Intel Core i5-7300HQ vs AMD Ryzen 7 7730U vs Intel Core i5-7200U

Intel Core i5-7300HQ

The Intel Core i5-7300HQ is a quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. Compared to the faster Core i7 models, the Core i5 does not support Hyper Threading and has lower clocks. The CPU cores run at 2.5 - 3.5 GHz (4 cores up to 3.1, 2 cores up to 3.3 GHz). The processor is also equipped with the HD Graphics 630 GPU as well as a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L-1600/DDR4-2400). It is manufactured in a 14nm 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

The performance should be quite similar to the old Core i5-6440HQ (2.6 - 3.5 GHz, Skylake) that offers the same per-MHz performance and only 100 MHz higher core speed. The performance is therefore sufficient even for demanding tasks.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1000 MHz (i7 models up to 1100). 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 even further. Intel still specifies the TDP with 45 Watts, but it can also be reduced to 35 Watts by the notebook manufacturers (cTDP down). This will obviously affect the performance, because the Turbo Boost cannot be maintained for longer periods.

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U

The AMD Ryzen 7 7730U is a processor for thin and light laptops based on the Cezanne generation. It is part of the second "Barcelo" refresh in early 2023 and offers the same specifications as the old Ryzen 7 5825U. The CPU integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 3 microarchitecture clocked at 2 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.5 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (16 threads). The chip is manufactured in 7nm at TSMC.

The Zen 3 microarchitecture offers a significantly higher IPC (instructions per clock) compared to Zen 2 but stays behind the current Zen 4 based CPUs (e.g. 7040HS series).

Performance

The average 7730U in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 7 5825U, Ryzen 7 6800U, Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U and also the Core i7-1360P, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 30 W, the ThinkPad E14 G5-21JSS05C00 is among the fastest laptops built around the 7730U that we know of. It can be almost 40% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

In addition to the eight CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU with 8 CUs at up to 2000 MHz. The dual channel memory controller supports DDR4-3200 and energy efficient LPDDR4-4266 RAM. Furthermore, 16 MB level 3 cache (up from 8 MB at the 4800U) can be found on the chip.

The TDP of the APU is specified at 15 Watt (the 5825U was specified at 10 - 25W). 

Intel Core i5-7200U

The Intel Core i5-7200U is a dual-core processor of the Kaby Lake architecture. It offers two CPU cores clocked at 2.5 - 3.1 GHz and integrates HyperThreading to work with up to 4 threads at once. The architectural differences are rather small compared to the Skylake generation, therefore the performance per MHz is very similar. The SoC includes a dual channel DDR4 memory controller and Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card (clocked at 300 - 1000 MHz). It is manufactured in an improved 14nm FinFET process at Intel. Compared to the old Skylake based Core i5-6200U, the i5-7200U offers a 300 MHz higher clock speed.