Intel Celeron 5305U vs Intel Core i7-7560U vs Intel Core i5-7600K

Intel Celeron 5305U

The Intel Celeron 5305U is a low-power dual-core SoC for laptops, based on the Comet Lake architecture, which was introduced in 2020. Compared to Kaby Lake and Whiskey Lake, there are apparently no differences with Comet Lake apart from the two additional cores in the Top model Core i7-10710U. The processor is still manufactured using the mature 14nm process (14nm++ like Whiskey Lake). The processor cores clock at a fixed 2.3 GHz (no Turbo) and also only offer 2 threads (no HyperThreading). Compared to the more powerful Core i3, i5 and i7 variants, the Celeron does not offer SSE (2) support.

You can find more information about the Comet Lake architecture and the available processors on our Comet Lake topic page.

According to Intel, the integrated graphics card is called Intel UHD Graphics, but is an old Intel UHD Graphics 610. It is clocked in the Celeron 5205U at 300 - 900 MHz and is only sufficient for very demanding games. The CPU also offers an integrated DDR4-2666 / LPDDR4x 2933 / LPDDR3-2133 dual-channel memory controller as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoder and encoder.

Performance

The performance of the Celeron 5305U is in the lowest entry-level class of notebook processors in 2020. Due to the lack of Turbo and only 2 cores, the CPU cannot score points in either single-core or multi-core tasks. The processor is therefore only suitable for undemanding tasks such as surfing with a few tabs and office tasks.

The power consumption and performance can be set from 15 to 12.5 watts by the notebook manufacturer via cTDP-down. However, the processor then only runs at 800 MHz and significantly reduced performance. Even at 15 watts, however, the processor is suitable for thin and light notebooks.

Intel Core i7-7560U

The Intel Core i7-7560U is a fast dual-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. The CPU has two processor cores clocked at 2.4-3.8 GHz (two cores up to 3.7 GHz). The processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper Threading. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU with 64 MB eDRAM, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to the Core i7-7500U, the 7560 does have a higher single-core Turbo of 3.8 GHz (+300 MHz) and a higher dual-core Turbo (+200 MHz). The base frequency is lower (-300 MHz), but the CPU part can also use the 64 MB eDRAM as L5 cache.

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

At 2.4-3.8 GHz, the Core i7-7560U has a slightly lower frequency (except for the single-core Turbo) compared to the Core i7-7600U, but the CPU part can also use the 64 MB eDRAM, so the performance should be similar.

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 640 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 920MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Pro 540, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

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, which improves the efficiency even further. 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.

Intel Core i5-7600K

The Intel Core i5-7600K is a fast quad-core processor for desktops based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It is the top model of the consumer Kaby-Lake-H Core i5 series at the time of the announcement. The i5 does not support HyperThreading (4 threads only) and runs from 3.8 (base speed) up to 4.2 GHz. As a K-model, the i5-7600K offers an open multiplicator for overclocking.

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 i5-7600K is about 10 percent above the predecessor Core i5-6600K, thanks to clock speed increases and long hold Turbo Boost clocks. Matching clock speed, there is no speed improvement from Skylake. The old top model Core i7-4790K however is still slightly faster.

More information with gaming benchmarks and power measurements can be found in our AMD Ryzen 7 versus Intel CPUs review (upcoming).

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1150 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 91 Watts, which is a lot more than the 45 Watts of the mobile Kaby-Lake-H CPUs.