Hardware

The problems of low-end laptop processors

Table of contents:

Anonim

The names are a powerful force when we go to buy a product, the familiarity and confidence that some of these have for our subconscious can become a factor of weight in our final decision. In the world of processors, few names have more weight than Pentium or Celeron, and despite this, they have not been in the front line of processor performance for a long time, but in their low range. Today we want to talk about the problems of low-end laptop processors through Intel models.

More specifically, the old code name for these processors was Apollo Lake, used for the Pentium, Celeron and Atom processors. All of them based on the Goldmont architecture, which draws from the Skylake architecture that we find on the desktop in many aspects; one of them is his 14nm lithograph. Apollo Lake was developed as a low-power, low-power architecture for devices that benefit from energy efficiency. Even today it is still of interest to Intel, which develops new iterations of it.

The implications of seeking performance at Goldmont

Due to what is explained in the previous section, it is also about processors with a very humble performance, especially in the Atoms. The Pentiums and Celerons, on the other hand, try to make the most of the architecture specs, so they perform better in most scenarios, at least when it comes to gross performance.

However, these numbers are far from what we can find in low-end laptop processors belonging to the Intel Core nomenclature. Both the Core-Y (also destined for energy efficiency) and the Core-U for notebooks far exceed anything that the Apollo Lake Pentium and Celeron have to offer us for a price, according to Intel's MSRP, very even in many cases.

In addition, this performance is not without costs, a tax that is paid through temperature and time of use for notebook computers, where we normally see the most powerful iterations of these processors. It goes without saying that the Intel Apollo Lake was developed, in the first instance, for low-profile laptops, such as notebooks or mini-PCs.

Intel Core-U and Core-Y as alternatives

Knowing what is stated in the previous section, it is much easier for us to speak positively of the Core-U and Core-M processors, since both face the need to use a low-consumption processor without compromising the performance.

Core-Us are a more affordable and more efficient option than Pentium and Celeron; They maintain superior performance in most scenarios without greatly varying the price of the lower end of these processors. The Core-Y are the low-power versions of these processors, so in exchange for a slight drop in performance. In many occasions presenting models without active ventilation, as we see in Goldmont processors.

The stage is repeated with AMD and its low-end processors

If we move the focus towards the company in red we find a very similar situation. In the case of AMD, the low-end processors for notebooks consist of the AMD-E series of low-performance APUs. These processors share a goal with Apollo Lake: humble in power, full-featured, and highly energy efficient.

However, the problem behind these processors is found in their architecture and alternatives. The AMD-E that we can still find on the market today are based on Zacate , a lithograph prior to the current Ryzen-U for laptops (including the Athlon 300U) and greatly surpassed by these in power and thermal design.

A final word about low-end processors

Both the Celeron and Pentium processors and the AMD-E for laptops are far from being bad processors. Low-end notebook processors, and the problems stemming from them in this text, cater more to your circumstances than to the quality of the product itself. It is these circumstances that stain the possibilities of all these CPUs, leaving them in an unfavorable position with respect to other alternatives that we can find in the market.

We recommend reading the best processors on the market

Therefore, in an extraordinary situation that eliminates part of the observations set out here, they could become a good purchase option. For example, recently HP Notebooks with the Pentium N4200 were in various stores for just over 190 euros, moments like that are what can bring out the benefits of these products.

NotebookcheckHWBot Font

Hardware

Editor's choice

Back to top button