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Intel Celeron 797

Intel Celeron 797: A Budget Processor for Basic Tasks in 2025

Architecture, Performance, and Use Cases

Architecture and Process Technology: The Sandy Bridge Legacy

The Intel Celeron 797 processor, released in 2011, is based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture and a 32nm process technology. It is a single-core (1 core) and single-threaded (1 thread) solution with a base frequency of 1.4 GHz. Turbo mode is absent, limiting its adaptability to workloads. The built-in Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge), with a frequency of 350–1000 MHz, supports basic tasks: video decoding up to 1080p and simple 3D rendering.

The Sandy Bridge architecture brought:

- Improved instruction decoder.

- Integration of the graphics core into the CPU (previously, the chipset was responsible for graphics).

- Support for AVX instructions for accelerated calculations.

However, in 2025, these features appear outdated compared to 5nm processors like Apple’s M3 or Intel’s hybrid Core Ultra cores.

Power Consumption and TDP: Balancing Power and Battery Life

The TDP of the Celeron 797 is 17 W, which is considered high for a single-core chip by 2025 standards. Modern alternatives (for example, Intel N100) offer 4 cores and higher frequencies with a TDP of 6-10 W.

Why is this important?

- Laptops with the Celeron 797 required active cooling, increasing weight (from 2 kg).

- High TDP reduced battery life to 3-4 hours with a capacity of 40–45 Wh.

Performance: Minimum for Survival

Office Tasks:

- Running Windows 10/11 with a browser (1–5 tabs) and office applications (Word, Excel). Multitasking causes lags.

- Example: opening a 50-page PDF file takes 5–7 seconds (compared to 1–2 seconds with Intel N100).

Multimedia:

- Playing YouTube at 1080p is possible, but 60 FPS may cause stutters.

- Video conversion in HandBrake: a 10-minute HD clip will take 40–50 minutes (compared to 10-15 minutes with Ryzen 3 7320U).

Gaming:

- Older games (e.g., Half-Life 2) on low settings achieve 20–25 FPS.

- Modern titles like Fortnite or Minecraft with chunk rendering >8 will not run.

Use Cases: Who is Celeron 797 Suitable for in 2025?

1. Ultra-budget Devices. Laptops priced at $150–$200 (new, such as models from lesser-known brands like Chuwi or Teclast).

2. Replacement for Old PCs. Suitable for seniors or children—text work, Zoom, photo viewing.

3. Terminals. Point of sale machines, info kiosks where high performance is not required.

Critically Important:

- Availability of SSD (even SATA) instead of HDD will speed up OS loading.

- 4–8 GB of RAM for Windows 11 (official minimum is 4 GB, but 8 GB is practically necessary).

Battery Life: How to Extend Operating Time?

Celeron 797 supports technologies:

- Enhanced Intel SpeedStep — dynamic frequency adjustment for energy savings.

- C1/C3 States — core shutdown during idle.

Tips for Users:

- Reduce screen brightness to 40–50%.

- Disable background applications (e.g., cloud services).

- Use the "Battery Saver" mode in Windows.

However, even with these measures, battery life rarely exceeds 4–5 hours.

Comparison with Competitors: How Outdated is Celeron 797?

Intel Celeron 797 (2011):

- Cores/Threads: 1/1

- Frequency: 1.4 GHz

- TDP: 17 W

- Performance: 200 points (PassMark)

AMD E2-6110 (2014):

- Cores/Threads: 4/4

- Frequency: 1.5 GHz

- TDP: 15 W

- Performance: 1200 points

Intel N100 (2023):

- Cores/Threads: 4/4

- Frequency: Up to 3.4 GHz

- TDP: 6 W

- Performance: 3800 points

Conclusions:

- Even the AMD model from 2014 (E series) outperforms Celeron 797 by 6 times.

- Modern processors (Intel N100, AMD Athlon Silver 7120U) offer 4 cores with lower TDP.

Pros and Cons: Is it Worth Buying?

Pros:

- Extremely low device cost ($150–$200).

- Sufficient for basic tasks (if speed is not expected).

- Compatibility with Windows 10/11 (with TPM module).

Cons:

- Single core—multitasking is impossible.

- High power consumption for its performance.

- No support for modern standards: USB 3.1, Wi-Fi 6, NVMe.

Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

Avoid Celeron 797 if you need:

- An ultrabook for travel (look for Intel Core i3-1215U or Apple M1).

- A device for studying with Zoom + browser + documents (minimum—Intel N100).

Consider Celeron 797 only if:

- You have a limited budget ($150–$200).

- You need a "typewriter" with internet access.

What to look for:

1. SSD is mandatory — 128 GB is enough for the OS.

2. IPS screen — TN matrices distort colors even at an angle.

3. Ports — USB 3.0, HDMI for monitor connection.

Final Conclusion: Who is Celeron 797 Suitable For?

This processor is a choice for those who need the cheapest laptop for elementary tasks. It can handle:

- Typing.

- Browsing websites (without a dozen tabs).

- Communicating in messengers.

Key Benefits:

- Price lower than that of smartphones.

- Compatibility with common software (Windows, browsers).

However, in 2025 even budget Chromebook options with ARM processors (e.g., MediaTek Kompanio 520) offer better battery life and speed. The Celeron 797 is a relic from the past that is still functioning but fails to impress.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

January 2012

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.

797

Code Name

Sandy Bridge

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.

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.

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.

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.

32 nm

Max. Operating Temperature

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

100C

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.

2.0

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.

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

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

PCI Express Configurations

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

1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8 2x4

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.

DDR3 1066/1333

Max Memory Size

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

16 GB

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).

21.3 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 for 2nd Generation Intel® Processors

Graphics Base Frequency

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

350 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.

950 MHz

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

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

eDP/DP/HDMI/SDVO/CRT

Miscellaneous

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.

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

Instruction Set Extensions

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2

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

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.

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.

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Intel Flex Memory Access

Yes

Intel Quick Sync Video

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