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P Core vs E Core and Intel Hybrid CPU Architecture Explained

Intel’s latest processors feature a ground-breaking hybrid architecture, separating cores for efficiency and performance. Discover the evolution of multi-core technology, how to identify the specific number of P-cores and E-cores in any given CPU, and the advantages this architecture brings to embedded systems.

The evolution of Intel CPUs has directly influenced the development of embedded computing since they began to take shape in the 1980s, with each stage bringing significant advancements to meet the unique demands of industrial computing. By the year 2000, embedded applications increasingly required multi-tasking capabilities, pushing Intel to move toward dual-core and eventually multi-core processors. This shift allowed embedded systems to handle parallel processes which is critical for applications like real-time monitoring, and control in industrial environments. With the launch of the Intel Core series, embedded systems could leverage quad-core processors to manage even more complex operations, from sensor integration to advanced control algorithms, while Hyper-Threading allowed for efficient multitasking within each core.

The push to boost processing power has traditionally focused on increasing the number of CPU cores, enhancing a system’s ability to handle more instructions simultaneously. While adding more cores does raise performance, it also brings higher costs and greater power consumption. What if there were a more efficient way to optimise processing power and efficiency without simply stacking on additional cores? As a long-time leader in CPU innovation, Intel believes they’ve found the solution. Intel’s new hybrid CPU architecture combines CPU cores of different types, Performance-cores (P-cores) and Efficient-cores (E-cores). This was first introduced by Intel with their 12th Generation processors, codenamed Alder Lake, and continued with the 13th Generation, known as Raptor Lake, and the 14th Generation, referred to as Raptor Lake Refresh.

Intel P-Core vs E-Core Technology Explained

Intel’s hybrid architecture combines P-cores and E-cores on a single die to create a multicore system optimised for efficient handling of diverse workloads. This design intelligently allocates tasks to the most suitable cores, whether single-threaded, lightly threaded, or heavily multithreaded. When the performance cores are engaged in demanding tasks, like machine learning or data analysis, the system automatically offloads lighter background processes to  the efficient cores. This prevents interference with the primary workload, ensuring consistent and robust performance. By dividing workloads this way, Intel’s latest 12th Gen CPU maximises processing efficiency and power management, providing a balanced performance across a variety of embedded applications.

Understanding the total number of cores in Intel’s hybrid CPUs requires a look at both the overall core count and the specific breakdown between P-cores and E-cores. In these CPUs, the notation often uses numbers or symbols to clarify the distribution, such as “12-core (8+4)” or “8P + 4E.” Here, the first number (12-core) represents the total core count, while the values in parentheses indicate the distribution—8 P-cores for high-performance tasks and 4 E-cores for power-efficient operations. You may also encounter notations like “8C4c,” where the capital “C” denotes the larger, more powerful P-cores, and the lowercase “c” represents the smaller, efficiency-focused E-cores. This labelling helps users quickly identify how many cores are dedicated to intense processing needs versus background or low-power tasks, making it easier to assess the CPU’s suitability for various applications. By understanding this breakdown, users can better anticipate the processor’s capabilities, whether for multitasking, high-demand applications, or energy-efficient performance.

To identify the number of Performance-cores and Efficient-cores in Intel’s new hybrid CPUs, you can use Intel’s ARK website and Windows 11’s Task Manager. On Intel’s ARK page, you can search for the specific CPU model, where the specifications page will list the exact numbers of P-cores and E-cores, along with other detailed technical information. This method provides the most accurate and official breakdown of the processor’s architecture. For those using Windows 11, the Task Manager also offers insight into core distribution. By opening Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and navigating to the “Performance” tab, users with Intel’s hybrid CPUs will see different categories for Efficiency cores and Performance cores, especially when the CPU is actively managing tasks. These two tools together give a clear view of Intel’s heterogeneous core setup, making it easy to understand the core composition tailored for performance and efficiency.

Intel's Hybrid CPU Architecture for Embedded Systems

Intel’s shift to a hybrid CPU design, which incorporates performance cores for high-performance tasks and efficient cores for energy-saving processes, supports the evolving demands of embedded computing. This innovative architecture enables a CPU to manage both heavy workloads and background tasks simultaneously, delivering enhanced multitasking capabilities without compromising on power efficiency. This new hybrid design by Intel also keeps the company competitive with rival architectures, particularly ARM’s “big.LITTLE” model, which similarly pairs powerful and energy-efficient cores. However, Intel’s integration is uniquely tailored for x86 architecture, ensuring compatibility with a wide array of software and operating systems while enhancing performance across both legacy applications and modern, resource-intensive software.
Optimised to meet the diverse demands of embedded applications, Intel’s new hybrid core architecture seamlessly balances power efficiency with high-performance computing. For low-power tasks like data collection, filtering, and transmission, the architecture’s E-cores enable continuous operation with minimal energy consumption, ensuring reliable performance in remote or distributed environments, whilst the architectures P-cores deliver the processing power necessary for compute-intensive tasks, such as AI inferencing, computer vision, and real-time analytics — tasks that are crucial in advanced applications like industrial robotics, autonomous systems, and predictive maintenance. By combining these core types, Intel latest hybrid CPUs provide embedded systems with the flexibility to manage both steady, energy-efficient background operations and high-speed, complex processing, making them well-suited for the evolving needs of modern industrial and AI-driven applications.
Power efficiency and thermal management are critical for embedded systems, where reliability and performance must be maintained in compact and often fanless enclosures. For example, an embedded PC can utilise efficient cores to handle lighter or background tasks, reducing overall power consumption and minimising heat generation, while performance cores are available to manage demanding applications only when needed. Intel Turbo Boost technology enhances the P-cores in its hybrid architecture by dynamically increasing their clock speeds only when extra power is needed, conserving energy and preventing excessive heat build-up. By minimising heat output and power consumption, Intel’s latest CPUs enable continuous, stable operation even under demanding workloads, making fanless computing both practical and highly effective for industrial and mission-critical environments.
We recommend Windows 11 for Intel’s latest generation CPUs because it is specifically optimised to leverage Intel’s hybrid architecture. With Windows 11, the advanced Thread Director technology intelligently directs tasks to the appropriate core, enhancing both performance and energy efficiency. This level of optimisation is unique to Windows 11 and ensures that users can fully benefit from the capabilities of Intel’s latest CPUs, making it the ideal choice for imaging your next embedded system. Thread Director is responsible for coordinating the P-cores and E-cores to work together seamlessly. Rather than relying on static instructions, it uses machine learning to make dynamic scheduling decisions, assigning tasks to the most suitable core based on the workload’s needs. This intelligent approach ensures optimal workload distribution, balancing performance and efficiency by directing each task to the core best suited for it.
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