Intel N150 Review and Comparison against Intel N100 and other current CPUs

Today we show our comparison and analysis of the new Intel N150 processor vs. the rest of the processors in the market. An efficient processor that will be very popular and that seems to replace the Intel N100.

The new Intel N150 processor is a Quad Core up to 3.6 GHz with Intel Twin Lake-N cores that integrates an Intel UHD Graphics GPU with 24 EU for graphics. In the video section, it supports native decoding of modern codecs such as AV1 and resolution up to 4K@60fps with HDR support. A chip that replaces the extended Intel N100 that we have seen in countless mini PCs, tablets and laptops.

Let’s see how it performs against Intel’s own options and AMD’s APUs.

You can see our Best current mini PC offerings for comparison.

Table of Contents

Intel N150 Specifications

Test Hardware

For testing we will use the KAMRUI E1 mini PC with Intel N150 processor. 16 GB DDR4 RAM in a SODIMM and a 512 GB M.2 SATA SSD that we can change for NVMe. In terms of network connectivity we find Gigabit Ethernet port and an M.2 module with Wifi 5 Bluetooth 4.2. In the connector area we have two USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, audio jack and HDMI 2.0 to DP 1.4 video outputs up to 4K@60fps. The operating system installed is Windows 11 Pro.

The KAMRUI E1 mini PC with Intel N150 processor can be purchased on Amazon for only $209.99.

General specifications

This new Intel N150 processor is manufactured in 10 nm (Intel 7), has a maximum power consumption of 25 W and has four cores and four threads with speeds up to 3.6 GHz. It integrates an Intel HD Graphics GPU with 24 EU up to 1 GHz. In terms of connectivity, it has an HDMI 2.0 output that reaches up to 4K@60fps video resolutions, compatible with basic HDR. If the mini PC assembler wants, it can offer a USB 3.2 Gen2 port up to 10 Gbps with DisplayPort video output and Power Delivery.

Intel N150 vs Intel N100 comparison

Overall, the performance of this new Intel N150 processor is only 10% more powerful than the Intel N100. The difference, as we will see in our tests, is not very high.

Intel N150	Intel N100
CPU: Intel N150 4C/4H 3.6GHz / 25 W TDP / 10 nm	CPU: Intel N100 4C/4H 3.4GHz / 6 W TDP / 10 nm
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 24EU / 1000 MHz	GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 24EU / 750 MHz

Performance Test

We run several performance tests with the Intel N150 processor and compare it against Intel’s own processors and also against AMD APUs.

Geekbench

A test that gives us some high values in raw power, we can see the performance of the CPU in mono core and multi core thanks to its tests. The power with the consumption limit at 25 W has a 10% increase as indicated in the specifications, but it will also depend on the RAM and other aspects of the whole.

PCMark

This test allows us to get an idea of the power in terms of desktop apps of this chip, performing tasks such as browsing, video editing, handling text or audio files. Overall performance is slightly better, but the difference is small compared to the Intel N100.

3DMark

This quintessential graphics performance test with a pretty solid continuity in terms of results, which helps us when comparing GPU performance historically. In general the performance is very similar to what we have in the Intel HD Graphics of the Intel N100 at 750 MHz, for games and emulators we will have a slightly higher power. We recommend setting it to 25 W and buying a mini PC with LPDDR5 in Dual Channel to get the most out of it in games.

VPU and Sound

We tested video playback on the Intel N150, checking the formats supported by the integrated VPU. As we can see, the results are good with h.265, VP9 and the new AV1 codec up to 4K@60fps resolutions. We have good performance with 10bit color formats, and we also have HDR support. This processor supports Dolby and DRTS certification up to 7.1, but not for Dolby Vision and Atmos files, we only have downmix support.

Streaming Certificates: All PC processors support DRM for Netflix and similar between FullHD and 4K depending on the service.

Video and audio test results

Codec	Result
h.264	4K@30 Max (HW)
h.265	4K@60 HDR Max (HW)
VP9	4K@60 Max / 8K@60 Frameskip (HW)
AV1	4K@60 Max / 8K@60 Frameskipping (HW)

Maximum bitrate: 350 Mbps.
HW = Hardware Acceleration / SW = No Hardware Acceleration.

Compatibility	Formats
Native	Dolby 5.1 – Plus / DTS 5.1 – Master Audio
Core	Dolby HD – Atmos / DTS HR – X
PCM	All

Formats: Native = Full Support / Core = 5.1 Only / PCM = Stereo / More info.

Conclusions

The Intel N150 processor is a fairly small evolution over the Intel N100. The graphics power with the Intel UHD Graphics GPU is almost identical and we will get a few more frames but nothing significant. As for the CPU level we have a performance increase of 10% with the jump in frequencies, but little more.

The Intel N150 processor performs well in terms of video playback up to 4K@60fps resolutions with basic HDR and supports up to AV1 codecs. On the other hand, the system with this processor moves quite well for desktop use, simple games and not very demanding emulators.

Having tested the new Intel N150 in general, it can be recommended if we find it at a similar price to the N100 and want to increase it up to 25 W. But we do not recommend paying much more for the jump, as this is really small.