Intel ‘Core 3 304’ Appears on Geekbench, Hinting at Big Wildcat Lake Gains

Overview

• An engineering sample labeled “Core 3 304,” which surfaced Thursday on Geekbench, posted a 1.5 GHz base clock, up to 4.3 GHz boost, and scores of 2,472 single‑core and 6,708 multi‑core.
• The listing showed a 1+4 layout with 5 threads, a likely disabled performance core on this early chip, while leaks point to shipping parts using 2 performance cores plus 4 low‑power efficiency cores.
• Reports say Wildcat Lake pairs new Cougar Cove performance cores with Darkmont efficiency cores and Xe3 graphics, a shift from Alder Lake‑N/Twin Lake designs that relied on efficiency cores and older UHD graphics.
• The jump in results may track with a higher power target near 15W for Wildcat Lake, though final core counts, clocks, and launch timing remain unannounced.
• Outlets frame the series for ultra‑budget devices like Chromebooks, mini PCs, and NAS boxes, with Tom’s Hardware highlighting near‑2x single‑core gains over last gen and Wccftech citing large leads over the Core i3 N300 based on these non‑final scores.