The Intel 300 is one of the more exotic CPUs in the 14th generation desktop series, and the latest benchmarks once again prove why there is no place for dual-core in 2024. The Intel 300 CPU is Intel's attempt to maintain the "Pentium" tradition, giving "Pentium" new life through the current generation architecture. It adopts a new naming rule and is the direct successor of the Pentium Gold Edition G7400.
Generationally speaking, the Intel 300 belongs to the Raptor Lake series and should not be confused with "Alder Lake-N" models such as the N200, which is a completely separate product series focused on the E-Core small core architecture.
In terms of CPU specifications, Intel 300 uses 2 P cores based on RaptorCove architecture, so the total number of threads is 4. The processor has the lowest TDP of the series and is rated at just 46W, making it a power-saving option at least in some cases. The Intel 300 also comes with 6MB of L3 cache (3MB per core) and a boost frequency of 3.9GHz. Looking at the complete product line, the Intel 300's closest competitor in the Raptor Lake series is the Core i3-14100, and according to PCWatch's benchmarks, the performance gap between the two is still quite large.
In benchmarking, the Intel 300 CPU lags far behind the Core i3-14100 in both Geekbench's single-core and multi-core tests. Interestingly, the performance gap is as high as 55%. This is entirely due to the Intel 300 processor's lack of features such as TurboBoost, causing it to lag behind the Core i3-14100 in terms of squeezing every ounce of power consumption. The same thing happened in the ULProcyon benchmark, a video editing test.
Moving on to gaming benchmarks, PCWatch tested a variety of games from Call of Duty to F12023, and as expected, the Intel 300 fell short of the level of seamless gaming experience you'd expect. This processor lags behind the Core i3-14100 in every aspect, with the performance gap always remaining in the double digits.
Other coverage from PCWatch focuses on the performance of the Raptor Lake Refresh series of processors and shows the generational gap between processors. Still, the Intel 300 presentation was quite interesting, and at least judging from the benchmark results, this SoC won't see wider adoption in the industry. This processor sells for $82. As a user, you can get better performance by buying a quad-core chip that is one or two generations earlier than it.