Benchmarks: CPU
How much of a compromise is the Core m3 processor? The chip's ability to boost to 2.2GHz paints it in a good light in the single-threaded PiFast test, where performance is well ahead of an Intel Atom-based system and comparable to a Core i7 machine from 2012.
Multi-threaded performance is less impressive, however. The chip's limitations are revealed during the demanding Cinebench and HandBrake tests, and our benchmark results weren't particularly consistent between runs. Asus is evidently preventing the passively-cooled Core m3 chip from overheating, and our logs reveal that core speed routinely dropped to just 1.2GHz in the multi-threaded workloads.