Changes are happening across the CPU world, and it appears this is a good thing. We are not experts on the matter, but that doesn’t mean we are not able to explain some of the things that are happening. What we’re talking about here is the P-Cores and E-Cores found in Intel CPUs. Chances are, this is the first time you are hearing of such cores, but worry not, we’re going to explain everything.
What is the difference between Intel P-Cores and E-Cores?
The information below will highlight much of the important aspects of Intel P-Cores and E-Cores, so read carefully for deeper understanding.
- What is Performance (P) core all about?
- What is Efficiency (E) core all about?
- The primary benefits of P cores and E cores
- All of this cannot happen without Intel Thread Director
1] What is Performance (P) core?
The P cores found in Alder Lake SKUs are cores that focus more on performance computing than anything else. They were designed to run in the foreground and optimize your system for performance in thin and lightly threaded applications. These applications are mainly CAD and gaming, but others also fall under this category.
Since the P cores are multi-threaded like the previous generation, it simply means 1 core equals 2 threads.
Read: What are CPU cores? How many CPU cores do I need?
2] What is Efficiency (E) core?
E cores are a bit different from P cores. You see, these cores were designed to run in the background to provide computational density. Not only that, but E cores are optimized for scaling highly threaded workloads. Also, by design, E cores run at a lower frequency than the P cores. Additionally, E cores are single-threaded, which means one core, one thread.
3] The primary benefits of P-cores and E-cores
From what we have gathered thus far, there are many benefits to having this hybrid system inside your computer. In fact, we believe laptop owners will see the most benefits here since most daily tasks are not performance-intensive.
For example, if all you require is the power the E cores deliver, then you will realize your laptop will run a quitter with a longer battery life to boot.
We suspect that developers will create applications written with hybrid CPUs in mind in the future. But there must first be a market for it, which means it will take time, probably multiple years down the line.
4] What is Intel Thread Director
As stated above, the hybrid model is quite new for x86 CPU designs. As such, your PC needs to be able to distinguish which cores and threads are best used for certain tasks. It must also be able to manage the workload successfully without issues.
To achieve this, Intel has integrated what it calls a Thread Director directly into the die itself. We’ve uncovered that Intel Thread Director is a software and hardware solution designed to communicate with the operating system to schedule decisions that define which workload should be sent to which core.
We should point out that Intel Thread Director is designed for Windows 11. Those using Windows 10 will experience some benefits, but for the full slate, one must upgrade to the newer version of Windows.
As for Linux support, we understand Intel is working on this right now, so have some patience.
Read: What is Hyperthreading in CPU and how does it work?
Which generation of Intel CPUs supports P and E cores?
At the moment, only Intel’s 12th Generation Alder Lake delivers the full package, so you may have to purchase a new laptop or upgrade your desktop computer for that privilege.
Read: Do more CPU cores mean better performance?
What separates Intel’s 12th Generation Alder Lake from previous CPUs?
The previous generation of Intel Core desktop CPUs usually has multiple cores, all of which are identical to each other. We admit there are a few differences between cores, but nothing major.
With this new generation, Intel has chosen to take a different approach. The new Alder Lake CPUs will come packed with two kinds of cores: Performance (P) cores and Efficiency (E) cores.
