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Intel Core i7-4900MQ vs Intel Core i7-8550U

Intel Core i7-4900MQ

► remove from comparison Intel 4900MQ

The Intel Core i7-4900MQ is a high-end quad-core processor for laptops which has been launched in Q2/2013. 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 2.8 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).

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.

Due to these changes, the overall performance has been improved slightly compared to Ivy Bridge. Therefore, the 4900MQ is about 10 % faster than the former i7-3840QM.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 offers 20 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 400 MHz up to 1300 MHz with Turbo Boost, making it about 30 % faster than the HD 4000.

The i7-4900MQ is rated at a TDP of 47 W including graphics card, memory controller and VRMs.  Therefore, the CPU is only suited for laptops 15-inches or greater.

Intel Core i7-8550U

► remove from comparison Intel i5-8550U

The Intel Core i7-8550U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake Refresh generation and was announced in August 2017. Contrary to its direct predecessors Core i7-7500U and i5-7260U, respectively, which were still dual-cores, the i7-8550U is equipped with four cores but at a lower base frequency of 1.8 GHz. The Turbo Boost is not specified yet, but should be at least 3.7 - 4 GHz and therefore also offer good short term single core speeds. The GPU is now named Intel UHD Graphics 620 but otherwise identical to the Intel HD Graphics 620. The integrated memory controller supports DDR4-2400 / LPDDR3-2133 and dual channel memory.

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

The performance of the i7-8550U depends on the cooling solution of the laptop and the defined TDP limits for short and long term performance. This leads to big differences in our benchmark scores ranging from the 15 Watt reference by Intel up to the 23% higher score of the Inspiron 17-7773 in the Cinebench R15 Multi benchmark. Especially when taxing the CPU for longer periods, these differences can be even higher.

In our usual benchmarks, the average i7-8550U is as fast as the 35 Watt rated Core i5-7440HQ. For single thread performance, the high Turbo Boost frequency helps achieving one of the highest scores for mobile CPUs.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 (Intel Gen 9.5) is untouched from the 8th Gen Kaby Lake chips. With fast dual-channel memory it can reach the performance of a dedicated GeForce 920M.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors announced in January should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors (14nm+), the same as the 7th Gen Kaby Lake processors. Intel still specifies the TDP with 15 Watts, which is typical for ULV chips. Depending on the usage scenario, the TDP can vary between 7.5 (cTDP Down) and 25 Watts.

ModelIntel Core i7-4900MQIntel Core i7-8550U
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Kaby Lake Refresh
CodenameHaswellKaby Lake Refresh
Series: Kaby Lake Refresh Kaby Lake Refresh
Intel Core i7-4940MX compare3.1 - 4 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4930MX compare3 - 3.9 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4980HQ compare2.8 - 4 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4910MQ compare2.9 - 3.9 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4900MQ « 2.8 - 3.8 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4960HQ compare2.6 - 3.8 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4810MQ compare2.8 - 3.8 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4870HQ compare2.5 - 3.7 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4800MQ compare2.7 - 3.7 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4950HQ compare2.4 - 3.6 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4860HQ compare2.4 - 3.6 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4720HQ compare2.6 - 3.6 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4850HQ compare2.3 - 3.5 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4710HQ compare2.5 - 3.5 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4710MQ compare2.5 - 3.5 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4770HQ compare2.2 - 3.4 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4700HQ compare2.4 - 3.4 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4700MQ compare2.4 - 3.4 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4760HQ compare2.1 - 3.3 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4722HQ compare2.4 - 3.4 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4712HQ compare2.3 - 3.3 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4712MQ compare2.3 - 3.3 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4750HQ compare2 - 3.2 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4702HQ compare2.2 - 3.2 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4702MQ compare2.2 - 3.2 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4610M compare3 - 3.7 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4600M compare2.9 - 3.6 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4578U compare3 - 3.5 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4558U compare2.8 - 3.3 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4600U compare2.1 - 3.3 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4650U compare1.7 - 3.3 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4510U compare2 - 3.1 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4500U compare1.8 - 3 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4550U compare1.5 - 3 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-4610Y compare1.7 - 2.9 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8650U compare1.9 - 4.2 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8550U « 1.8 - 4 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8350U compare1.7 - 3.6 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8250U compare1.6 - 3.4 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i3-8130U compare2.2 - 3.4 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Pentium Gold 4417U compare2.3 GHz2 / 4 cores2 MB L3
Clock2800 - 3800 MHz1800 - 4000 MHz
L1 Cache256 KB256 KB
L2 Cache1 MB1 MB
L3 Cache8 MB8 MB
Cores / Threads4 / 84 / 8
TDP47 Watt15 Watt
Transistors1400 Million
Technology22 nm14 nm
Die Size177 mm2
max. Temp.100 °C
SocketrPGABGA1356
FeaturesHD Graphics 4600 (400- 1300 MHz), DDR3(L)-1600 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, vPro, AES-NIDual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI
iGPUIntel HD Graphics 4600 (400 - 1300 MHz)Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1150 MHz)
Architecturex86x86
$568 U.S.$409 U.S.
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i5-8550U
28.1 pt (39%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
2914 Points (3%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
1021 Points (43%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 383     avg: 388.5     median: 388.5 (43%)     max: 394 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 1118     avg: 1128     median: 1128 (3%)     max: 1138 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
641 Points (4%)
min: 301     avg: 576     median: 553 (3%)     max: 761 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
145 Points (44%)
min: 108     avg: 159.5     median: 163 (49%)     max: 172 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 6.96     avg: 7.2     median: 7.1 (9%)     max: 7.45 Points
min: 4.38     avg: 6.3     median: 6.1 (8%)     max: 8.56 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 1.66     avg: 1.7     median: 1.7 (42%)     max: 1.7 Points
min: 1.43     avg: 1.8     median: 1.9 (47%)     max: 1.95 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
min: 5337     avg: 5478     median: 5470 (33%)     max: 5609 Points
min: 4202     avg: 6333     median: 6423 (39%)     max: 8211 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
min: 18993     avg: 20036     median: 20313 (15%)     max: 20617 Points
min: 11694     avg: 17867     median: 17321.5 (13%)     max: 24180 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
min: 24686     avg: 25926     median: 25752 (18%)     max: 27537 Points
min: 12279     avg: 23153     median: 22717 (16%)     max: 31667 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
min: 7112     avg: 7270     median: 7310 (9%)     max: 7395 Points
min: 6737     avg: 8065     median: 8370.5 (10%)     max: 8436 Points
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
min: 228     avg: 242.6     median: 240 (3%)     max: 262.4 s
min: 257.5     avg: 352     median: 366.7 (4%)     max: 435 s
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
min: 7     avg: 7.6     median: 7.6 (2%)     max: 8.034 s
min: 7.047     avg: 9.8     median: 9.9 (2%)     max: 12.7 s
wPrime 1.55 - wPrime 1.55 1024m *
847 s (3%)
wPrime 1.55 - wPrime 1.55 32m *
26.3 s (14%)
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
min: 4912     avg: 5048     median: 5047.5 (8%)     max: 5183 Points
min: 3847     avg: 4487     median: 4374 (7%)     max: 5287 Points
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
15613 MIPS (9%)
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
4337 MIPS (52%)
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
min: 38.4     avg: 39.8     median: 38.7 (13%)     max: 42.33 fps
min: 32     avg: 35.3     median: 33.1 (12%)     max: 41 fps
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
min: 138.5     avg: 152.7     median: 157 (36%)     max: 162.5 fps
min: 143.6     avg: 153.9     median: 147.9 (34%)     max: 178 fps
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
min: 3.77     avg: 4     median: 3.9 (7%)     max: 4.43 fps
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
min: 0.335     avg: 0.4     median: 0.4 (0%)     max: 0.382 GB/s
min: 0.357     avg: 0.4     median: 0.4 (0%)     max: 0.469 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
min: 0.607     avg: 0.6     median: 0.6 (11%)     max: 0.672 GB/s
min: 0.583     avg: 0.7     median: 0.7 (13%)     max: 0.793 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
min: 3.8     avg: 4     median: 4 (10%)     max: 4.2 GB/s
min: 3.3     avg: 4.2     median: 4.3 (11%)     max: 4.6 GB/s
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
min: 841     avg: 897     median: 913 (6%)     max: 937 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
0.7 sec (15%)
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
min: 6950     avg: 7196     median: 7184.5 (15%)     max: 7376 Points
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
min: 9.578     avg: 9.9     median: 9.8 (2%)     max: 10.8 s
min: 9     avg: 10.5     median: 9.3 (2%)     max: 17.45 s
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
min: 21.45     avg: 22.4     median: 22 (1%)     max: 24.2 s
min: 20     avg: 23     median: 21.2 (1%)     max: 32.72 s
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
min: 511     avg: 541     median: 535 (2%)     max: 579 s
min: 510     avg: 575     median: 536 (2%)     max: 740 s
SiSoft Sandra Dhrystone (MIPS) - SiSoft Sandra Dhrystone (MIPS)
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 108410     avg: 122473     median: 114285 (54%)     max: 152910 MIPS
SiSoft Sandra Whetstone (MFLOPS) - SiSoft Sandra Whetstone (MFLOPS)
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 84000     avg: 86805     median: 86110 (66%)     max: 91000 MFLOPS
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 CPU
100%
1 4900MQ +
7.7 Points (99%)
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
min: 24227     avg: 24814     median: 24877 (22%)     max: 25454 Points
21623 Points (19%)
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
min: 6643     avg: 8382     median: 8490 (23%)     max: 9521 Points
min: 3961     avg: 6653     median: 6649 (18%)     max: 9527 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
min: 43074     avg: 46858     median: 46272 (38%)     max: 50108 Points
min: 16314     avg: 42803     median: 44682 (36%)     max: 55226 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
min: 16312     avg: 37536     median: 36876 (30%)     max: 51937 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
min: 27917     avg: 50269     median: 52842 (45%)     max: 58213 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
min: 6255     avg: 6852     median: 6751.5 (17%)     max: 7467 Points
min: 3437     avg: 5739     median: 5695 (14%)     max: 7725 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
min: 8836     avg: 9536     median: 9567 (17%)     max: 10157 Points
min: 3961     avg: 8228     median: 8306 (15%)     max: 11110 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
min: 2463     avg: 2898     median: 2875 (12%)     max: 3865 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
1081 Points (5%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
3141 Points (10%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 4555     avg: 4858     median: 4900 (49%)     max: 4997 Points
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 10869     avg: 14247     median: 15117 (17%)     max: 16294 Points
Geekbench 4.0 - Geekbench 4.0 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 4439     avg: 4686     median: 4699 (64%)     max: 4858 Points
Geekbench 4.0 - Geekbench 4.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 10747     avg: 13316     median: 13251 (32%)     max: 15294 Points
Geekbench 3 - Geekbench 3 32 Bit Multi-Core
min: 8918     avg: 12315     median: 12327.5 (22%)     max: 14144 Points
Geekbench 3 - Geekbench 3 32 Bit Single-Core
min: 2471     avg: 3671     median: 3770 (74%)     max: 4020 Points
Geekbench 3 - Geekbench 3 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 11637     avg: 12834     median: 12833.5 (20%)     max: 14030 Points
Geekbench 3 - Geekbench 3 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 3784     avg: 3949     median: 3948.5 (59%)     max: 4113 Points
Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Geekbench Stream
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 8144     avg: 8310     median: 8309.5 (67%)     max: 8475 Points
Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Geekbench Memory
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 7236     avg: 7520     median: 7519.5 (68%)     max: 7803 Points
Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Geekbench Floating Point
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 12985     avg: 13573     median: 13573 (27%)     max: 14161 Points
Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Geekbench Integer
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 11736     avg: 12223     median: 12222.5 (25%)     max: 12709 Points
Geekbench 2 - 32 Bit - Geekbench Total Score
100%
1 4900MQ +
min: 10913     avg: 11363     median: 11362.5 (30%)     max: 11812 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
min: 877     avg: 1087     median: 1107 (1%)     max: 2114 ms
Sunspider - Sunspider 1.0 Total Score *
258.2 ms (3%)
min: 63.2     avg: 80.3     median: 71.3 (1%)     max: 122.7 ms
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
min: 17296     avg: 33448     median: 33496 (30%)     max: 42043 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
182 Points (38%)
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 25.3     avg: 40.1     median: 33.7 (6%)     max: 61.4 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 28.2     avg: 38.1     median: 30.4 (6%)     max: 63.2 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
min: 10.4     avg: 15.6     median: 17.3 (13%)     max: 17.5 Points per Watt

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-4900MQ → 100% n=26

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-8550U → 97% n=26

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

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show all (including archived), 2024, 2023
v1.26
log 19. 00:56:46

#0 checking url part for id 3665 +0s ... 0s

#1 checking url part for id 9208 +0s ... 0s

#2 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#3 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Fri, 17 May 2024 11:21:47 +0200 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#4 composed specs +0.036s ... 0.037s

#5 did output specs +0s ... 0.037s

#6 getting avg benchmarks for device 3665 +0.003s ... 0.04s

#7 got single benchmarks 3665 +0.025s ... 0.065s

#8 getting avg benchmarks for device 9208 +0.017s ... 0.082s

#9 got single benchmarks 9208 +0.243s ... 0.325s

#10 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.325s

#11 min, max, avg, median took s +0.27s ... 0.595s

#12 return log +0.02s ... 0.615s

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Processor Comparison - Head 2 Head
Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)