Intel Core i3 (12th Gen) i3-12100 Quad-core (4 Core) 3.30 GHz Processor - Retail Pack, Blue

Product Information

As you’ll notice, the Alder Lake chips top out at six performance cores while Intel’s previous-gen mobile processors had up to ten cores. Intel augments the six P-cores with up to eight E-cores, which allows the processor to provide similar or better performance in multi-threaded workloads than the previous-gen ten core models. Naturally, the P-cores’ higher IPC also delivers more performance in single-threaded work. Just over a month ago Intel pulled the trigger on the rest of its 12th generation "Alder Lake" Core desktop processors, adding no fewer than 22 new chips. This significantly fleshed out the Alder Lake family, adding in the mid-range and low-end chips that weren't part of Intel's original, high-end focused launch. Combined with the launch of the rest of the 600 series chipsets, this finally opened the door to building cheaper and lower-powered Alder Lake systems. Intel's 12th generation Alder Lake desktop processorshave been splitinto the following naming schemes and Performance (P) core and Efficiency (E) core configurations:

See http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/hyper-threading/hyper-threading-technology.html?wapkw=hyper+threading for more information including details on which processors support Intel® HT Technology. Additionally, the new desktop PC motherboards for Alder Lake chips will herald the arrival of mainstream ATX12VO motherboards that leverage a new lower-power PSU specification. Both systems with support for standard power supplies and the ATX12VO spec are planned, but Intel is on a full-court press to push the adoption of the new standard.However, despite Intel's fondness for the standard, we have yet to see a significant number of 600-series boards that support ATX12VO. Almost all boards work with standard power supplies. Intel 12th-Gen Alder Lake Xe LP Integrated Graphics Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics only: to use the Intel® Iris® Xe brand, the system must be populated with 128-bit (dual channel) memory. Otherwise, use the Intel® UHD brand.All models support: SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, Speed Shift Technology (SST), Intel 64, XD bit (an NX bit implementation), Intel VT-x, Intel VT-d, Hyper-threading, Turbo Boost, AES-NI, Smart Cache, Thread Director, DL Boost, and GNA 3.0.

Flipping through the 99th percentile charts shows larger deltas, but we have to view those with caution as Windows 11 is still young and seems to suffer from more framerate variability than our Windows 10 test platform. This could result from yet-to-be-updated game code, the relatively new graphics drivers for Windows 11, or some other combination of factors that could be smoothed out in the future. All models support: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST), Intel 64, XD bit (an NX bit implementation), Intel VT-x, Hyper-Threading, Smart Cache. Intel says the Xe LP engine supports 1080p gameplay and features a 12-bit end-to-end video pipeline. The desktop PC models don't have Thunderbolt 4 connectivity or an image processing unit (IPU), with those features being used only for mobile variants.Additionally, threads can go through various phases and instruction mixes over their lifetime, so the scheduler constantly re-adjusts based on the real-time telemetry data. This is helpful when the number of threads designated for 'performance' outnumber the available cores, for instance. In that case, less demanding 'performance' threads, such as a program in a spin loop, can be moved off to the efficiency cores while more deserving workloads are assigned to the performance core. Z690 motherboards are more expensive than lower-end alternatives, but we expect the lower-end Alder Lake H670, B660 and H610 motherboards to be announced at CES 2022.

Intel also unveiled the specifications for its P- and U-series chips but didn’t provide any additional commentary. However, we can see that the P-series chips have a 28W TDP and jump to a 64W TDP under load. These chips come with either four or six P-cores paired with eight E-cores. These chips are designed for performance thin-and-light laptops. All models support: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST), Intel 64, XD bit (an NX bit implementation), Intel VT-x, EPT, Hyper-threading, Smart Cache, ECC memory. Intel pioneered the x86 hybrid architecture with its Lakefield chips, with those inaugural models coming with one Sunny Cove core paired with four Atom Tremont cores. Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families. See http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers.html for details. Intel also introduced its 14nm Z690 chipset for the initial release, and you can read about the chipset and some of the first 60+ motherboards in our Z690 motherboard roundup here. There's a wide selection of DDR5 motherboards spread among the various motherboard makers' high- and lower-end Z690 families. However, DDR4 models appear to be confined to the lower-end Z690 boards (unlike previous generations, no motherboard supports both DDR4 and DDR5). We expect pricing for DDR5 to be substantially higher than DDR4, currently projected to be a 50 to 60% markup, for some time.

140 Comments

All models support up to DDR5-4800, LPDDR5-5200, DDR4-3200, or LPDDR4X-4266 memory, and 28 lanes of PCI Express 5.0/4.0. Alder Lake's new memory controllers support four different memory types: DDR5-4800 and LP5-5200, along with DDR4-3200 and LP4x-4266. This single design's broad memory support enables different types of memory configurations for different use-cases. It appears that Intel will split its memory support into DDR4 for lower-end Z690 motherboards, B- and H-series models, and mobile systems, while DDR5 will only slot in for the highest-end Z-series motherboards. This makes sense given the expected high pricing for DDR5 memory in the early days of adoption, though it's notable that Intel hasn't confirmed its approach yet.