Intel Core i3-1215U

Description

Good performance

The Intel Core i3-1215U was announced at the beginning of 2022 and is part of the Alder Lake-U architecture. The "U" stands for ultra-low voltage and focuses on low power consumption rather than maximum performance. This makes the architecture suitable for thin and light laptops. The Intel Core i3-1215U offers four efficiency and two performance cores and has a clock frequency of 0.9 to 4.4 GHz. The TDP ("power consumption") of 15 watts is within the expected range for an Intel Core i3 processor. A maximum of 55 watts can be achieved in accelerated mode. The 10 nm technology with which the processor is manufactured is no longer quite up to date, but the price is somewhat lower. With RAM support of up to 5200 MHz, almost all current RAM can be installed. This means that the processor differs only slightly from the Intel Core i5-1235U, although the latter has more cores. Nevertheless, the Intel Core i3-1215U should be regarded as an entry-level processor.
As it is an entry-level processor, the Intel Core i3-1215U is not offered with dedicated graphics cards. This is because its performance is not sufficient for current games. Instead, an Intel UHD Graphics 64EUs is installed as an integrated graphics card. "EU" stands for Execution Unit. The more there are, the better the laptop can calculate in parallel. 64 EUs are currently lower mid-range on the market. This is enough for everyday tasks such as office work, writing e-mails, surfing the web and watching videos. Otherwise, the performance is just enough for older and less demanding games such as League of Legends.

Low price

Due to its performance data, the Intel Core i3-1215U is often found as the cheapest variant in current small and lightweight notebooks. HP and Lenovo use the Intel Core i3-1215U more frequently, for example in the IdeaPad model range in various series. This series is also aimed at customers with a small budget and users with low requirements. Most notebooks are priced between €500 and €1000.
All in all, the Intel Core i3-1215U is a powerful and cost-effective entry-level processor that can handle all everyday tasks well.