PC World - USA (2020-11)

NOVEMBER 2020 PCWorld 39

Adaptix uses machine learning to try to hold
higher boost clocks. For the Lenovo Slim 7,
HWInfo reported a PL1 of 38.5 watts.
All of the TDP ratings of retail laptops are
based on tuning and optimization by the OEM.
For the reference laptop, Intel lets us pick from
three TDPs using the Windows power slider:
15 watts, 28 watts, and 28 watts with Dynamic
Tuning. Dynamic Tuning is part of Intel’s suite of
tools to coax higher clock speeds out of a chip
based on the workload. For what it’s worth,
HWInfo identified this as a PL1 of 36 watts. The
last knob we had available to us was the
laptop’s own High Performance setting, which,
when set, raised the PL1 to 41 watts.

THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS
PREVIEW
While this preview will show what a Tiger Lake
is capable of, there are limits to it. That’s
because PC OEM typically tune laptops
based on what they wrap around the CPU.
While we can show you how it performs at a
hard-locked 15 watts (28 watts with Dynamic
Tuning enabled), it’s hard to say what a
particular laptop maker will decide for its
design. In short, your mileage may vary in an
actual production laptop.
Still, the value is you can potentially see
the upper and lower limits of how well an
11th-gen Tiger Lake performs. In a design that
pushes Tiger Lake hard, such as MSI’s Stealth
15M (go.pcworld.com/s15m), it might even
be faster.

11T H - G E N G R A PH I C S

PERFORMANCE: INTEL

IN FRONT!?

We’ll kick this off in the area that’s truly the

most shocking: Intel’s leading graphics

performance. And yes, if you see a snowman

in summer, it’s because for the first time in

forever (go.pcworld.com/1stm), Intel’s

graphics performance isn’t embarrassing.

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 41W PL1+ DT

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 28W PL1+ DT

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 28W PL1

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 15W PL1

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1065G7/Iris Plus) 46WPL1

Dell XPS 13 7390 6/12 Ice Lake (Core i7-10710U/HD) 22W PL1

Lenovo Slim 7 8/16 Matisse (Ryzen 7 4800U/Radeon) 38W PL1

3DMark Sky Diver

GPU performance

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

16,094

9,795

16,011

13,023

16,021

4,428

14,470

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 41W PL1+ DT

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 28W PL1+ DT

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 28W PL1

Intel Ref 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1185G7/Iris XE) 15W PL1

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 4/8 Tiger Lake (Core i7-1065G7/Iris Plus) 46WPL1

Dell XPS 13 7390 6/12 Ice Lake (Core i7-10710U/HD) 22W PL1

Lenovo Slim 7 8/16 Matisse (Ryzen 7 4800U/Radeon) 38W PL1

3DMark Time Spy

GPU performance

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

1,628

858

1,624

1,205

1,624

415

1,397