MediaTek MT8173 vs Intel Core i5-2550k

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


MediaTek MT8173 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i5-2550k
MediaTek MT8173 Intel Core i5-2550k

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the MediaTek MT8173 and the Intel Core i5-2550k and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the MediaTek MT8173 4 core processor released in Q1/2015 with the Intel Core i5-2550k which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2012.
Mediatek MT-Serie (72) Family Intel Core i5 (331)
MediaTek MT81xx MT86xx A72 / A53 (3) CPU group Intel Core i 2000 (28)
1 Generation 2
Cortex-A72 / Cortex-A53 Architecture Sandy Bridge S
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Intel Core i5-3570K

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The MediaTek MT8173 is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.80 GHz. The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i5-2550k clocks with 3.40 GHz (3.80 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2550k
4 Cores 4
4 Threads 4
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? Yes
1.80 GHz
2x Cortex-A72
A-Core 3.40 GHz (3.80 GHz)
1.40 GHz
2x Cortex-A53
B-Core --

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.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2550k
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

PowerVR GX6250 GPU no iGPU
0.70 GHz GPU frequency --
0.70 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
28 nm Technology
1 Max. displays
2 Compute units --
32 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
10 DirectX Version --

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.

PowerVR GX6250 GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the MediaTek MT8173, while the Intel Core i5-2550k supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 21.3 GB/s enabled.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2550k
LPDDR3-933 Memory DDR3-1333
2 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
14.9 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 6.00 MB
-- PCIe version 2.0
-- PCIe lanes 16
-- PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The MediaTek MT8173 has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Intel Core i5-2550k is 95 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2550k
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The MediaTek MT8173 has 0.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 28 nm. The cache of Intel Core i5-2550k is at 6.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 32 nm.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2550k
28 nm Technology 32 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
-- Socket LGA 1155
None Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
No AES-NI Yes
Android Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2015 Release date Q1/2012
-- Release price 235 $
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek MT8173 (47%)
Intel Core i5-2550k (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek MT8173 (25%)
Intel Core i5-2550k (100%)

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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
331 (41%)
Intel Core i5-2550k Intel Core i5-2550k
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
810 (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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
768 (29%)
Intel Core i5-2550k Intel Core i5-2550k
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
2611 (100%)

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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
348 (52%)
Intel Core i5-2550k Intel Core i5-2550k
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
664 (100%)

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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
610 (30%)
Intel Core i5-2550k Intel Core i5-2550k
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
2010 (100%)

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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
609 (15%)
Intel Core i5-2550k Intel Core i5-2550k
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
4120 (100%)

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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
PowerVR GX6250 @ 0.70 GHz
90 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2550k Intel Core i5-2550k
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

MediaTek MT8173 Intel Core i5-2550k
Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017) Unknown

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