witeken
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- Dec 25, 2013
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Analyzing Intel Core M Performance: How 5Y10 can beat 5Y71 & the OEMs' Dilemma
So with all of this data, what more do we know about Core M? Clearly, Intels goal with Core M is to provide excellent performance on short workloads. It has higher boost frequencies than the Core i5-5200U that was included in this test, and it has 4 MB of L3 cache as well compared to 3 MB of cache on the i5. On certain workloads, performance can even surpass the i5-5200U. Race to sleep is not a new idea, but that is what Core M is designed to do, and it does it well.
Is Core M a good processor? Or is it slow? It is clearly slower than a Core i5, but it would be hard to expect it not to be. On many daily workloads, it performs very well. On things like web browsing we are already to the point where the Yoga 3 Pro outscores a Core i7-860 4C/8T 95 watt desktop CPU from 2009 in web benchmarks. Since Core M is mainly aimed at thin and light devices, it can be expected that these are the kinds of workloads that one would perform on them.
In order to get something as powerful as the Core architecture inside of a fanless tablet, there is going to be compromise. In a Core M device, that is going to be sustained performance. What you give up in sustained performance though allows a thinner and lighter device, in form factors that would never have been possible with Core even one year ago. But it also means that the Core M SKU designation is only a sign of general performance, rather than absolute positioning. For that, we have to compare and contrast each unit in a review. Luckily, we hope to cover a large number of the important models over the next few months.