Intel Core i5-1038NG7 vs Apple M1

CPU comparison with benchmarks

Intel Core i5-1038NG7		Apple M1
CPU comparison Intel Core i5-1038NG7 or Apple M1 - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results. The Intel Core i5-1038NG7 has 4 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.80 GHz. Up to 64 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-1038NG7 was released in Q2/2020. The Apple M1 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Apple M1 was released in Q4/2020.
Intel Core i5 (331)	Family	Apple M series (23)
Intel Core i 1000G/10000U (19)	CPU group	Apple M1 (9)
10	Generation	1
Ice Lake U	Architecture	M1
Mobile	Segment	Mobile
--	Predecessor	--
--	Successor	Apple M2
CPU Cores and Base Frequency The Intel Core i5-1038NG7 has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i5-1038NG7 is 2.00 GHz (3.80 GHz) while the Apple M1 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Apple M1 is at 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz).
Intel Core i5-1038NG7	Characteristic	Apple M1
4	Cores	8
8	Threads	8
normal	Core architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes	Hyperthreading	No
No	Overclocking ?	No
2.00 GHz (3.80 GHz)	A-Core	0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz) 4x Firestorm
--	B-Core	0.60 GHz (2.06 GHz) 4x Icestorm
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.
Intel Core i5-1038NG7	Characteristic	Apple M1
--	AI hardware	Apple Neural Engine
--	AI specifications	16 Neural cores @ 11 TOPS
Internal Graphics The Intel Core i5-1038NG7 or Apple M1 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7	GPU	Apple M1 (8 Core)
0.30 GHz	GPU frequency	0.39 GHz
1.05 GHz	GPU (Turbo)	1.30 GHz
11	GPU Generation	1
14 nm	Technology	5 nm
3	Max. displays	2
64	Compute units	128
512	Shader	1024
No	Hardware Raytracing	No
No	Frame Generation	No
32 GB	Max. GPU Memory	8 GB
12	DirectX Version	--
Hardware codec support A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7	GPU	Apple M1 (8 Core)
Decode / Encode	Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit)	Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode	Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit)	Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode	Codec h264	Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode	Codec VP9	Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode	Codec VP8	Decode
No	Codec AV1	No
Decode / Encode	Codec AVC	Decode
Decode	Codec VC-1	Decode
Decode / Encode	Codec JPEG	Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe The Intel Core i5-1038NG7 can use up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 59.6 GB/s. The Apple M1 supports up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 68.2 GB/s.
Intel Core i5-1038NG7	Characteristic	Apple M1
LPDDR4-3733, DDR4-3200	Memory	LPDDR4X-4266
64 GB	Max. Memory	16 GB
2 (Dual Channel)	Memory channels	2 (Dual Channel)
59.6 GB/s	Max. Bandwidth	68.2 GB/s
No	ECC	No
--	L2 Cache	16.00 MB
6.00 MB	L3 Cache	--
3.0	PCIe version	4.0
16	PCIe lanes	--
15.8 GB/s	PCIe Bandwidth	--
Thermal Management The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i5-1038NG7 is 28 W, while the Apple M1 has a TDP of 18 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.
Intel Core i5-1038NG7	Characteristic	Apple M1
28 W	TDP (PL1 / PBP)	18 W
--	TDP (PL2)	--
--	TDP up	20 W
--	TDP down	10 W
100 °C	Tjunction max.	--
Technical details The Intel Core i5-1038NG7 is manufactured in 10 nm and has 6.00 MB cache. The Apple M1 is manufactured in 5 nm and has a 16.00 MB cache.
Intel Core i5-1038NG7	Characteristic	Apple M1
10 nm	Technology	5 nm
Monolithic	Chip design	Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit)	Instruction set (ISA)	Armv8.5-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2	ISA extensions	Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
BGA 1344	Socket	--
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d	Virtualization	Apple Virtualization Framework
Yes	AES-NI	Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux	Operating systems	macOS
Q2/2020	Release date	Q4/2020
320 $	Release price	--
show more data		show more data
Intel Core i5-1038NG7 4C 8T @ 2.00 GHz (3.80 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save! Apple M1 8C 8T @ 0.60 GHz (3.20 GHz) buy now on Amazon and save!

Devices using this processor
Intel Core i5-1038NG7	Apple M1
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020)	Apple iMac 24 (2021) Apple MacBook Pro 13 (L2020) Apple MacBook Air (2020) Apple Mac mini (2020) Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021) Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) Apple iPad Air (2022)

News and articles for the Intel Core i5-1038NG7 and the Apple M1

Comparison of the two processors

In the press, Apple's new M1 processor is covered with praise. A direct comparison of the Apple M1 with the Intel Core i5-1038NG7 shows that the praise is well justified. Because Intel's 28 watt CPU is sometimes clearly beaten in comparison with the Apple M1 processor, which operates at a maximum of 15 watts. The most objective is currently the Cinebench R23, in which the Apple M1 is approx. 25% faster in the single core and 35% faster in the multi-core benchmark.

The raw performance per clock in the Apple M1 is enormously better than in the Intel Core i5-1038NG7, because the latter clocks its cores with up to 3.8 GHz, while the M1 is clocked with a maximum of 3.2 GHz. The chips couldn't be more different in detail: Apple already relies on the big.LITTLE principle, in which small and efficient CPU cores are paired with fast performance cores, all 4 cores in the Intel processor are identical.

The Apple M1 can be used passively cooled (Apple Macbook Air 2020) or actively cooled (Apple Macbook Pro 2020 or Apple mac mini 2020). Active cooling has advantages in long load phases, during which the passively cooled Apple M1 throttles down to 10 watts of power loss after a certain period of time. Apple has given the M1 16 special cores that can be used to calculate machine learning. In addition, the new AV1 video codec is decoded in hardware, which can benefit the energy consumption and thus also the battery life in a notebook.

The iGPU (internal graphics unit) of the Apple M1 beats the Intel Iris Plus Graphics (Ice Lake G7) by a factor of 2.5 in FP32 calculations (single precision). This is impressive, but is also due to the fact that the iGPU of the Intel Core i5-1038NG7 is still manufactured in a 14 nm process (the processor itself is already manufactured in 10 nm), while the Apple M1 is manufactured entirely in 5 nm at TSMC . Apple also connects the LPDDR4X-4266 memory tightly and efficiently to the SoC, which significantly increases the bandwidth compared to the classic use in DRAM modules.

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