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Intel Core i3-7130U

Intel Core i3-7130U: A Modest Workhorse for Everyday Tasks

Analysis of a 2017 Processor in the Context of 2025

Architecture and Process Technology: The Foundation of Kaby Lake

The Intel Core i3-7130U, released in 2017, belongs to the seventh generation of Kaby Lake architecture. This 14-nanometer chip features two physical cores with Hyper-Threading support, providing 4 logical threads. Its base frequency is fixed at 2.7 GHz, and it lacks Turbo Boost—a typical limitation for budget i3s.

Integrated graphics are represented by Intel HD Graphics 620, with a base frequency of 300 MHz and a maximum dynamic frequency of 1 GHz. It supports 4K video via HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort but is not well-suited for gaming. The Kaby Lake architecture brought optimizations in decoding HEVC and VP9 video formats, improving energy efficiency during content streaming.

Power Consumption and TDP: A Balance Between Power and Battery Life

The processor's TDP is 15 W, making it ideal for slim ultrabooks and budget laptops. Heat dissipation is managed through:

- Intel Speed Shift — dynamic frequency switching for quick responsiveness;

- Enhanced Intel SpeedStep — voltage reduction during idle periods.

Cooling in devices with this CPU is usually passive or utilizes a compact fan. By 2025, such systems rarely overheat, although throttling can occur under prolonged load (e.g., video rendering).

Performance: Modest, but Adequate for Basic Tasks

According to Geekbench 6 (2025):

- Single-Core: 849;

- Multi-Core: 1726.

Real-world Scenarios:

- Office Work: Microsoft Office, a browser with 10+ tabs, Zoom— the processor handles it, but simultaneous opening of "heavy" Excel files may cause some lag.

- Multimedia: Watching 4K videos on YouTube, Netflix—no issues thanks to hardware decoding. Editing photos in Lightroom— acceptable for basic retouching, but exporting will take time.

- Gaming: Only light titles like Among Us or Stardew Valley at low settings (720p, 30–40 FPS). CS:GO—20–25 FPS (720p), which is already unacceptable for comfortable gaming.

Turbo Mode: Absent, so frequencies do not exceed 2.7 GHz even under load. This limits peak performance.

Usage Scenarios: Who is the i3-7130U Suitable for in 2025?

- Students: For lectures, writing papers, online courses.

- Office Workers: Dealing with documents, emails, videoconferencing.

- Minimalist Users: Social media, streaming, simple editing tasks.

Not Suitable For:

- Gamers and streamers.

- Engineers working with CAD or 3D modeling.

- Video editors processing 4K footage.

Battery Life: Up to 8 Hours Under Ideal Conditions

Laptops with the i3-7130U are equipped with batteries ranging from 35 to 45 Wh. Under moderate load (browser, office applications), battery life averages 6 to 8 hours. For energy saving, features include:

- Panel Self Refresh — reduces the screen refresh rate in static scenarios;

- Connected Standby — background tasks during sleep mode.

Tip: Choose models with low-brightness IPS screens (250 nits) and SSDs instead of HDDs — this can extend battery life by 1 to 2 hours.

Comparison with Competitors: How Does It Stand Against Modern Chips?

In 2025, the i3-7130U is considered outdated, but in the budget segment, it can be compared to:

- AMD Ryzen 3 7320U (2022): 4 cores, 8 threads, Zen 2. Outperforms in multi-threaded workloads (Geekbench 6 Multi-Core ~3200) but costs more ($400–500 for a laptop).

- Apple M1 (2020): An SoC with 8 cores. 3-4 times faster in multitasking, but laptops with M1 start at $700.

- Intel N100 (2023): 4 cores, 6 W TDP. Better energy efficiency and supports modern Wi-Fi 6E standards.

Conclusion: The i3-7130U lags behind even budget newcomers, but may be justified when purchasing a used device for $150–200.

Pros and Cons: Is It Worth Buying in 2025?

Strengths:

- Low cost of laptops (new models start around $250, e.g., Lenovo IdeaPad 1).

- Adequate performance for basic tasks.

- Good energy efficiency.

Weaknesses:

- Only 2 cores—limited multitasking capabilities.

- No support for PCIe 4.0, Thunderbolt 4.

- Outdated graphics (HD 620 vs. Iris Xe or Radeon).

Laptop Selection Recommendations

If you're considering devices equipped with the i3-7130U in 2025, pay attention to:

1. Device Type: Ultrabooks with a 13–14 inch display (e.g., Acer Swift 3).

2. RAM: At least 8 GB DDR4.

3. Storage: Only SSD (256 GB or more).

4. Display: Full HD (1920×1080)—HD+ (1366×768) is outdated.

5. Ports: USB-C with Power Delivery support for fast charging.

Avoid:

- Laptops with HDDs and 4 GB of RAM.

- Models lacking support for Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac).

Final Conclusion: Who Is This Processor For?

The Intel Core i3-7130U in 2025 is suitable for those who:

- Seek a cheap new laptop for basic tasks;

- Value battery life and portability;

- Do not plan to run "heavy" applications.

Key Benefits:

- Low price.

- Proven reliability (the 2017 architecture is well understood).

- Compatibility with Windows 10/11 and Linux.

However, if your budget allows an additional $100–150, it's better to opt for laptops with Intel N100 or AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processors—they will provide performance headroom for the next 3–4 years.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

April 2017

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.

i3-7130U

Code Name

Kaby Lake

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.

Basic Frequency

2.70 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

CPU Socket

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

FCBGA1356

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.

14 nm

TDP

15 W

Max. Operating Temperature

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

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

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.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

1x4 | 2x2 | 1x2+2x1 and 4x1

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.

DDR4-2133 | LPDDR3-1866 | DDR3L-1600

Max Memory Size

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

32 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

4 GT/s

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).

34.1 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

GPU Name

Intel® HD Graphics 620

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

300 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.00 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

32 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@24Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (VGA)

N/A

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

3 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel Flex Memory Access

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

849

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1726

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

633

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1360

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1569

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3021

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon Silver 4112

944 +11.2%

Xeon E3-1240L v3

895 +5.4%

Core i3-7130U

849

Ryzen 3 3200U

777 -8.5%

Xeon E5-2698 v3

723 -14.8%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i7-6650U

2064 +19.6%

FX-8370E

1878 +8.8%

Core i3-7130U

1726

A10-9700

1552 -10.1%

Ryzen 3 2200G

1420 -17.7%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon Gold 6262V

678 +7.1%

Core i3-4330T

658 +3.9%

Core i3-7130U

633

Xeon D-1521

611 -3.5%

Pentium G2120

588 -7.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Athlon 240GE

1499 +10.2%

Core i5-4570TE

1423 +4.6%

Core i3-7130U

1360

Xeon L5609

1276 -6.2%

Core i3-6100U

1195 -12.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E3-1230L v3

1624 +3.5%

Core i7-2960XM

1591 +1.4%

Core i3-7130U

1569

Xeon X5680

1533 -2.3%

Athlon PRO 3045B

1493 -4.8%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i3-6100E

3315 +9.7%

Pentium Gold G5400T

3165 +4.8%

Core i3-7130U

3021

Xeon E5-2403

2873 -4.9%

Core i5-3610ME

2666 -11.8%