Intel Processor U-Series bridges the gap between N-Series and Intel Core i3 (or does it?)

While looking for more details about some upcoming laptops, I noticed that the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 14 inch notebook, which supports up to an Intel Core i7-1355U Raptor Lake processor, will also be one of the first notebooks to support some of least powerful Raptor Lake chips. Entry-level configurations could be available with Intel Core i3-1305U or Intel Processor U300 chips.

And then I did a little more digging and discovered that while Intel unveiled those chips in January, the company didn’t really explain that the Intel Processor U300 is kind of in a category of its own.

On paper, the chip is actually a lot like the Core i3-1305U. Both are 15 to 55-watt chips based on 13th-gen Intel Core architecture and both are 5-core, 6-thread chips that have a single Performance core paired with four Efficiency cores and Intel UHD graphics.

But the Intel Core i3-1305U processor has a little more cache, slightly higher top CPU speeds, and better graphics (with a higher max frequency and 16 more execution units).

Meanwhile the Intel Processor name was unveiled earlier this year for the company’s Alder Lake-N lineup, which includes chips like the Intel Processor N50, N97, N100, and N200 (as well as the Core i3-305 processor). Intel is using the Intel Processor name as a replacement for the Celeron and Pentium branding that was used for previous-generation low-cost, low-power chips based on Intel Atom architecture (like the company’s Jasper Lake, Gemini Lake, and Apollo Lake chips from recent years).

But it turns out that those chips, which feature up to 8 Efficiency cores, but no Performance cores, are all grouped in the Intel Processor N-series.

The Intel Processor U300, meanwhile, is a 13th-gen chip that’s one of only two chips in the Intel Processor U-series (the other is the U300E, which is a slight variation designed for embedded applications).

Intel used to divide its low-cost Pentium mobile chips into Pentium Silver (N-series chips based on Atom architecture) and Pentium Gold (U-series chips based on Core architecture). As the company moves away from its Celeron and Pentium branding, it seems like Intel is sticking to that strategy… but now with the Intel Processor N- and U-series names.

The lineup is still a little confusing, given just how blurry the lines between Intel Processor and Intel Core can be. For example, the Intel Core i3-N305 processor is an Alder Lake-N chip with 8 Efficiency cores and 1.25 GHz Intel UHD graphics with 32 execution units. Intel says it earned the Core i3 name because it offers performance that’s similar to other Core i3 chips. But only supports up to 16GB of RAM.

The Intel Processor U300, meanwhile, is a 1P + 4E chip with 1.1 GHz Intel UHD graphics featuring 48 execution units, support for up to 64GB of RAM, and a much higher turbo power limit. But it’s not a Core i3 chip? Beats me.

Here’s a spec comparison of a few budget chips just to show how messy Intel’s current lineup can be:

The Raptor Lake chips can also support up to DDR5 or LPDDR5x memory with speeds up to 5200 MT/s, while Intel Alder Lake-N chips top out at 4800 MT/s.

Anyway, on paper the Intel Processor U300 looks like it should more powerful than a Core i3-N305 in most respects, although I suppose real-world performance may vary depending on the task. But it does make me wonder whether Intel’s decision to rebrand its entry-level chips has actually made anything easier to understand… or harder.