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Intel Core i3-1000NG4

Intel Core i3-1000NG4: Is It Worth Buying in 2025? An Analysis of an Ultra-Budget Laptop Processor

Intel's "Y" series processors have always been positioned as solutions for compact and lightweight devices, emphasizing battery life. The Core i3-1000NG4, released in 2020, can still be found in budget ultrabooks and convertibles. But how relevant is it in 2025? Let's break it down.

Architecture and Process Technology: What's Inside?

The foundation of the i3-1000NG4 is the Sunny Cove microarchitecture, implemented on a 10-nm process (codename Ice Lake). This generation marked the first support for PCIe 3.0, Thunderbolt 3, and a partial set of AI instructions (DL Boost). However, by modern standards, it's already considered outdated.

Specifications:

- Cores and Threads: 2 cores, 4 threads (Hyper-Threading). By 2025, this is insufficient even for basic multitasking. For instance, simultaneous use of a browser with 10+ tabs, a messenger, and an office suite may cause slowdowns.

- Frequencies: Base clock — 1.1 GHz, maximum in turbo mode — 3.2 GHz. In practice, turbo activation is rare due to TDP and cooling limitations in thin chassis.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel Iris Plus (32 EU). Modest performance — around 1.2 TFLOPS. Suitable for gaming only at minimal settings; for example, CS2 at 720p will yield 25-30 FPS.

- Cache: L3 — 4 MB. The small size for the third-level cache complicates data handling in resource-intensive applications.

Power Consumption and TDP: Balancing Power and Battery Life

The processor's TDP is rated at 15 Watts, but in reality, laptops with the i3-1000NG4 often operate in the 9-12 Watt range to reduce heat. This affects performance; under prolonged load (e.g., PDF rendering), the frequency may drop to 2 GHz.

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Speed Shift: Dynamic switching between P-states (processor states) for fast frequency adjustments.

- C-States: Disabling unused core blocks during idle.

- Intel Dynamic Tuning: Adapting to the thermal conditions of the chassis.

Performance: What Can It Handle in 2025?

Geekbench 6 results (937/1861) show that the processor lags behind even budget newcomers. For example, the AMD Ryzen 3 7420U (Zen 3) scores 1250/3900, while the Apple M2 scores 1950/8900.

Real-World Tasks:

- Office Work: Word, Excel, PowerPoint — runs smoothly. However, running Zoom alongside 10+ Chrome tabs may cause lags.

- Multimedia: Streaming video (4K Netflix) — manageable but with high power consumption (up to 8 Watts). Basic editing in Shotcut or DaVinci Resolve — only for short 1080p clips.

- Gaming: Only for light projects: Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Among Us. Even Dota 2 at minimum settings delivers 20-25 FPS.

Turbo Mode: Peaks up to 3.2 GHz last only 10-15 seconds. For example, when opening a "heavy" website in a browser, the processor briefly speeds up but then returns to base frequency.

Use Cases: Who Is It For?

This processor is suitable for those who value portability and do not stress the system:

- Students: Note-taking, online courses, working with PDFs.

- Office Workers: Documents, email, video calls.

- Casual Users: Web surfing, social media, YouTube.

Not Suitable For:

- Gamers.

- Video Editors.

- Programmers working with Docker or virtual machines.

Battery Life: How Long Will the Laptop Last?

With a battery capacity of 40-50 Wh (typical for ultrabooks), the operating time will be:

- 8-10 hours under moderate load (brightness at 50%, Wi-Fi, office tasks).

- 5-6 hours when watching video.

Issue: High idle power consumption (1-2 Watts) compared to 0.5 Watts for the Apple M2. This reduces battery life by 20-30%.

Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Ryzen 3 7420U (Zen 3, 4 cores/8 threads): 30% faster in multi-threaded tasks, comparable price ($600-800).

- Apple M2: 2-3 times higher performance, double the battery life. However, macOS is not for everyone.

- Intel Core i5-1230U (Alder Lake, 2023): 10 cores (2P+8E), outperforms the i3-1000NG4 by 4 times in multitasking.

Conclusion: In 2025, the i3-1000NG4 is only relevant in devices priced under $500. Competitors offer better performance-to-price ratios.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Low cost of laptops (from $450).

- Support for Thunderbolt 3 for connecting external monitors and drives.

- Sufficient power for basic tasks.

Cons:

- Only 2 cores.

- Outdated architecture.

- Weak graphics.

Laptop Selection Recommendations

If you decide to purchase a device with the i3-1000NG4 in 2025, pay attention to:

- RAM: At least 8 GB (preferably 16 GB for Windows 11).

- Storage: Only SSD (NVMe preferred). HDD dramatically decreases speed.

- Screen: Full HD (1920×1080). Avoid models with HD (1366×768) — that’s outdated.

- Model Examples: Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 (from $499), Acer Swift 3 ($529). Avoid laptops weighing over 1.5 kg — this negates the portability advantage.

Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i3-1000NG4 in 2025 is a choice for those who need the cheapest laptop for simple tasks. Its key advantages are price, Thunderbolt 3 support, and moderate battery life. However, even budget processors like the AMD Ryzen 3 or Intel's 12th generation offer more performance for the same money. Buy such a laptop only if your budget is strictly limited to $500 and all tasks boil down to browsing and office programs. In all other cases, it’s better to spend an extra $100-200 for a more modern model.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Laptop

Launch Date

March 2020

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i3-1000NG4

Code Name

Ice Lake Y

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Performance-cores

Performance-core Base Frequency

1.1 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

3.2 GHz

L1 Cache

48K per core

L2 Cache

512K per core

L3 Cache

4MB shared

Unlocked Multiplier

Multiplier

11x

Bus Frequency

100MHz

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

BGA-1377

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

10 nm

TDP

15 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100 °C

PCIe Version

PCI Express is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard used for connecting high-speed components, replacing older standards such as AGP, PCI, and PCI-X. It has gone through multiple revisions and improvements since its initial release. PCIe 1.0 was first introduced in 2002, and in order to meet the growing demand for higher bandwidth, subsequent versions have been released over time.

3.0

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

x86-64

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

LPDDR4-3733

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

32GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

58.3 GB/s

ECC Memory Support

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

True

GPU Base Frequency

300 MHz

GPU Max Dynamic Frequency

900 MHz

Max Resolution

5120x3200 - 60 Hz

Miscellaneous

PCIe Lanes

Benchmarks

Cinebench R23

Single Core Score

917

Cinebench R23

Multi Core Score

1501

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

937

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1861

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1000

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

2093

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1790

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3655

Compared to Other CPU

Cinebench R23 Single Core

Snapdragon X Elite

1772 +93.2%

M1 Pro

1545 +68.5%

Core i9-10940X

1260 +37.4%

Core i7-8550U

997 +8.7%

Core i3-1000NG4

917

Cinebench R23 Multi Core

Core i9-10920X

15767 +950.4%

M1 Max

12629 +741.4%

Core i7-5960X

9720 +547.6%

Core i5-8365U

3567 +137.6%

Core i3-1000NG4

1501

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 7 2700E

1039 +10.9%

Core i7-6850K

986 +5.2%

Core i3-1000NG4

937

Core i7-8500Y

891 -4.9%

Core i7-6700TE

835 -10.9%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i7-3840QM

2265 +21.7%

FX-8370

2057 +10.5%

Core i3-1000NG4

1861

Core i5-2400

1724 -7.4%

Ryzen Embedded R1505G

1547 -16.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i7-5950HQ

1041 +4.1%

Xeon E3-1284L v4

1020 +2%

Core i3-1000NG4

1000

Xeon E3-1270

973 -2.7%

Xeon E5-1650 v3

954 -4.6%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i5-3475S

2414 +15.3%

Ryzen 3 PRO 3300U

2252 +7.6%

Core i3-1000NG4

2093

Xeon L5638

1959 -6.4%

Athlon 200GE

1839 -12.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Pentium G4500T

1861 +4%

Pentium G3250

1813 +1.3%

Core i3-1000NG4

1790

Celeron 6600HE

1764 -1.5%

Core i7-2600S

1743 -2.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i5-3330

4091 +11.9%

Core i3-4370

3845 +5.2%

Core i3-1000NG4

3655

A12-9800E

3471 -5%

A8-9600

3298 -9.8%