Intel switched to a hybrid architecture for its CPUs back in 2021 with Alder Lake, mixing performance and efficiency cores on the same package, similar to ARM-based chips. Since then, the company has iterated on the design slowly but steadily. And even though a "unified core" is in the works, for now, the hybrid architecture seems to have reached maturity from a hardware standpoint, according to Intel VP Robert Hallock.
Hallock sat down with PC Games Hardware and, during the interview, blamed the software side of things for performance issues on hybrid chips. He was referring to the practice of disabling E-cores on modern Intel CPUs to get better performance; some people report higher FPS in games when playing only on the P-cores. Hallock's response to this was that "they are virtually identical in performance… it’s about 1% difference."
.png?w=600)
