Intel Core 3 304 'Wildcat Lake' CPU appears on PassMark, matches the MacBook Neo

More samples of Intel's Core 300 "Wildcat Lake" CPUs are starting to appear on PassMark. Interestingly, the Intel Core 3 304 just pulled off something nobody expected from the bottom of the Wildcat Lake stack. Recently, a third PassMark entry was submitted for the entry-level Wildcat Lake chip, and it shows it matching the Apple A18 Pro in single-threaded performance, both landing at exactly 3,982 points.

That's a notable jump, especially for a chip that sips just 15W of power. The previous best for the Core 3 304 was 3,632 single-thread points, so this third sample pushed it meaningfully higher. With only three samples in the database, the chip's current average sits at 3,676 points, putting it around 8% behind the A18 Pro overall, but the individual peak score tells a different story.

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Multi-threaded performance is also competitive, with the 304 sitting at a CPU Mark of around 11,543 versus the A18 Pro's 11,804, which is remarkably close given that the Core 3 304 has one fewer core. On average, the Core 3 304 is about 8% slower than the Apple A18 Pro in single-threaded performance, while being only 2.2% slower in multi-threaded results.

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To recap what you're dealing with here: this is Intel's most stripped-down Wildcat Lake chip, built on the 18A process node, running a 1P+4LPE configuration with a single Cougar Cove P-core and four Darkmont low-power E-cores, all within a 15W TDP. Every other chip in the lineup ships with two P-cores. We covered the Core 3 304 when it first surfaced on Geekbench, where it already showed a near-doubling of single-core speed compared to the old Twin Lake N250.

The sample count is still low, so these numbers will shift once more units are in testers' hands. But even as a directional signal, a 5-core budget chip keeping pace with Apple Silicon in single-thread is a decent result for Intel. The MacBook Neo costs $599, and Wildcat Lake laptops are already competing on price while offering more RAM and storage out of the box.

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The Core 3 304 primarily targets mini PCs, embedded systems, and ultra-budget thin-and-lights rather than mainstream consumer laptops, but these numbers suggest the chip punches well above its price point. Beelink and MINIX have already announced systems around it. Still, the fact that Intel's most stripped-down 18A chip can match Apple's entry-level notebook silicon in raw throughput is a decent sign for where the rest of the Wildcat Lake lineup sits competitively.