Mega-Tasking, Real World performance, Processor Glue. The legend of Ryan Shrout lives on it would seem.
Intel has unveiled a new customer playbook titled “Core Truths,” which hilariously criticizes AMD for incorporating outdated CPU architectures amongst its latest generation Ryzen CPU lineup.
Undoubtedly, Intel have seemingly forgotten the fact that their current 14th Generation Core processors are effectively recycled from the previous years, with the only nominal difference being artificial segmentation via their Application Performance Optimizer software.
Or the fact that Intel themselves were effectively stuck with the same Skylake architecture from their 6th Generation to their 10th Generation Core processors, a period that lasted five whole years.
Nevertheless, we must progress onwards to understand more about Intel’s new “Core Truths”.
Intel’s “Core Truths” playbook is aimed to assist customers in identifying potential half-truths propagated by competitors, including AMD. The playbook encompasses four “Core Truths” in which Intel endeavors to elucidate the distinctions between its Core lineup and some Ryzen CPUs offered by the competition.
Of course, completely refusing to acknowledge the fact that Intel’s Raptor Lake Refresh is a diehard rebrand with the aforementioned artificial difference being APO support.
In the initial “Core Truth,” Intel asserts that AMD is deploying an outdated CPU architecture in its Ryzen 7000 series of processors. The highlighted example is the Ryzen 7520U, which is a Mendocino CPU built on a previous generation Zen 2 architecture, tapped out on the TSMC 6nm process.
Zen 2 was initially introduced in 2019 on the 7nm process node, with the Mendocino “Ryzen 7020” series later receiving an update to a 6nm process node. The chip also incorporates RDNA 2 based integrated graphics.
The naming scheme can be immensely confusing, AMD however repurpose previous generation architectures far lower down the totem pole for applications and products that are far cheaper than alternatives, with the Ryzen 7020 series being aimed towards “Everyday Computing” at an entry level.
AMD also deploys “Barcelo” and “Rembrandt” amongst its Ryzen 7000 series fold, denominated as the 7030 and 7035 series’ respectively, these are based on the existing Zen 3 architecture, given how AMD continues to produce immensely affordable CPUs that entry level consumers absolutely love, preserving the longevity of the outdated AM4 socket platform with the fan favorite Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
The Ryzen 7030 series is aimed towards more mainstream devices, a little pricier with the more efficient and potent 7035 Rembrandt based CPUs aimed towards more premium thin devices.
And then finally you have the 7040 and 7045 series, based on AMD’s latest Zen 4 architecture.
AMD’s naming scheme is confusing, having several generations scattered across the same 7000 series moniker is somewhat disingenuous, however they are somewhat segmented and distinguishable so long as you understand the naming scheme specifically.
Speaking of confusing customers, Intel on the other hand are deploying very similar tactics with their current crop of 14th Generation mobility processors which features similarly named SKUs with varying architectures.
Intel’s 1st Gen Core CPUs utilize the outdated Raptor Lake CPU architecture, while the 1st Gen Core Ultra CPUs employ the newer Meteor Lake CPU architecture.
This is of course forgetting the fact that throughout Intel’s 13th Generation Core lineup, SKUs below that of the i5-13500 were actually previous generation 12th Gen “Alder Lake” components.
Intel further compares the AMD Ryzen 5 7520U “Mendocino” CPU with its own Core i5-1335U, which is based on the Raptor Cove architecture, revealing an 83% performance uplift with Intel’s chip.
The second “Core Truth” echoes the same concern, highlighting AMD’s use of the Ryzen 7000 branding while delivering older architectures within the family.
Intel asserts that “Not all cores give you the best overall performance.” with its 4th “core truth” which is absolutely true, Intel incorporates two types of cores in its latest processors: the P-Core and the E-Core, part of their hybrid design.
These cores are based on different architectures, and Intel’s E-Cores in particular are notorious in affecting gaming performance without proper optimization.
The company compares Zen 2 “Mendocino” and Zen 3 “Cezanne” against 12th-Gen Alder Lake chips, as well as Zen 3+ “Rembrandt” and Zen 4 “Phoenix” against 13th Gen Core processors.
The performance figures, based on the Crossmark Overall Score test, are a single test and may not be representative of actual real-world performance. Intel demonstrates its Core lineup leading against all offerings from AMD, again with a performance comparison conducted via Crossmark, a synthetic evaluation that seemingly favors Intel Core processors of AMD Ryzen chips.
it’s essential to note that neither pricing nor efficiency, both significant factors in the laptop segment, are mentioned in these “Core Truths”, as said before AMD has pushed previous generation hardware further down the segmentation line targeting entry level devices for affordable prices. while Intel themselves are much more happy to offer you a pittance of two performance cores fitted with additional and more slower efficiency cores in these lower-end segments.
Such as the Intel Core i5-1335U, which features just 2 performance cores and 4 threads alongside 8 efficiency cores, giving the illusion of a ten-core processor, while the Ryzen 7 7840U and 7735U both come equipped with six whole cores and twelve threads.
You’d probably be shocked to realize that previous generation AMD hardware isn’t only more efficient compared to Intel’s supposed “latest” architecture but overall performance lands in favor of AMD as well.
Much of this marketing buzz is reminiscent of Intel’s previous “Real-World” Performance slides, which were criticized for being immensely misleading aimed at depicting AMD’s Ryzen Desktop CPUs as inferior products compared to Intel’s offerings as the blue brand seemingly continues to throw stones from a glass house.
