The testing team at Jet Infosystems evaluated the performance of the Baikal BE-M1000 processor from Russia by running standard office workloads and comparing the results with a laptop powered by an Intel Core i5-10210U. The aim was to assess real-world usability in everyday tasks rather than just synthetic benchmarks, offering a practical view for users considering different processor architectures in portable devices.
- Processor architecture: Baikal BE-M1000 features eight Arm Cortex A57 cores running at 1.5 GHz, designed for energy efficiency and reliable multi-tasking in office environments.
- Graphics subsystem: It includes eight Arm Mali-T628 cores with a maximum clock around 750 MHz, providing basic acceleration for document handling, video playback, and light graphics work.
- Interconnects: The platform exposes eight data paths that facilitate communication between components, contributing to overall system responsiveness in typical productivity scenarios.
- Cache and memory: A shared L3 cache of 8 MB supports smoother operation in memory-intensive tasks common in office software usage.
- Memory compatibility: The Baikal BE-M1000 supports DDR4-2400 and DDR3-1600 memory types, reflecting a design that can leverage a range of affordable memory configurations.
In comparison, the Intel Core i5-10210U setup presents a different profile aimed at higher peak performance in portable devices:
- Processor configuration: The Core i5-10210U delivers four cores with a dynamic clock range from 1.6 GHz to 4.2 GHz, emphasizing burst performance for demanding tasks.
- Graphics subsystem: The integrated UHD graphics block was tested up to 100 MHz, representing everyday display tasks rather than heavy GPU workloads.
- Interconnects: Eight data paths similar to the Baikal platform support cohesive data handling across components in the laptop architecture.
- Cache and memory: The L3 cache is 6 MB, providing a different balance of latency and bandwidth for common office applications.
- Memory support: The Core i5-10210U accepts DDR4-2666, LPDDR3-2133, and LPDDR4-2933, reflecting broader compatibility with modern memory setups.
The testing environment used Astra Linux 1.7 as the operating system, along with the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers and the LibreOffice suite for office tasks, including the Ark archiver for file handling. This setup is representative of what many corporate and academic users deploy on similar hardware in the region.
Findings showed that the Baikal-based system handles document opening with ease when documents are modest in size, but performance can slow when a file swells beyond roughly fifty pages. In such cases, some documents may experience brief pauses as the software processes large content. On the other hand, the same Baikal system demonstrated stable operation for web browsing and archiving tasks, and in certain circumstances, Chrome loaded pages faster than on the competing Intel-based platform, highlighting how software optimization and browser behavior influence perceived speed on different architectures.
When benchmarked against the Intel Core i5-10210U, the Baikal processor under review consistently fell behind across the majority of standard tests. The results align with expectations given the architectural and performance differences between the two CPUs. Yet there was a notable exception: the process of writing a boot image to a USB flash drive tended to complete more quickly on the Baikal-based setup, suggesting that certain low-level I/O optimizations can favor the domestic processor under specific workflows. The overall takeaway is a straightforward one: for typical office work, the Intel solution offers stronger performance across most tasks, while the Baikal platform can exhibit advantages in particular boot and data-transfer scenarios.
In summary, the assessments indicate that the domestic Baikal BE-M1000 delivers usable performance for standard office operations, with some caveats related to large document handling and long-running tasks. The Intel Core i5-10210U remains the stronger all-around option for users who rely on peak processing power and faster responses across a wider range of applications. The results underscore how hardware choices influence everyday productivity, especially when paired with common Linux-based desktop environments and widely used office and browser software.