Pentium and Celeron brands are officially dead with Intel introducing the Alder Lake-N family comprised of “Intel Processor” and Core-i3 N-series processors based on the Gracemont “Efficiency” cores found in Alder Lake hybrid processors.
Some of the details about the Intel Processor N100 and N200 processors were leaked last fall, followed by the Core i3-N300 and Core i3-N305, but at least it is now official, and we have more details so let’s dig into it.
Alder Lake N-series key features and specifications:
- CPU – Up to 8x Gracemont Efficient cores for Core i3 N-series processor, and up to 4x with Intel Processor processor
- GPU – Intel UHD graphics with AV1 decode support
- Memory I/F – LPDDR5-4800, DDR4, DDR5
- Storage I/F – eMMC/UFS 2.1 flash, 2x SATA 3.0
- Video Output
- eDP 1.4b / MIPI DSI 1.3
- DisplayPort 1.4
- HDMI 2.0b
- Up to 3x independent displays
- Camera I/F – MIPI CSI
- Networking – Integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6E & Bluetooth 5.2
- USB – 8x USB 2.0, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2×1
- PCIe – 9x lanes PCIe Gen3
- Other I/Os – eSPI, SPI
- Package – 35 x 24mm, BGA Type3
- Manufacturing Process – Intel 7 process
While the Alder Lane N-Series processors do not make use of the higher-end Performance cores found in Alder Lake hybrid processors, they do offer a significant performance uplift compared to the Jasper Lake family with up to 28% better application performance on Intel Processor N200 compared to the Pentium Silver N6000, and the Intel Core i3 N-Series processor adds 42% performance on top. Graphics performance, measured with 3Dmark, has also significantly improved with up to 64% better graphics performance on the Intel Processor N200 processor, and an additional 56% with the Intel Core i3 N-series processor.
Multimedia improvements include support for 10-bit HEVC & VP9 Encode/Decode, AV1 decode, and Intel claims a 10-hour battery life for HD video playback. The highlights and differences for the four new SKUs can be found in the table below.
| Features | Intel Core i3-N305 | Intel Core i3-N300 | Intel Processor N200 | Intel Processor N100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cores | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Cache | 6MB | 6MB | 6MB | 6MB |
| Turbo frequency | Up to 3.8 GHz | Up to 3.8 GHz | Up to 3.7 GHz | Up to 3.4 GHz |
| Graphics | 32EU | 32EU | 32EU | 24EU |
| GPU frequency | Up to 1.25 GHz | Up to 1.25 GHz | Up to 750 MHz | Up to 750 MHz |
| LPDDR5/DDR5/DDR4 frequency | 4800/4800/3200 | 4800/4800/3200 | 4800/4800/3200 | 4800/4800/3200 |
| TDP | 15W | 7W | 6W | 6W |
The Alder Lake N-Series processors are mostly designed for education and consumer products that required a lower price point. Intel has been collaborating with Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus on more than 50 designs that are expected to launch in 2023 with ChromeOS or Windows. Further details may be found on the product page and CES 2023 announcement. [Update: Alder Lake N-Series processors are now listed on Ark, and there are embedded SKUs namely Intel Processor N50, Processor N97, Atom x7213E, Atom x7211E, and Atom x7425. So the Pentium and Celeron brands may be dead, but the Atom brand is apparently here to stay…]
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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