Intel Core i7-1065G7 vs i5-1035G4 – the bigger one has more performance and it is more expensive

LaptopMedia.com Comparisons Intel Core i7-1065G7 vs i5-1035G4 - the bigger one has more performance and it is more expensive

From: Nikolay Palaozov 17 December 2019 / 09:45 0

Today we are going to compare two Ice Lake CPUs – Core i7-1065G7 and Core i5-1035G4. Both are hot products, freshly released, with a 10nm tech process and with powerful Intel Iris Plus Graphics on board. We want to know is the CPU and iGPU performance of the smaller one enough for your usual daily tasks / light games or the bigger one is the better choice?

Quick Specs

Bulk prices – $426.00 for i7-1065G7 and $309.00 for i5-1035G4. This is exactly $117 difference, there is a big price gap between the two CPUs.

The modern i5 CPUs are very decent products because of their core count – i5-1035G4 has 4 cores and 8 threads (same as Core i7-1065G7). The TDP levels and supported memory frequencies are the same for both. Core i7-1065G7 has 200MHz more for both base and boost frequencies compared to i5-1035G4. Core i7-1065G7 is “armed” with Intel Iris Plus G7 (with 64 EUs) while i5-1035G4 has Intel Iris Plus G4 (with 48 EUs).

More detailed specs here – Intel Core i7-1065G7 / Intel Core i5-1035G4.

Our table:

	Intel Core i7-1065G7	Intel Core i5-1035G4
Cores / Threads	4 / 8	4 / 8
Base / Max frequency	1.30 – 3.90 GHz	1.10 – 3.70 GHz
Cache	8 MB Intel Smart Cache	6 MB Intel Smart Cache
TDP / up / down	15W / 25W / 12W	15W / 25W / 12W
Memory support	DDR4-3200, LPDDR4-3733	DDR4-3200, LPDDR4-3733

CPU Benchmarks

Core i7-1065G7 is 14% faster which was expected.

GPU Benchmarks

This is where the Intel Iris Plus G7 shines brightly, with a 30% better GPU score in 3DMark Fire Strike.

Gaming tests

Verdict

Core i7-1065G7 and Core i5-1035G4 are good CPUs. They deliver good performance and have capable iGPUs. This is the spot where the big question arises – is the i7-1065G7 too expensive for its performance? Yes, the i7-1065G7 is faster but the CPU performance gap is not that big – 14%. The Intel Iris G4 in i5-1035G4 is delivering acceptable GPU performance too but it is still around 30% slower than the Intel Iris Plus G7. Of course, keep in mind that i5-1035G4 is significantly cheaper compared to the i7-1065G7. If you don’t care about the graphics power and you just need a snappy CPU, the i5-1035G4 is the smartest choice in this case with a better price/performance ratio. Intel Iris G4 is even faster than the old UHD king – the 630 variant.

On the other hand – if you need the best possible iGPU performance from an Intel CPU – well, the Core i7-1065G7 is the only choice. That’s a fact – the Intel Iris G7 will provide smoother frame times in light games like DOTA2 and CS:GO. In terms of CPU performance, the Core i7-1065G7 is faster compared to i5-1035G4, but it’s not that far away from it.

It is up to you to make the choice. Do you need 14% better CPU performance and 30% iGPU performance for $117 more?