Intel Core i5-3340M vs Intel Core i5-5350U

Intel Core i5-3340M

The Intel Core i5-3340M is a fast dual-core processor for laptops based on the Ivy Bridge architecture. Due to Hyperthreading, 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 2.7 GHz but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz (for 2 active cores) and 3.4 GHz (for 1 active core). As its predecessor Core i5-3320M, it offers a 3 MB L3-Cache.

Ivy Bridge is an enhanced die shrink of the Sandy Bridge architecture with improvements on both GPU and CPU performance. The CPUs are produced in 22nm (versus 32nm Sandy Bridge CPUs) and are the first to introduce 3D transistors for increased energy efficiency when compared to similarly clocked Sandy Bridge processors. Other new features are integrated PCI Express 3.0 and  DDR3(L)-1600 support.

The performance of the Core i5-3340M is slightly above a similarly clocked Sandy Bridge processor due to slight architectural improvements. As a result, overall performance is above the old i7-2640M.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 offers 16 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 650 MHz up to 1250 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it one of the faster variants.

Just like most other Ivy Bridge dual-cores, the i5-3340M is rated at a TDP of 35 W. Therefore, even smaller laptops can use the Core i5.

Intel Core i5-5350U

The Intel Core i5-5350U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core processor based on the Broadwell architecture, which has been launched in January 2015. In addition to two CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at 1.8 - 2.9 GHz (2 Cores: 2.7 GHz), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 6000 GPU and a dual-channel LPDDR3-1866/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The Core i5 is manufactured in a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to the Core i5-5300U, the i5-5350U features a lower CPU base clock, but integrates a somewhat faster GPU.

Architecture

Broadwell represents the "Tick" in Intel's Tick-Tock model, which means a shrink of its predecessor Haswell. The new 14 nm manufacturing process with three-dimensional FinFET transistors allows not only improvements in energy efficiency, but also a significantly smaller die size fit for more compact packages and devices.

Further advantages result from the revised microarchitecture of Broadwell. Due to its improved branch prediction, bigger buffer sizes (1500 instead of 1000 entries in the L2 TLB) and other tweaks, the performance per clock has been increased by more than 5 percent over its predecessor. There are also some new instruction set extensions designed for cryptographic applications.

Performance

Thanks to its improved architecture, the Core i5-5350U ends up 5 - 15 percent faster than the slightly lower clocked Core i5-4350U and matches the Core i7-4510U (both Haswell). Thus, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as more demanding applications and multitasking.

Graphics

The integrated HD Graphics 6000 offers 48 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 300 - 1000 MHz. Similar to the CPU core, the GPU architecture (Intel Gen 8) has been thoroughly revised for improved performance-per-clock. In addition, the GPU benefits from faster memory speeds up to LPDDR3-1866 (Haswell: DDR3-1600). We expect the HD Graphics 6000 to be significantly faster than the former HD Graphics 5000 (40 EUs), part of the Haswell generation. Nevertheless, demanding games as of 2015 should be playable only in low or medium settings.

Broadwell is the first Intel chip to fully support DirectX 11.2 as well as OpenCL 1.3/2.0 and OpenGL 4.3. Video will output natively via DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 1.4a. However, the new HDMI 2.0 standard is not officially supported.

Power Consumption

The i5-5350U is rated at a TDP of 15 W (9.5 W cTDP Down) including the graphics card, memory controller, VRMs and the integrated chipset. Therefore, the CPU is suited even for small ultrabooks 11-inches and greater.