Intel Core i5-3320M vs Intel Core i5-4340M vs Intel Core i5-4310U

The Intel Core i5-4340M is a fast dual-core processor for laptops launched in Q1 2014. It is based on the Haswell architecture and is manufactured in 22nm. Due to Hyper-Threading, the two cores can handle up to four threads in parallel leading to better utilization of the CPU. Each core offers a base speed of 2.9 GHz but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz for 1 active core or 3.5 GHz for 2 active cores. The 2C Turbo clock has not been confirmed yet.

Architecture

Haswell is the successor to the Ivy Bridge architecture with improvements on both GPU and CPU performance. The CPUs are produced in 22nm and offer an optimized branch prediction as well as additional execution ports, improving the performance per clock by 5 - 10 percent. Furthermore, new features like AVX2 and FMA should increase the performance in future applications.

Performance

Compared to the Core i5-4330M, the 4340M is clocked just 100 MHz higher and therefore only slightly faster. Overall, the performance is almost on par with the Core i7-4600M. Even very demanding software or multitasking will be handled easily.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 offers 20 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 400 MHz up to 1250 MHz, making it about 30 % faster than a similarly clocked HD 4000. This is slightly slower than the AMD Radeon HD 8650G or a dedicated GeForce GT 720M.

Power Consumption

The i5-4340M is rated at a TDP of 37 W including the graphics card, memory controller and VRMs. Therefore, the CPU is suited for laptops 14-inches or greater.

The Intel Core i5-4310U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core processor for ultrabooks launched in Fall 2013. It is based on the Haswell architecture and is manufactured in 22nm. Due to Hyper-Threading, the two cores can handle up to four threads in parallel, leading to better utilization of the CPU. Each core offers a base speed of 2.0 GHz, but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.0 GHz for 1 active core or 2.7 GHz for 2 active cores.

Architecture

Haswell is the successor to the Ivy Bridge architecture with improvements on both GPU and CPU performance. The CPUs are produced in 22nm and offer an optimized branch prediction as well as additional execution ports, improving performance per clock by 5 - 10 percent. Furthermore, new features like AVX2 and FMA should increase the performance in future applications.

Performance

Compared to the Core i5-4300U, the 4310U is clocked just 100 MHz higher and therefore only slightly faster. Overall, the performance is similar to the Ivy Bridge-based Core i7-3537U (may vary depending on the actual Turbo clocks). Thus, the CPU has sufficient power for all office and multimedia purposes as well as more demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated HD Graphics 4400 offers 20 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 200 - 1100 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it clearly faster than the former HD Graphics 4000 at similar clock speeds. However, the HD 4400 is sligthly slower than the HD 5000 found on a number of other Haswell ULV models and performs similar to a dedicated Radeon HD 7550M.

Power Consumption

The i5-4310U is rated at a TDP of 15 W including the graphics card, memory controller, VRMs and the integrated chipset. Therefore, the CPU is suited for small ultrabooks 11-inches or greater.