Intel Core 3 N355 vs Intel Processor N250 vs Intel Processor N150
Intel Core 3 N355
► remove from comparison
The Intel Core 3 N355 (sometimes referred to as the Intel Processor N355) is a mobile processor of the Twin Lake family which is mostly identical to Alder Lake-N, an architecture that will turn 4 in H2 2025. The chip is meant for entry-level laptops, tablets and mini PCs; it offers 8 Efficient (Gracemont) cores that run at up to 3.9 GHz but no Performance cores.
The E-cores do not support Hyper-Threading. No extra threads here.
Performance
The performance of the Core 3 CPU depends heavily on the cooling solution and TDP settings of the system. Provided both are good enough, it will deliver multi-thread benchmark cores on par with older quad-core CPUs like the Ryzen 3 5300U and Core i7-1165G7, which should be enough to run most day-to-day tasks in 2025. Its single-core performance is much less impressive due to the lack of P-cores.
The Alder Lake-N Core i3-N305 (8 cores, up to 3.8 GHz) that was introduced in early 2023 should be just a few percentage points slower than the N355.
Graphics
The SoC comes equipped with a Xe-architecture graphics unit with 32 EUs (Execution Units) running at up to 1.35 GHz. The iGPU can drive up to 3 UHD 2160p monitors and hardware-decodes AV1 among other popular video codecs. Due to the low number of Xe cores and the single-channel RAM restriction, gaming performance is only good enough for older games and fairly low resolutions. GTA V is perfectly playable at 768p on Medium.
Architecture and Features
The integrated memory controller supports single-channel DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800 and LPDDR5-4800 RAM. PCIe NVMe SSD speeds are capped at 3.9 GB/s, corresponding to the PCIe 3 spec. There is no Thunderbolt / USB 4 support here, however, the latest Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking modules are supported.
Its L3 cache is relatively small at 6 MB, and it has no proper NPU (and thus no Copilot+ branding).
Power consumption
The Intel Core 3 N355 is supposed to consume 15 watts when under longer loads. This is the Intel-recommended PL1 for the chip. While no data on PL2 has been provided, we do know that Asus has given the Core 3 a power limit of 35 watts (PL2) in the NUC 14 Essential.
The SoC is manufactured using the second-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 meaning power efficiency isn't great here compared to the latest 3 nm silicon from the likes of Apple.
Intel Processor N250
► remove from comparison
The Intel Processor N250 is a mobile processor of the Twin Lake family which is mostly identical to Alder Lake-N, an architecture that will turn 4 in H2 2025. The chip is meant for entry-level laptops, tablets and mini PCs with no fans; it offers 4 Efficient (Gracemont) cores that run at up to 3.8 GHz, but no Performance cores. Compared to the N350, the N250 has a half as many CPU cores, resulting in a very significant (over 30%) performance loss. The iGPU is slightly slower here, too.
Gracemont E-cores do not support Hyper-Threading. No extra threads here.
Performance
Its multi-thread performance should be a few percentage points higher than older dual-core CPUs like the Core i3-10110U. Exact figures depend on the cooling solution and TDP settings of the system. Either way, this is a pretty slow chip that is only just fast enough for basic tasks.
Graphics
The SoC comes equipped with a Xe-architecture graphics unit with 32 EUs (Execution Units) running at up to 1.25 GHz. The iGPU can drive up to 3 UHD 2160p monitors and hardware-decodes AV1 among other popular video codecs. Due to the low number of Xe cores and the single-channel RAM restriction, gaming performance is only good enough for older games and fairly low resolutions. GTA V should be playable at 720p on Medium.
Architecture and Features
The integrated memory controller supports single-channel DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800 and LPDDR5-4800 RAM. PCIe NVMe SSD speeds are capped at 3.9 GB/s, corresponding to the PCIe 3 spec. There is no Thunderbolt / USB 4 support here, however, the latest Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking modules are supported.
Its L3 cache is relatively small at 6 MB, and it has no proper NPU (and thus no Copilot+ branding).
Power consumption
The N250 is supposed to consume 6 watts when under longer loads. This is the Intel-recommended PL1 for the chip. No data on PL2 has been provided but values higher than 15 W are unlikely.
The SoC is manufactured using the second-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 meaning power efficiency isn't great here compared to the latest 3 nm silicon from the likes of Apple.
Intel Processor N150
► remove from comparisonThe Intel Processor N150 is the slowest mobile processor of the Twin Lake family. Twin Lake is mostly identical to Alder Lake-N, an architecture that will turn 4 in H2 2025. The N150 is meant for entry-level laptops, tablets and mini PCs with no fans; it offers 4 Efficient (Gracemont) cores that run at up to 3.6 GHz, but no Performance cores. Compared to the N250, the N150 has a significantly slower iGPU and slightly lower CPU clock speeds.
Gracemont E-cores do not support Hyper-Threading. No extra threads here.
Performance
Its multi-thread performance should be about as good as older dual-core CPUs like the Core i3-10110U. Exact figures depend on the cooling solution and TDP settings of the system. Either way, this is a pretty slow chip that is only just fast enough for basic tasks.
Graphics
The SoC comes equipped with a Xe-architecture graphics unit with 24 EUs (Execution Units) running at up to 1.0 GHz. The iGPU can drive up to 3 UHD 2160p monitors and hardware-decodes AV1 among other popular video codecs. Due to the low number of Xe cores and the single-channel RAM restriction, gaming performance is only good enough for very old games and low resolutions such as XGA 1024 x 768.
Architecture and Features
The integrated memory controller supports single-channel DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800 and LPDDR5-4800 RAM. PCIe NVMe SSD speeds are capped at 3.9 GB/s, corresponding to the PCIe 3 spec. There is no Thunderbolt / USB 4 support here, however, the latest Intel CNVi Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking modules are supported.
Its L3 cache is relatively small at 6 MB, and it has no proper NPU (and thus no Copilot+ branding).
Power consumption
The N150 is supposed to consume 6 watts when under longer loads. This is the Intel-recommended PL1 for the chip. No data on PL2 has been provided but values higher than 15 W are unlikely.
The SoC is manufactured using the second-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 meaning power efficiency isn't great here compared to the latest 3 nm silicon from the likes of Apple.
| Model | Intel Core 3 N355 | Intel Processor N250 | Intel Processor N150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Twin Lake | Twin Lake | Twin Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | Intel Alder Lake-N | Intel Alder Lake-N | Intel Alder Lake-N | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: Alder Lake-N Twin Lake |
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| Clock | 3000 - 3900 MHz | <=3800 MHz | <=3600 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L1 Cache | 768 KB | 192 KB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 2 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 6 MB | 6 MB | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 8 x 3.9 GHz Intel Gracemont E-Core | 4 / 4 4 x 3.8 GHz Intel Gracemont E-Core | 4 / 4 4 x 3.6 GHz Intel Gracemont E-Core | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 15 Watt | 6 Watt | 6 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 10 nm | 10 nm | 10 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Socket | BGA1264 | BGA1264 | BGA1264 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | DDR4-3200/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-4800 RAM (sin. chan.), PCIe 3, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | DDR4-3200/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-4800 RAM (sin. chan.), PCIe 3, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | DDR4-3200/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-4800 RAM (sin. chan.), PCIe 3, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics 32EUs (Alder Lake) ( - 1350 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 32EUs (Alder Lake) (1250 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) ( - 1000 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | x86 | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | www.intel.com | www.intel.com | www.intel.com |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Core 3 N355 → 100% n=4
Average Benchmarks Intel Processor N250 → 74% n=4
Average Benchmarks Intel Processor N150 → 75% n=4
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
