When Intel introduced Core Gen12 processors, it introduced gracemont architecture, which was used in the high-performance cores of this generation and was repeated in Core Gen13. According to the chip giant, it had high-efficiency cores CPI which was more or less on par with Skylakeand its first implementation on a standalone processor came with the Intel N100, which features four Gracemont cores.

In case anyone is lost, I remind you that Skylake was the architecture used starting with Core Gen6. In later generations, Intel used names like Kaby Lake or Coffee Lake, but in the end the basis was still Skylake and the IPC did not change. The performance improvement brought an increase in operating frequencies, a larger number of cores and threads, and a corresponding increase in cache memory.

The first real major architecture change in a line of consumer processors came with the Core Gen11s, which used the Cypress Cove architecture, although We’ve seen the most important leap Intel has made recently with Core Gen12which introduced Golden Cove architecture in high performance cores and Gracemont in high efficiency cores.

The Gracemont cores are a real miracle. They are very low power, take up very little space at the silicon level and still manage to offer the IPC we’ve found in one of Intel’s most powerful and durable architectures, but are these cores really any good? According to the performance data that we find in Geekbench 6, yes, in fact, I have to say that it completely exceeded my expectations.

The Intel N100, configured with 4 cores and 4 Gracemont threads at a maximum frequency of 3.4 GHz and a TDP of 6 watts, scores 1,296 single-threaded and 3,442 multi-threadedwhile the Core i5-7400 with four cores and four threads at a maximum frequency of 3.5 GHz and a TDP of 65 watts achieves 1,139 single-thread points and 3,113 multi-thread points. The Intel Core i9-9100, which also has four cores and four threads with a TDP of 65 watts and runs at a maximum frequency of 4.2 GHz, achieves 1,343 points in single-threaded and 3,598 points in multi-threaded.

Looking at these scores, it is clear that the Intel Core i3-9100 you only earn for your increased frequency of work. These results confirm that the performance-to-consumption ratio of the Intel N100 is simply fantastic and allows us to imagine the performance we could expect from the Intel Core i3-N300, a processor with 8 Gracemont cores and 8 threads running at a frequency of 3.8 GHz. A TDP of 7 watts and that would be on chips that were listed as HEDT for the Skylake generation.