Intel cuts performance cores on some 12th-gen processors
Some high-end products of Intel’s 12th generation processors can have eight performance cores (P-cores) and eight efficiency cores (E-cores) at the same time. For example, when a user runs a high-load process and needs stronger performance, then the P-cores will be scheduled and used so that the system can play the best and highest performance. When the user only uses office software to process some relatively small documents, the system will call E-cores, which consume less power and can improve battery life.
Intel has previously stated that the performance of P-cores is 50% higher than that of E-cores, so the combination of large and small cores can allow the system to be scheduled according to actual needs. According to Techspot reports, a Linux repository update made by Intel mentioned that some Atom series processors based on the 12th generation Alder Lake have no P-cores at all.
These Atom series processors have 8 E-cores, specifically 2 quad-core E-core clusters, each cluster has a 2MB L2 cache, and the L3 cache has not been disclosed yet. The GPU is still the 32EU version, which is the same as the i5-12600, so the performance is not much different. However, there are no P-cores but only E-cores, which means that the overall performance of these processors will be much lower, and it may be more difficult to play games and affect the experience.
Intel claims that the performance of the E-core is similar to that of the Intel Skylake core, but Techspot’s actual tests found that the actual performance of the E-core is much worse than what Intel said. The reason is that the throughput of the E-cores is relatively poor because the core latency is higher, but the multi-threaded performance is similar to what Intel claims.
If you think the Atom processor with such poor performance is useless, it is also wrong, because there are some use cases where a cheap and energy-efficient processor will perform better. For example, some embedded devices can use these processors, such embedded devices have low-performance requirements, and only E-cores are sufficient to meet the needs. There are also lightweight devices such as Chromebooks that are also suitable for using E-cores. These devices are mainly used for office use or for students to study in class. So the price is cheap and the power consumption is low, and the battery life can be improved to meet the usage scenarios of ChromeBook devices, so there are still practical uses.
