Intel Core i5-4210H vs Intel Core i5-4308U

The Intel Core i5-4210H is a fast dual-core processor for laptops launched in Q3 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 3.5 GHz for 1 active core and 3.4 GHz for 2 active cores. The i5-4210H replaces the former i5-4200H (2.8 - 3.4 GHz).

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. Furthermore, new features like AVX2 and FMA should increase the performance in future applications.

Performance

Due to these changes, the performance per clock has been improved by almost 10 percent compared to Ivy Bridge. Therefore, the i5-4210H is slightly faster than the former top model i7-3540M and on par with the Core i5-4330M.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 offers 20 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 400 MHz up to 1150 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it about 30 % faster than a similarly clocked HD 4000.

Power Consumption

The i5-4210H is rated at a very high TDP of 47 W including the graphics card, memory controller and VRMs. This TDP range is typical of mobile quad-core processors. Therefore, the CPU is suited for laptops 15-inches or greater.

The Intel Core i5-4308U is a LV (low voltage) dual-core processor for large ultrabooks launched in Q3 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 2.8 GHz, but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz.

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 almost 10 percent. Furthermore, new features like AVX2 and FMA should increase the performance in future applications.

Performance

Due to these architectural improvements, the performance is slightly above a similarly clocked Ivy Bridge CPU. Therefore, the Core i5-4308U is almost as fast as the older i7-3540M. However, when using new instruction sets such as AVX2 the performance can be significantly better. Thus, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as more demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated Iris Graphics 5100 offers 40 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 200 - 1200 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it significantly faster than the HD Graphics 4000. As a result, the Iris Graphics competes with dedicated lower mid-range graphics cards (e.g. GeForce GT 720M). However, even fast dual-channel memory limits the performance.

Power Consumption

The i5-4308U is rated at a TDP of 28 W including the graphics card, memory controller, VRMs and the integrated chipset. Therefore, the CPU is suited for larger, well-cooled ultrabooks.