The Intel Core i5-1240U is a power-efficient notebook CPU based on the new Alder Lake architecture, which was introduced in January 2022. This CPU is based on the Alder Lake-M chip (for the 9W U-series) and features 2 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficiency cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support hyper-threading (hence 12 threads in total) and clock from 1.1 to 4.4 GHz. The E-cores clock from 0.8 to 3.3 GHz and are intended to offer performance comparable to old Skylake cores (such as the i7-6300HQ). The i5-1240U, like the i7-1260U, offers the full "enterprise" vPro management features but is clocked lower and offers a slower iGPU.
Performance
With 10 cores and the new architecture, the performance of the Intel Core i5-1240U should be significantly higher in all areas compared to the old 7-watt 4-core processors of the Comet-Lake series (such as the i7-10510Y). However, compared to the similarly named i5-1245U, the reduced TDP should significantly limit performance.
Graphics Unit
Like its predecessor, Intel integrates an Intel Xe-based graphics unit into Alder Lake. In the case of the 1240U, 80 of the 96 EUs are activated and clock up to 0.9 GHz.
Features
Similar to Tiger Lake, Alder Lake also partially integrates WiFi 6E and Thunderbolt 4 (4x). The integrated memory controller supports DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The integrated Gaussian and Neural Accelerator (GNA) is now built into version 3.0. The Media Engine Quick Sync 8 is the same as in Rocket Lake and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 Decode, JPEG, VP8 Decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 Decode. The chip only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for the GPU and two x4 for SSDs).
Power Consumption
The Intel Core i5-1240U is rated at 9 watts (PL1) TDP and 29 watts (PL2) max. Turbo Power. The processor is manufactured using the modern Intel 7 process (10 nm).
Comparison to Other Processors
Codename: Alder Lake-U
Series: Alder Lake-M, Alder Lake-U
- Intel Core i7-1265U: 1.3 - 4.8 GHz, 10 / 12 cores, 12 MB L3
- Intel Core i7-1255U: 1.2 - 4.7 GHz, 10 / 12 cores, 12 MB L3
- Intel Core i5-1245U: 1.2 - 4.4 GHz, 10 / 12 cores, 12 MB L3
- Intel Core i5-1235U: 0.9 - 4.4 GHz, 10 / 12 cores, 12 MB L3
- Intel Core i7-1260U: 0.8 - 4.7 GHz, 10 / 12 cores, 12 MB L3
- Intel Core i7-1250U: 0.8 - 4.7 GHz, 10 / 12 cores, 12 MB L3
It's important to note that the number of cores listed for each processor is actually the number of threads, not physical cores. This is because these processors use Intel's Hyper-Threading technology, which allows each physical core to handle two threads at once.
In terms of performance, the higher-end i7-1265U and i7-1255U processors offer the highest clock speeds, with a maximum of 4.8 GHz and 4.7 GHz, respectively. They also have the highest number of threads, at 12.
The i5-1245U and i5-1235U are mid-range processors with slightly lower clock speeds, but still offer good performance for most everyday tasks. The i5-1235U has a lower base clock speed of 0.9 GHz, but can boost up to 4.4 GHz, while the i5-1245U has a base clock speed of 1.2 GHz and can boost up to 4.4 GHz.
The i7-1260U and i7-1250U are lower-end processors, with lower clock speeds and fewer threads than the other processors listed. However, they still offer solid performance and can handle most everyday tasks with ease.
It's also worth noting that the amount of L3 cache is the same for all of these processors, at 12 MB. This cache is used to store frequently accessed data and can help improve overall system performance.
