Intel Core i5-7200U vs Intel Core i5-4310M vs Intel Core i5-4220Y

The Intel Core i5-4310M is a fast 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 2.7 GHz but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz for 1 active core or 3.3 GHz for 2 active cores.

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 i5-4300M, the 4310M is clocked just 100 MHz higher and therefore only slightly faster. Overall, the performance is on par with the Ivy Bridge-based Core i7-3540M. Even 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 1250 MHz, making it about 30 % faster than a similarly clocked HD 4000. This is slightly slower than the AMD Radeon HD 8650G or a dedicated GeForce GT 720M.

Power Consumption

The i5-4310M 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.

The Intel Core i5-4220Y is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core processor for ultrabooks and tablets launched in Q2 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 1.6 GHz, but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 2.0 GHz (2 cores: 1.7 GHz). 

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.

The performance of the Core i5-4220Y is similar to the Core i5-4202Y and the Core i3-4100U with a slightly higher TDP of 15 W. Thus, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as most applications.

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.

The i5-4220Y is rated at a TDP of 11.5 W (SDP 6 W) including the graphics card, memory controller, VRMs and the integrated chipset. Therefore, the CPU is suited for very small ultrabooks or tablets.