On January 4, the presentation of the Intel Alder Lake H-series, P-series and U-series processors took place. The differentiation of each of these series by letters was, as we told you at the time, something very important, since represents the specialization of each of them in a specific aspect. Thus, the H-series focuses on offering the best possible performance, the P-series seeks a better balance between performance and mobility, and the U-series prioritizes mobility.
Just a few days ago I had the opportunity to test a laptop based on the Intel Core i9-12900H processor, a chip that falls within the high-performance range, and as we told you in our analysis of the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR G17, its performance it was just fantastic, both single threaded and multithreaded. There is no doubt that Intel has done an excellent job with Alder Lakeand that it has also succeeded in transferring its hybrid design to the portable sector.
Last week we had the opportunity to access a special event held by Intel. This event was focused on the Intel Alder Lake-P and Alder Lake-U series, which, as we anticipated, have very different approaches to those of the H series. Thanks to this event we were able to know all your keys and access to very interesting information, and today we can finally share all the details with you.
Intel Alder Lake-P and U: Power without Compromises
The Intel Alder Lake-P and U processors maintain all the key values with which the chip giant has made a difference, including both the hybrid design, with high-performance cores and high-efficiency cores, and also the support of industry standards. latest generation, such as LPDDR5 memory. The Intel Alder Lake-P series has an identical package to the H-series models, but reduces the TDP from 45 to 28 wattswhich allows its integration in lighter and more compact equipment.
For its part, the Intel Alder Lake-U processors will be available in two versions, one configured with a maximum TDP of 15 watts and another with a TDP of just 9 watts. As we can see in the attached image, the size of its packages will be smaller, something that, together with its low energy consumption, will make it possible to use it to manufacture very light, thin and compact laptops. They can also be used to create new designs and form factors.
Intel Alder Lake-P processors promise improve performance by up to 70%, are aimed at those users who want to enjoy the best of both worlds, that is, a high level of power, a next-generation platform and good graphics performance without having to give up lighter ultraportable designs. and thin. In the image that you will find just below these lines you can see the distribution of elements that make up an Intel Alder Lake-P processor. Yes, there are so many that it would be more fair to call it “SoC” directly.
In its most powerful version, an Alder Lake-P chip integrates a configuration of 6 high-performance cores, based on the Golden Cove architecture, and 8 high-efficiency cores, based on the Gracemont architecture, which leaves us with a total of 14 cores and 20 threads. The job of coordinating those cores is done by the Intel Thread Director system. The integrated GPU uses the Xe architecture and can have up to 96 execution units. For the rest, we can highlight the memory support DDR4-DDR5 and LPDDR4-LPDDR5as well as compatibility with the Wi-Fi 6E standard.
The image that you will find just above these lines shows us all the keys of the Intel Alder Lake-U processors in its two variants, one with a TDP of 15 watts that has a 50 x 25 x 1.3mm, and another of 9 watts whose package is smaller (28.5 x 19 x 1.1mm). Both versions have notable differences, but we see that the important thing is maintained even in the 9-watt version, which is compatible with LPDDR4 and LPDDR5 memory, supports two Thuderbolt 4 connectors and comes with Wi-Fi 6E.
These processors will come in configurations with up to 2 high-performance cores and 8 high-efficiency cores, which translates to a maximum of 10 cores and 12 threadsan impressive figure considering that we are talking about chips with a TDP of between 9 and 15 watts, and that these are also accompanied by a next-generation graphics solution.
In the two images that I leave you just above these lines you can see the characteristics of the different models that the chip giant plans to launch within its Intel Alder Lake-P and U series, including the Pentium and Celeron, which will have a configuration very curious: 1 high-performance core and 4 high-efficiency cores, without HyperThreading. these collect all its technical details, including the number of execution units that the GPU of each model brings, their consumption both in normal mode and in turbo mode, the amounts of cache and the work speeds that they can reach.
The following image shows a summary with all the keys that integrate the new platform that use the Intel Alder Lake-P and U processors. As we can see, we have everything you need to enjoy an optimal and next-generation experience. This confirms, once again, that Intel has been able to create value by going beyond raw performance. We can especially highlight the support of WiFi 6Ewhich we have already mentioned above, the 5Gthe connectors Thunderbolt 4 and the technologies of improvement of the image in video calls.
The following image is also very interesting. In it we have a summary with the key points that the third generation Evo platform seeks to guarantee:
- Smarter collaboration.
- A more consistent response.
- More than 8 hours of real autonomy.
- Recovery in less than a second from sleep mode.
- Quick recharge: at least 4 hours of autonomy with only 30 minutes of charging.
Intel Alder Lake-P and U performance
We now turn to talk about the performance of the new Intel Alder Lake-P and U processors. The first graphic shows us that improvement of up to 70% performance in multithreading to which we referred earlier, and in the other graphs we can see more specific results in different applications, which allows us to get a very clear idea of the leap that these new processors represent, compared to previous generations.
In the last image we have several gaming performance tests using the Intel Iris Xe GPU that integrate the new Intel Alder Lake-P processors, and there is no doubt that the results are very good, so much so that they confirm that we will be able to use these integrated solutions to play with guarantees in 1080p. I remind you that you can enlarge all the images by clicking on them.
My conclusions, after analyzing all this information, are very clear. The Intel Alder Lake-P processors are undoubtedly emerging as a very interesting option for those who want to enjoy a high level of performance and of a good degree of mobility and autonomy, while Intel Alder Lake-U processors are ideal for those who need prioritize mobilityalthough they do not want to give up good performance or the advantages of a next-generation platform.
