It's a low-end PC. Thing has Haswell performance and a really weak Xe configuration, not sure dual channel is going to save it. Not that it could if Zotac wanted it too - the N100 only has a single memory channel. But it's 6 watts.
Having used a N5105, which has similar performance to an i5-3470, I can tell you that I felt no difference in performance between 8GB single channel, and 16GB dual channel. N100 has similar performance to a i5-6500, so I doubt having dual channel would improve perceived performance too.
The main bottleneck on these 6W CPUs is going to be processing power.
Since it's using DDR5, the dual channel issue may not be so severe as their dual channel in single module shenanigans. But definitely werid for intel only putting single channel controller on ALL alderlake N products
Like I said, the difference in single channel and dual channel cannot be felt, even with DDR4 2933, because the CPU/iGPU is so slow. They have comparable processing power to low end i5 CPUs from 8~10yrs ago, and those CPUs were still using DDR3 or slow DDR4 back then.
DDR5 4800 offers more than enough bandwidth for something that slow.
DDR5-4800 in single channel mode delivers more bandwidth than the i5-6600 had available, and that's the level of CPU performance that's expected from this processor at its peak. Rather than waste die space, power consumption, and physical space, it is much more logical to exclude the second channel on the processor.
Except Alderlake-N only features a maximum of 32EU, and the N100 only features 24EU. Dual channel or not, it's not going to matter, the bottleneck will always be at the very cut down GPU.
If it had a 80EU or 96EU Xe graphics, like the i5 and i7 have, then yeah, dual channel will make a small difference in some games. But for media playback? unlikely.
Same as the Jasper Lake 6005. I benched it with single and dual channel on an Intel NUC and it makes a very noticeable difference on desktop work at 4k. In fact the N6005 is a rather competent desktop PC for any 2D office work at 4k on Windows.
And running Google Maps' 3D render on a Chrome based browser like Chromium or Brave with proper acceleration support at 4k under Windows on an Atom is always a jaw dropping marvel, especially if Microsoft's flight simulator struggles even with an RTX3090 and a Ryzen 5950X right next to it (delivering a far worse approximation of the ground truth as well).
Just don't try that with Firefox or on anything but the most up-to-date Linux variants.
For media playback or at lower resolutions you may not be able to tell.
I got into Atoms with the J1900, which was terrible even at 1080p. N3700 and J5005 became ok and the N6005 in Jasper Lake became reasonable even at 4k (I am talking 2D here).
The early Atoms clearly didn't benefit from a 2nd DIMM, because they had a single memory channel controller on the SoC: I stuffed them with RAM because I needed that for VMs and was happy to notice that they usually accepted much more than Intel ever said they could (16GB on all DDR3 variants, 32GB on anything DDR4, 64GB with Jasper Lake).
But Jasper Lake already has a dual channel memory controller and shows nearly double the bandwidth (~20GB/s instead of ~10GB/s on a single channel), but still falls way below the near 45GB/s an Intel Core or Ryzen gets out of DDR4.
On the CPU side that doesn't matter that much but on a 4k screen I definitely notice the difference (as Browser benchmarks will also attest).
With Gracemont that can't be less true so crippling the system with a single DIMM slot is definitely a noteworthy shortcoming for the iGPU, although not for everyone.
And I really would like to see an N305 variant, which somehow I believe will be near impossible to get, because Intel doesn't want you to get chips with server potential for cheap.
Such a chip should put my Broadwell based 8-core Xeon D-1541 to shame!
You say this when Mac sales are down by 40.5% compared to last year.
But here, let me break it down a little bit more. Mac Mini M2, base model 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD costs $600. N100 mini PC, with 16GB ram and 500GB SSD costs around $180~$220, includes a VESA mounting bracket, can playback 4K video, and is more than capable of handling a kiosk or Point-of-Sales program, email, and web browsing.
So why would anyone pay $400 extra, when they aren't even going to use all the extra features on the M2? And then, for $400 extra, there are x86-64 mini PCs that are faster than the base model M2.
Because why would you pay double to get a mac with less RAM, less storage, utter lack of upgradeability, and a fundamental incompatibility with windows software?
This is a genuinely interesting idea. Though I would prefer passive cooling, the decision to add a fan makes sense if the aim is to keep CPU clocks on the higher end and Intel is Intel so its certainly become something of a necessity over the years even for CPUs designed to operate sans fans. I have minor reservations about single channel memory, but as others have already pointed out, there is a healthy amount of bandwidth available thanks to DDR5 and Zotac's small form factor computing devices are usually designed rather well.
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nandnandnand - Friday, April 14, 2023 - link
Single channel memorySamus - Saturday, April 15, 2023 - link
It's a low-end PC. Thing has Haswell performance and a really weak Xe configuration, not sure dual channel is going to save it. Not that it could if Zotac wanted it too - the N100 only has a single memory channel. But it's 6 watts.meacupla - Saturday, April 15, 2023 - link
Having used a N5105, which has similar performance to an i5-3470, I can tell you that I felt no difference in performance between 8GB single channel, and 16GB dual channel.N100 has similar performance to a i5-6500, so I doubt having dual channel would improve perceived performance too.
The main bottleneck on these 6W CPUs is going to be processing power.
erinadreno - Saturday, April 15, 2023 - link
Since it's using DDR5, the dual channel issue may not be so severe as their dual channel in single module shenanigans. But definitely werid for intel only putting single channel controller on ALL alderlake N productsmeacupla - Saturday, April 15, 2023 - link
Like I said, the difference in single channel and dual channel cannot be felt, even with DDR4 2933, because the CPU/iGPU is so slow. They have comparable processing power to low end i5 CPUs from 8~10yrs ago, and those CPUs were still using DDR3 or slow DDR4 back then.DDR5 4800 offers more than enough bandwidth for something that slow.
Otritus - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
DDR5-4800 in single channel mode delivers more bandwidth than the i5-6600 had available, and that's the level of CPU performance that's expected from this processor at its peak. Rather than waste die space, power consumption, and physical space, it is much more logical to exclude the second channel on the processor.StevoLincolnite - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
I think people forget that Integrated Graphics has gotten far more bandwidth demanding these days as they have gotten more capable.Dual-Channel would definitely have been a benefit, maybe not so much for the CPU, but definitely the GPU.
meacupla - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
Except Alderlake-N only features a maximum of 32EU, and the N100 only features 24EU.Dual channel or not, it's not going to matter, the bottleneck will always be at the very cut down GPU.
If it had a 80EU or 96EU Xe graphics, like the i5 and i7 have, then yeah, dual channel will make a small difference in some games. But for media playback? unlikely.
abufrejoval - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
Same as the Jasper Lake 6005. I benched it with single and dual channel on an Intel NUC and it makes a very noticeable difference on desktop work at 4k. In fact the N6005 is a rather competent desktop PC for any 2D office work at 4k on Windows.And running Google Maps' 3D render on a Chrome based browser like Chromium or Brave with proper acceleration support at 4k under Windows on an Atom is always a jaw dropping marvel, especially if Microsoft's flight simulator struggles even with an RTX3090 and a Ryzen 5950X right next to it (delivering a far worse approximation of the ground truth as well).
Just don't try that with Firefox or on anything but the most up-to-date Linux variants.
For media playback or at lower resolutions you may not be able to tell.
abufrejoval - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
I got into Atoms with the J1900, which was terrible even at 1080p. N3700 and J5005 became ok and the N6005 in Jasper Lake became reasonable even at 4k (I am talking 2D here).The early Atoms clearly didn't benefit from a 2nd DIMM, because they had a single memory channel controller on the SoC: I stuffed them with RAM because I needed that for VMs and was happy to notice that they usually accepted much more than Intel ever said they could (16GB on all DDR3 variants, 32GB on anything DDR4, 64GB with Jasper Lake).
But Jasper Lake already has a dual channel memory controller and shows nearly double the bandwidth (~20GB/s instead of ~10GB/s on a single channel), but still falls way below the near 45GB/s an Intel Core or Ryzen gets out of DDR4.
On the CPU side that doesn't matter that much but on a 4k screen I definitely notice the difference (as Browser benchmarks will also attest).
With Gracemont that can't be less true so crippling the system with a single DIMM slot is definitely a noteworthy shortcoming for the iGPU, although not for everyone.
And I really would like to see an N305 variant, which somehow I believe will be near impossible to get, because Intel doesn't want you to get chips with server potential for cheap.
Such a chip should put my Broadwell based 8-core Xeon D-1541 to shame!
lemurbutton - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
Why would anyone buy this over a Mac Mini M2?meacupla - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
You say this when Mac sales are down by 40.5% compared to last year.But here, let me break it down a little bit more.
Mac Mini M2, base model 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD costs $600.
N100 mini PC, with 16GB ram and 500GB SSD costs around $180~$220, includes a VESA mounting bracket, can playback 4K video, and is more than capable of handling a kiosk or Point-of-Sales program, email, and web browsing.
So why would anyone pay $400 extra, when they aren't even going to use all the extra features on the M2? And then, for $400 extra, there are x86-64 mini PCs that are faster than the base model M2.
The_Assimilator - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
Because not everyone is an idiot Mac fanboy.TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, April 18, 2023 - link
Because why would you pay double to get a mac with less RAM, less storage, utter lack of upgradeability, and a fundamental incompatibility with windows software?PeachNCream - Sunday, April 16, 2023 - link
This is a genuinely interesting idea. Though I would prefer passive cooling, the decision to add a fan makes sense if the aim is to keep CPU clocks on the higher end and Intel is Intel so its certainly become something of a necessity over the years even for CPUs designed to operate sans fans. I have minor reservations about single channel memory, but as others have already pointed out, there is a healthy amount of bandwidth available thanks to DDR5 and Zotac's small form factor computing devices are usually designed rather well.nicolaim - Tuesday, April 18, 2023 - link
Zero USB-C ports in 2023! ROTFL