
| Core i7-1260P | 12C | 16T | 4P | 8E | 18MB | 4.7GHz | 3.4GHz | 2.1GHz | 1.5GHz | 96EU | 1.4GHz | 28W | 64W | Essentials |
| Core i5-1250P | 12C | 16T | 4P | 8E | 12MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1.7GHz | 1.2GHz | 80EU | 1.4GHz | 28W | 64W | Enterprise |
| Core i5-1240P | 12C | 16T | 4P | 8E | 12MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1.7GHz | 1.2GHz | 80EU | 1.3GHz | 28W | 64W | Essentials |
| Core i3-1220P | 10C | 12T | 2P | 8E | 12MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1.5GHz | 1.1GHz | 64EU | 1.1GHz | 28W | 64W |
These new P-series chips, as you can see, not only have a 28W TDP, but also up to 14 cores and 20 threads. There are six P-cores (performance cores) in the top-end model, the Core i7-1280P, and eight E-cores in all SKUs (efficiency cores). Hyperthreading is only available on the P-cores.
As you can see, these still have Iris Xe graphics with a maximum of 96 EUs, despite the fact that this is slated to increase with the next generation. You may connect up to four 4K displays, and laptops with DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, or LPDDR4x-4267 memory capabilities are available. Because supply concerns make DDR5 and LPDDR5 memory pricey, you’ll still encounter a lot of machines with older memory. Read also; Why KYC Compliance Is Crucial For Fintech
The U-series is what you’ll find in new PCs with foldable displays
Despite the fact that the P-series is the star of the show, the U-series still has a significant role to play. There are two tiers once again, albeit they are no longer referred to as UP3 and UP4. They’re simply referred to as U15 and U9, respectively, based on their wattage. The U15 SKUs are as follows:
| Processor Number | Processor Cores | Processor Threads | Performance Cores | Efficient Cores | L3 Cache | Max Turbo Frequency (P-cores) | Max Turbo Frequency (E-cores) | Base Frequency (P-cores) | Base Frequency (E-cores) | Processor Graphics | Max Graphics Frequency | Processor Base Power | Max Turbo Power | Intel vPro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i7-1260U | 10C | 12T | 2P | 8E | 12MB | 4.7GHz | 3.5GHz | 1.1GHz | 0.8GHz | 96EU | 0.95GHz | 9W | 29W | Enterprise |
| Core i7-1250U | 10C | 12T | 2P | 8E | 12MB | 4.7GHz | 3.5GHz | 1.1GHz | 0.8GHz | 96EU | 0.95GHz | 9W | 29W | Essentials |
| Core i5-1240U | 10C | 12T | 2P | 8E | 12MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1.1GHz | 0.8GHz | 80EU | 0.9GHz | 9W | 29W | Enterprise |
| Core i5-1230U | 10C | 12T | 2P | 8E | 12MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1GHz | 0.7GHz | 80EU | 0.85GHz | 9W | 29W | Essentials |
| Core i3-1210U | 6C | 8T | 2P | 4E | 10MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1GHz | 0.7GHz | 64EU | 0.85GHz | 9W | 29W | |
| Pentium 8500 | 5C | 6T | 1P | 4E | 8MB | 4.4GHz | 3.3GHz | 1GHz | 0.7GHz | 48EU | 0.8GHz | 9W | 29W | |
| Celeron 7300 | 5C | 6T | 1P | 4E | 8MB | 1GHz | 0.7GHz | 48EU | 0.8GHz | 9W | 29W |
The U9 SKUs can be found in ultra-thin laptops without fans and laptops with foldable displays. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, the world’s first folding laptop, was equipped with Intel’s Lakefield processor. Intel’s first attempt at a hybrid architecture was Lakefield, and the company is going all-in with 12th-gen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very good, so the 12th-gen U9 should be a huge improvement. Read more; Spring Cleaning with the New Midea S8+ Robot Vacuum
However, the two tiers are clearly distinct. Despite the fact that most U-series SKUs only have two P-cores, the U15 appears to be more P-series-like in terms of what it provides, such as all four memory options, four Thunderbolt 4 ports, 24 PCIe Gen4, and more. The U9 supports LPDDR4x and LPDDR5 (unsurprisingly), as well as 14 PCIe Gen4 and two Thunderbolt 4 connectors.
Feed rates and speeds
To be honest, most of what we see here is things we previously knew about from the CES announcement. Intel, on the other hand, pulled out the benchmarks this time.
All of the tests compare the new Core i7-1280P to the Core i7-1195G7, with the new Core i7-1280P outperforming the older Core i7-1195G7 by a significant margin. While Intel displayed other processors on a graph, it did not disclose particular test results for the majority of them.
First and foremost, Intel claims that the Core i7-1280P would deliver 70 percent better-multithreaded performance than the previous generation. While the company outperformed a Core i7-1195G7, it also outperformed an M1 (a MacBook Air with 16GB RAM), an M1 Pro (14-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM), and an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U. (a Lenovo Yoga 14C).
Next up is 3D rendering, which Intel claims will take half as long as a Core i7-1195G7. The M1 Pro and the Intel Core i9-11980HK both outperformed the Core i7-1280P in this test. The Ryzen 7 5800U, on the other hand, did not. Blender BMW was utilized as a baseline in the test.
The Core i7-1280P outperforms the Core i5-1280P by 17 percent, according to WebXPRT 4 on Chrome. The Core i7-1265U came in second, beating out the Core i7-1195G7, and was followed by the Ryzen 7 5800U, M1 Pro, and M1 in that order.
Next, according to PugetBench Photoshop, it boasts a 30% improvement in photo editing. The M1 Pro, Core i7-1265U, and M1, in that order, follow. The Core i7-1195G7 is the next processor to be compared to, followed by the Ryzen 7 5800U.
The Core i7-1280P outperformed the Core i7-1195G7 by 20% in CrossMark, followed by the Core i7-1265U and the M1 Pro. The M1 and Ryzen 7 5800U sit behind the Core i7-1195G7. The Core i7-1280P won 12 percent, 27 percent, and 22 percent of the time in productivity, creativity, and responsiveness tests, respectively.
It’s about the right time
Intel announced new U-series processors approximately a year and a half ago. The U-series was the first of Intel’s 11th-generation CPUs to hit the market, followed by the H-series and S-series desktop processors. Since the last time we got new processors for thin and light laptops and convertibles, the S-series and H-series launched first with 12th-gen, we’ve really seen two generations of those.
That’s why we haven’t seen any new flagship laptops in a long time, such as the HP Spectre x360 14, Dell XPS 13, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 series, and others. In fact, we’ve already seen a slew of laptops using these CPUs revealed at CES. There are new ThinkPads, a new Dell XPS 13 Plus, and more on the way.
This year, Intel plans to release 250 new 12th-generation P- and U-series PCs, with over 100 of them being Evo certified. Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, LG, MSI, NEC, Samsung, and more companies will begin distributing these in March.
