– Intel’s Wildcat Lake series targets affordable, lightweight laptops as MacBook Neo rivals.
– Entry-level Core 3 304 (5-core, 1 performance core) nearly ties Apple’s A18 Pro in benchmarks.
– Single-thread scores: Core 3 304 at 3,676 vs. A18 Pro at 3,982 (only ~7.7% difference).
– CPU Mark scores are similar: 11,543 for Intel vs. 11,804 for Apple’s A18 Pro.
– Early results based on just 3 samples; scores may shift with more testing.
Intel’s New Wildcat Lake Chips Show Up in Benchmarks
Intel has launched the Wildcat Lake series for lightweight and affordable laptops, and some companies have already released MacBook Neo rivals powered by these processors. While in-depth reviews haven’t appeared yet, recently discovered benchmark results give a early look at what these CPUs can do, and the numbers are pretty surprising for a budget chip.
Entry-Level CPU Ties With Apple A18 Pro
A notable benchmark result from Passmark shows the Intel Core 3 304, the entry-level chip in the new lineup, holdig its own against Apple’s best. It uses a five-core configuration, with only one performance core, but even so it seems to have tied against the Apple A18 Pro found in the MacBook Neo, which is a mobile processor. The Apple A18 Pro got a single-thread rating of 3,982 on the benchmark, while the Intel Core 3 304 got 3,676 points, a difference of around 7.7% which is impressive for an entry-level Intel part.
Multi-Core Performance Is Very Close
In terms of multi-core performance, which shows the overall score from eight differnet tests, the two processors are very similar. Specifically, the Intel Core 3 304 scores 11,543 points on the CPU Mark test, while the MacBook Neo’s A18 Pro scores 11,804 points. These results are quite impressive, since the Intel chip is a budget design, and its worth noting that the score for the Intel CPU is based on only three samples so far. With more samples tested, the final score could shift, but at this early stage it is quite impressive to see the entry-level Wildcat Lake achieving such benchmark performance.
First Laptops With Core 3 304 Already Announced
For anyone interested, the HP OmniBook 3, IdeaPad Slim 3i, and Chuwi UniBook are among the first laptops that are confirmed to feature the Core 3 304 processor, with more options from different brands expected to arrive soon. These laptops are designed to compete in the budget space, offering light weight and affordable pricing, making them potential rivals to the MacBook Neo for users who want Windows compatability.
Leave a Reply