Intel Core i7-4610M vs Intel Core i7-4960HQ

The Intel Core i7-4610M is a high-end 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 3.0 GHz but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz for 1 active core or 3.6 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 i7-4600M, the 4610M is clocked just 100 MHz higher and therefore only slightly faster. However, the i7-4610M is still the fastest dual-core CPU in H1/2014. 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 1300 MHz, making it about 30 % faster than the HD 4000. This is slightly slower than the AMD Radeon HD 8650G, but similar to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 720M.

Power Consumption

The i7-4610M 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 i7-4960HQ is a high-end quad-core processor for laptops launched in Q3 2013. It is based on the Haswell architecture and manufactured in 22nm. Due to Hyperthreading, the four cores can handle up to eight threads in parallel, leading to better utilization of the CPU. Each core offers a base speed of 2.6 GHz, but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (for 4 active cores), 3.7 GHz (for 2 active cores) and 3.8 GHz (for 1 active core). Please note: These Turbo clocks are not confirmed yet. A noteworthy feature is the fast integrated graphics unit (GT3e) with eDRAM memory (128 MB, 77 mm², on-package, 102 GB/s).

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.

Since the turbo stages of the Core i7-4960HQ exactly match those of the i7-4900MQ, the performance should be very similar. Therefore, the CPU will match the Ivy Bridge based Core i7-3940XM and handle even the most demanding applications.

The integrated Iris Pro Graphics 5200 GPU offers 40 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 200 - 1300 MHz (with Turbo Boost), making it significantly faster than the HD 4000 or HD 4600. The additional eDRAM memory further improves performance. As a result, the HD 5200 competes with dedicated mid-range graphics cards.

The i7-4960HQ is rated at a TDP of 47 W including the integrated graphics card, memory controller and VRMs.  Therefore, the CPU is best suited for laptops 15-inches or greater.