AMD A6-4400M vs Intel Core i5-7500 vs AMD A8-4500M

AMD A6-4400M

The AMD A6-4400M is a mobile dual-core processor based on the Trinity architecture. Officially introduced in Q2 2012, it is the direct successor to the Llano A-series of APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit). The processing unit is manufactured in 32nm SOI and integrates a 2.7 GHz CPU (up to 3.2 GHz w/ Turbo Core) with a Radeon HD 7520G GPU alongside a dual-channel memory controller, video de- and encoders and a northbridge.

The CPU cores are based on a reworked Bulldozer architecture, called Piledriver. Although marketed as a dual-core processor, the A6-4400M includes only one module with two integer-cores and one floating-point core. As a result, the CPU is not a true dual-core processor.

When compared to previous Bulldozer cores, AMD has managed to improve upon the IPC (instructions per clock) performance of Trinity cores while allowing for higher clock frequencies. However, when compared to its Llano predecessor, the multithreaded performance of Trinity has only been slightly improved. The enhanced Turbo Core 3.0 feature functions well in speeding up single threaded performance, although it is still not on the same level as Intel’s Turbo Boost equivalent. Regardless, AMD has managed to include other features as well, such as the AVX extension (including FMA) and support for AES encryption.

In terms of raw general performance, the A6-4400M performs similar to the Llano-based A4-3330MX. Single-threaded workloads can especially benefit from the new architecture and the updated Turbo Core functionality. If compared to Intels Pentium-series, the A6-4400M offers less performance in most cases. Nonetheless, CPU performance from the AMD processor should be sufficient for all daily workloads like Office and Internet browsing, but will reach its limits in more demanding applications.

The integrated DirectX 11-compatible Radeon HD 7520G offers only 192 shader cores of the Trinity chip (7660G: 384) and, thanks to Turbo Core, will operate anywhere between 497 to 686 MHz depending on the current application demand. On average, the performance of the HD 7520G GPU should be somewhere between the Llano-based Radeon HD 6620G and the HD Graphics 4000 as found in Intel’s Ivy Bridge.

The power consumption of the A6-4400M APU is rated at 35 Watt TDP and is therefore comparable to dual-core Ivy Bridge processors. Consequently, the A6-4400M is best suited for 14-inch notebooks or larger.

Intel Core i5-7500

The Intel Core i5-7500 is a fast mid-range quad-core processor for desktops based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It offers four cores (no HyperThreading and therefore also only 4 threads at once) that run at 3.4 - 3.8 GHz.

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 i5-7500 is comparable to a mobile Core i7-7700HQ. Therefore, the performance is sufficient even for demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1100 MHz. The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

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

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency slightly. Intel still specifies the TDP with 65 Watts, which is a lot more than the 45 Watts of the mobile Kaby-Lake-H CPUs but less than e.g. the Core i5-7600K (91 Watt).

AMD A8-4500M

The AMD A8-4500M is a mobile quad-core processor based on the Trinity architecture. Officially introduced in Q2 2012, it is the direct successor to the Llano A-series of APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit). The processing unit is manufactured in 32nm SOI and integrates a 1.9 GHz CPU (up to 2.8 GHz w/ Turbo Core) with a relatively fast Radeon HD 7640G GPU alongside a dual-channel memory controller, video de- and encoders and a northbridge.

The CPU cores are based on a reworked Bulldozer architecture, called Piledriver. Although marketed as a quad-core processor, the A8-4500M includes only two modules with four integer-cores and two floating-point cores total. As a result, the CPU is not a true quad-core processor.

When compared to previous Bulldozer cores, AMD has managed to improve upon the IPC (instructions per clock) performance of Trinity cores while allowing for higher clock frequencies. However, when compared to its Llano predecessor, the multithreaded performance of Trinity has only been slightly improved. The enhanced Turbo Core 3.0 feature functions well in speeding up single threaded performance, although it is still not on the same level as Intel’s Turbo Boost equivalent. Regardless, AMD has managed to include other features as well, such as the AVX extension (including FMA) and support for AES encryption.

In terms of raw general performance, the A8-4500M performs similar to the Llano-based A8-3500M. Single-threaded workloads can especially benefit from the new architecture and the updated Turbo Core functionality. If compared to Intels Core-i3-series, the A8-4500M offers less performance in most cases. Nonetheless, CPU performance from the AMD processor should be sufficient for all daily workloads like Office, Internet browsing and even light video editing or gaming.

The integrated DirectX 11-compatible Radeon HD 7640G offers only 256 shader cores of the Trinity chip (7660G: 384) and, thanks to Turbo Core, will operate anywhere between 497 to 686 MHz depending on the current application demand. On average, the performance of the HD 7640G GPU is comparable to a dedicated Radeon HD 7610M and is even faster than the HD Graphics 4000 as found in Intel’s Ivy Bridge.

The power consumption of the A8-4500M APU is rated at 35 Watt TDP and is therefore comparable to mid-range dual-core Ivy Bridge processors. Consequently, the A8-4500M is best suited for 14-inch notebooks or larger.