i5-3230M vs i7-4600U

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-4600U
2013
2 cores / 4 threads, 15 Watt
1.71
+6.2%
Core i5-3230M
2013
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.61

Core i7-4600U outperforms Core i5-3230M by a small 6% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking20522102
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Core i5
Power efficiency10.794.35
Architecture codenameHaswell-ULT (2013)Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date1 September 2013 (11 years ago)1 January 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$398$225

Detailed specifications

Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads44
Base clock speed2.1 GHz2.6 GHz
Boost clock speed3.3 GHz3.2 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s5 GT/s
L1 cache64K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache4 MB (shared)3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm22 nm
Die size118 mm2118 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C105 °C
Number of transistors1,300 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketFCBGA1168FCPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)15 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2Intel® AVX
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Accessno data+
SIPP+-
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switchingno data-
GPIO+no data
Smart Connect+no data
FDI++
Fast Memory Accessno data+
AMT9.5no data
HD Audio+no data
RST+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+-
EDB++
Secure Key++
Identity Protection++
Anti-Theft++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M are enumerated here.

AMD-V++
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size16 GB32 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4400Intel HD Graphics 4000
Max video memory2 GBno data
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.1 GHz1.1 GHz
InTru 3D++

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported33
eDP++
DisplayPort++
HDMI++
VGA+no data
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.43200x2000@60Hzno data
Max resolution over DisplayPort3200x2000@60Hzno data
Max resolution over VGAN/Ano data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX11.2/12no data
OpenGL4.3no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes1216
PCI support-no data
USB revision3.0no data
Total number of SATA ports4no data
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Ports4no data
Integrated IDE-no data
Number of USB ports4no data
Integrated LAN-no data
UART+no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i7-4600U 1.71
+6.2%
i5-3230M 1.61

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i7-4600U 2724
+6.3%
i5-3230M 2562

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

i7-4600U 888
+75.5%
i5-3230M 506

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

i7-4600U 1657
+62.5%
i5-3230M 1020

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i7-4600U 4669
+9.4%
i5-3230M 4268

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i7-4600U 8444
i5-3230M 9159
+8.5%

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i7-4600U 3223
i5-3230M 3760
+16.7%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i7-4600U 17.1
+4.3%
i5-3230M 17.83

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i7-4600U 3
i5-3230M 3
+11.2%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i7-4600U 248
i5-3230M 258
+4%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i7-4600U 124
+18.1%
i5-3230M 105

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i7-4600U 1.42
+13.6%
i5-3230M 1.25

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i7-4600U 1.7
+13.3%
i5-3230M 1.5

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i7-4600U 2493
i5-3230M 3219
+29.1%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i7-4600U 16
+42.3%
i5-3230M 11

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i7-4600U 92
+52.9%
i5-3230M 60

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.71 1.61
Integrated graphics card 1.36 1.18
Recency 1 September 2013 1 January 2013
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 35 Watt

i7-4600U has a 6.2% higher aggregate performance score, 15.3% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 8 months, and 133.3% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4600U and Core i5-3230M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-4600U
Core i7-4600U
Intel Core i5-3230M
Core i5-3230M

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.4 174 votes

Rate Core i7-4600U on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.8 1118 votes

Rate Core i5-3230M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-4600U or Core i5-3230M, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.