Intel Core i7-4770K vs Intel Celeron 3965U vs Intel Core i7-4790T

Intel Core i7-4770K

The Intel Core i7-4770K is a high-end quad-core processor for desktops and successor of the i7-3770K. It is based on the Haswell architecture and has been launched in Q2/2013. 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 3.5 GHz but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz (for 4 active cores), 3.8 GHz (for 2 active cores) and 3.9 GHz (for 1 active core). Furthermore, the Extreme CPUs offer an unlocked multiplicator for easy overclocking.

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

Due to these changes, the performance per clock has been improved by about 8 percent compared to the Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 offers 20 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 400 MHz up to 1250 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it about 30 % faster than the HD 4000.

The i7-4770K is rated at a TDP of 84 W including graphics card, memory controller and VRMs. This is significantly higher than the 3770K which is rated at 77 Watt.

Intel Celeron 3965U

The Intel Celeron 3965U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core SoC based on the Kaby-Lake architecture and has been launched in the first quarter of 2017. The CPU can be found in ultrabooks as well as normal notebooks. In addition to two CPU cores without Hyper-Threading clocked at 2.2 GHz (no Turbo Boost), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 610 GPU and a dual-channel DDR4-2133/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The SoC is manufactured using a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

Due to the missing Turbo Boost and the low clock speeds, especially the single thread performance is very limited which results in a lower performance even for lower demanding tasks. The performance should be between the Intel Pentium 4405U and 4415U. Still, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called HD Graphics 610 (similar to the HD Graphics 510) represents the "GT1" version of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). Its 12 Execution Units, also called EUs, are clocked at 300 - 900 MHz and offer a performance somewhat below the older HD Graphics 4400. Only a few games of 2015 can be played smoothly in lowest settings.

Power Consumption

Specified at a TDP of 15 W (including CPU, GPU and memory controller), the CPU is best suited for small notebooks and ultrabooks (11-inches and above). Optionally, the TDP can be lowered to 10 watts (cTDP down), reducing both heat dissipation and performance and allowing even more compact designs.

Intel Core i7-4790T

The Intel Core i7-4790T is a desktop processor based on the Haswell architecture. It was announced in the second quarter of 2014 and integrates four cores (8 threads) that clock between 2.7 - 3.9 GHz.