[The Exiled]

Intel Lakefield tested - it's disapointing: Intel's big.LITTLE style CPU needs some work

The model tested by NotebookCheck features Intel's high-end Lakefield model, the Intel Core i5-L16G7, a processor with features a single high-performance Sunny Cove CPU core and four power-efficient Tremont cores. This design is similar to ARM's big.LITTLE design scheme, where powerful cores provide high-performance levels when requires while low power cores handle background loads and deliver peak performance/watt characteristics. While NotebookCheck's look at Intel's Lakefield processor was far from a full review, it reveals that Intel's big.LITTLE style x86 processors need more work to achieve their full potential. It is likely that a combination of software and hardware changes will be necessary to deliver on Lakefield's ambitions.

Intel Alder Lake-S desktop socket config exposed: DDR5 and big.LITTLE arch rumored

Alder Lake-S is rumored to bring some interesting changes to the landscape. There is the anticipated shift to 10nm and new socket, but also DDR5 memory (which SK Hynix is mass producing) and, at long last, PCI Express 4.0 support. Alder Lake will arrive with up to 16 cores arranged in a big-slash-little format that is similar (though not identical) to ARM's big.LITTLE approach. At least two Alder Lake-S processors will feature 8 big cores and 8 small cores, plus onboard graphics (labeled as an 8+8+1 configuration). One of those chips is said to have a 125W TDP and the other an 80W TDP.