Intel Processor N250 socket: BGA 1264

What the Processor N250 is

The Intel Processor N250 is the 4-core entry member of the Twin Lake N-series on BGA 1264. It runs 4 Gracemont threads at 1.3 GHz sustained with burst to 3.8 GHz, backed by 6 MB of Intel Smart Cache and a 6 W base power with 25 W maximum turbo power. Intel launched Twin Lake in January 2025 as a faster Alder Lake-N refresh on Intel 7, with the N250 carrying the plain Processor brand below Core 3.

Four E-cores at 6 W suit entry Chromebooks, kiosk terminals, thin clients and single-purpose mini PCs where the lowest power and price matter more than speed. The 1.3 GHz sustained clock keeps fanless designs feasible, while bursts to 3.8 GHz clear web and office spikes. The 6 MB cache is shared across the cores.

Against the 8-core Intel Core 3 N350 above it, the N250 halves the cores for the lowest Twin Lake price at a 1 W lower base. Against older 4-core Alder Lake-N parts, it adds burst frequency with the same 6 W envelope. Intel Graphics with 32 execution units up to 1.25 GHz serve basic panels. See LGA, PGA and BGA: CPU package types explained for how soldered mobile packages differ from socketed desktops.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The N250 fits BGA 1264, a 1,264-ball soldered package measuring 35 × 24 mm shared with Amston Lake Atom parts. The chip is soldered once at the factory and stays with the board for life, so there is no retention lever and no aftermarket mounting choice. Cooling is part of the device design for the 6 W class with 25 W turbo headroom and a 105 degree junction limit, often fully passive.

Board choice means device choice. Memory is single-channel DDR4, DDR5 or LPDDR5 up to 4800 MT/s and 16 GB, fixed per design. A revision needs firmware that knows the Twin Lake stepping. Moving from any other package is a full board change with memory and thermal design replaced together.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory on this platform is single-channel DDR4 to 3200 MT/s or DDR5 and LPDDR5 to 4800 MT/s for up to 16 GB. One channel keeps board routing simple and power low, which fits 4-thread browsing and terminal workloads. ECC is not part of this SKU, so lab designs that need error correction look elsewhere.

PCI Express connectivity is Gen 3 with x9 lanes. That lane budget suits eMMC or NVMe boot storage plus wireless modules on a compact board rather than large arrays. Intel Graphics with 32 execution units up to 1.25 GHz and 4K60 support serve entry panels, with Quick Sync video for conferencing.

Cooling follows the device maker specification for the 6 W class with 25 W turbo headroom. No cooler ships with the tray mobile part. Firmware power limits scale the chip down in silent or battery modes, at some cost in sustained clocks.

Upgrade paths

On the same package, the path up from the N250 starts with the 8-core Intel Core 3 N350 for double the cores on BGA 1264 where cooling allows. The 15 W Intel Core 3 N355 follows for higher sustained clocks. Each move needs firmware that knows the Twin Lake stepping.

There is no smaller Twin Lake part below the N250 in this batch, so a lower power target means an older N-series or a different low-power family. A move to LGA 1700 Bartlett Lake is a different socketed platform with far more performance for plugged-in desks. That change means a whole new system.