Intel Core i7-4610Y vs Intel Core i7-4610M

The Intel Core i7-4610Y is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core processor for ultrabooks and tablets launched in Q3 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 1.7 GHz, but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 2.9 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 performance per clock by almost 10 percent. Furthermore, new features like AVX2 and FMA should increase the performance in future applications.

Performance

Depending on the benchmark, the Core i7-4610Y offers a performance somewhere between a Core i3-2330M and a Core i7-4500U. Due to TDP limits, the full Turbo Boost will be only active for very short periods of time or in single-thread benchmarks. Overall, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as more demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated HD Graphics 4200 offers 20 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 200 - 850 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it somewhat faster than the former HD Graphics 4000 at similar clock speeds. However, the HD 4200 is significantly slower than the HD 4400 found on other ULV models with higher clocks and TDP.

Power Consumption

The i7-4610Y is rated at a TDP of 11.5 watts (SDP 6 watts) including the graphics card, memory controller, VRMs and the integrated chipset. Therefore, the CPU is suited for very small ultrabooks or tablets.

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.