Intel Core i7-5600U vs Intel Core i7-4600U

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-5600U CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-4600U
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-4600U

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-5600U or Intel Core i7-4600U - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i7-5600U has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-5600U was released in Q1/2015.

The Intel Core i7-4600U has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.30 GHz. The CPU supports up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-4600U was released in Q3/2013.
Intel Core i7 (293) Family Intel Core i7 (293)
Intel Core i 5000U (16) CPU group Intel Core i 4000U (26)
5 Generation 4
Broadwell U Architecture Haswell U
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
Intel Core i7-6600U Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-5600U has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-5600U is 2.60 GHz (3.20 GHz) while the Intel Core i7-4600U has 2 CPU cores and 4 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-4600U is at 2.10 GHz (3.30 GHz).

Intel Core i7-5600U Characteristic Intel Core i7-4600U
2 Cores 2
4 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
2.60 GHz Frequency 2.10 GHz
3.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.30 GHz
3.10 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.30 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i7-5600U Characteristic Intel Core i7-4600U
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i7-5600U or Intel Core i7-4600U has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel HD Graphics 5500 GPU Intel HD Graphics 4400
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.20 GHz
0.95 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.10 GHz
8 GPU Generation 7.5
14 nm Technology 22 nm
3 Max. displays 3
24 Compute units 20
192 Shader 160
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
16 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
11.2 DirectX Version 11.1

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 5500 GPU Intel HD Graphics 4400
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode Codec JPEG Decode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-5600U can use up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6 GB/s. The Intel Core i7-4600U supports up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 25.6 GB/s.

Intel Core i7-5600U Characteristic Intel Core i7-4600U
DDR3-1600 Memory DDR3L-1600
16 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache 4.00 MB
2.0 PCIe version 2.0
12 PCIe lanes 12
6.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 6.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i7-5600U is 15 W, while the Intel Core i7-4600U has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i7-5600U Characteristic Intel Core i7-4600U
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 15 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-5600U is manufactured in 14 nm and has 4.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i7-4600U is manufactured in 22 nm and has a 4.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i7-5600U Characteristic Intel Core i7-4600U
14 nm Technology 22 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
BGA 1168 Socket BGA 1168
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2015 Release date Q3/2013
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-5600U to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-4600U to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
699 (84%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
829 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
1796 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1372 (76%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
1009 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
950 (94%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
2004 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1735 (87%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
305 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
280 (92%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
632 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
522 (83%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
Intel HD Graphics 5500 @ 0.95 GHz
365 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
Intel HD Graphics 4400 @ 1.10 GHz
352 (96%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
3008 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2702 (90%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 2.60 GHz
912 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 2.10 GHz
801 (88%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
131 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
120 (92%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
329 (100%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
291 (88%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5600U
2C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-4600U
2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1442.5 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-4600U
Unknown Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Intel Core i7-5600UIntel Core i5-6300U Intel Core i7-5600U vs Intel Core i5-6300U
2. Intel Core i7-5600UIntel Core i5-5300U Intel Core i7-5600U vs Intel Core i5-5300U
3. Intel Core i7-4600UIntel Core i5-5300U Intel Core i7-4600U vs Intel Core i5-5300U
4. Intel Core i7-5600UIntel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i7-5600U vs Intel Core i7-4600U
5. Intel Core i7-4600UIntel Core i5-4300U Intel Core i7-4600U vs Intel Core i5-4300U
6. Intel Core i7-4600UIntel Core i5-7200U Intel Core i7-4600U vs Intel Core i5-7200U
7. Intel Core i7-5600UIntel Core i7-6600U Intel Core i7-5600U vs Intel Core i7-6600U
8. Intel Core i5-6300UIntel Core i7-4600U Intel Core i5-6300U vs Intel Core i7-4600U
9. Intel Core i5-8250UIntel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i5-8250U vs Intel Core i7-5600U
10. Intel Core i7-5500UIntel Core i7-5600U Intel Core i7-5500U vs Intel Core i7-5600U


back to index