Intel Core i7-7820HQ vs AMD A8 Pro-7150B vs Intel Pentium Gold 4415U

Intel Core i7-7820HQ

The Intel Core i7-7820HQ is a fast quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It is the second fastest model of the consumer series at the time of the announcement. Only the i7-7920HQ and Xeon E3-1535M v6 are faster. Besides four cores including Hyper-Threading support running at 2.9 - 3.9 GHz (4 cores up to 3.5 GHz, 2 cores up to 3.7 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

Due to the higher clock speeds, the performance of the i7-7820HQ is slightly faster than the old Skylake top model Core i7-6920HQ (2.9 - 3.8 GHz). The performance is sufficient even for very demanding tasks and on par with powerful desktop quad-core processors.

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 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 A8 Pro-7150B

The AMD A8 Pro-7150B is a power efficient ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) quad-core processor based on the Kaveri architecture. It was revealed in June 2014 for notebooks and is manufactured by GlobalFoundries using a 28 nm SHP process. In addition to having two CPU modules for a total of four integer cores clocked at 1.9 - 3.2 GHz, the AMD chip also integrates a Radeon R5 GPU clocked at up to 533 MHz with 384 GCN shaders and a dual-channel DDR3-1600 memory controller.

Technically, the 7150B is almost identical with the consumer model A10-7300. However, AMD guarantees an especially high stability and durability for the business-oriented Pro-Series.

Architecture 

Kaveri is the successor to the 2013 Richland architecture (e.g. A10-5750M). The revised CPU cores, codenamed Steamroller, represent the third generation of the module-based Bulldozer design. A number of major changes include modified decoders (now one per integer core), optimized branch prediction, and increased L1 I-cache from 64 KB to 96 KB per module. These revisions boost the performance per clock slightly over a similarly clocked Richland APU. For more details about the AMD Kaveri architecture, see our detailed analysis here:

Analysis of the AMD Kaveri Notebook Platform

Performance 

According to the clock rates, the A8 Pro-7150B should offer a CPU performance level similar to the Haswell-based Intel Core i3-4010U. Overall, the 7150B will be sufficient for all daily workloads (Office, Internet browsing, multimedia) as well as light multitasking. Detailed benchmark can be found on the cpu page of the A10-7300 APU.

Graphics

The Radeon R5 (Kaveri) GPU of the A8 Pro-7150B features a core clock of up to 533 MHz and 384 shader units. Since the GPU is based on AMD's GCN 1.1 architecture, both DirectX 11.2 "Tier 2" and Mantle are supported. Furthermore, the GPU can be used for general purpose computing in various applications, such as Adobe Photoshop via the OpenCL API. 

In terms of 3D performance, the GPU should be roughly as fast as a dedicated GeForce GT 720M and can handle many current games at low or medium settings at (W)XGA resolution.

Power Consumption

The power consumption of the entire APU is rated at 19 Watts, which is somewhat above the Haswell ULV CPUs from Intel (15 W including chipset). Nevertheless, the A8 Pro-7150B is suited for 12 - 13-inch notebooks or larger.

Intel Pentium Gold 4415U

The Intel Pentium 4415U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core SoC based on the Kaby-Lake architecture and has been launched in the first quarter of 2017. The CPU can be found in ultrabooks as well as normal notebooks. In addition to two CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at 2.3 GHz (no Turbo Boost), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 610 GPU and a dual-channel DDR4-2133/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The SoC is manufactured using a 14 nm 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

Compared to the more expensive Core i3-7100U, the 4415U offers a similar CPU performance (2.3 versus 2.4 GHz) and less level 3 cache but a slower integrated graphics card. Still, the CPU has sufficient power for office and multimedia purposes as well as somewhat more demanding applications.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called HD Graphics 610 (similar to the HD Graphics 510) represents the "GT1" version of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). Its 12 Execution Units, also called EUs, are clocked at 300 - 950 MHz and offer a performance somewhat below the older HD Graphics 4400. Only a few games of 2015 can be played smoothly in lowest settings.

Power Consumption

Specified at a TDP of 15 W (including CPU, GPU and memory controller), the CPU is best suited for small notebooks and ultrabooks (11-inches and above). Optionally, the TDP can be lowered to 10 watts (cTDP down), reducing both heat dissipation and performance and allowing even more compact designs.