AMD A8-7670K vs Intel Core i7-4600U Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data is unambiguous: the AMD A8-7670K wins every single benchmark in the comparison set, taking all five tests against the Intel Core i7-4600U. The margin is consistent, hovering near the 19% mark across both multi-core and single-core workloads.

In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the A8-7670K scores 276 against the i7-4600U's 232, a 19% advantage. That pattern repeats in Cinebench R20 multi-core, where the AMD part posts 1152 versus 968, again a 19% delta. The R23 multi-core test tells the same story: 2745 for the A8-7670K, 2306 for the i7-4600U, another 19% gap.

Single-core results are equally lopsided. The A8-7670K leads by 19.1% in Cinebench R20 single-core, scoring 162 against 136. The R23 single-core test shows a 19.1% edge as well, with 387 versus 325. So whether the workload scales across all cores or runs on a single thread, the AMD desktop chip holds a near-identical advantage.

It is notably the i7-4600U does have additional Geekbench results in the database, but the head-to-head comparison set does not include that test. The five head-to-head benchmarks are all Cinebench variants, and the A8-7670K wins all five. The database records 5 wins for the AMD part and 0 for the Intel part in this direct comparison.

The consistency of the margin is striking. A 19% lead in multi-core is matched by a 19.1% lead in single-core, suggesting the advantage is not workload-specific but rather a general throughput difference. The A8-7670K's higher clock speeds and four physical cores likely explain the pattern, though the data alone shows the results.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD A8-7670K has an average benchmark score of 944, while the Intel Core i7-4600U scores 931. The difference is 13 points, placing the AMD part slightly ahead in the database's aggregate metric.

Q: How does the A8-7670K compare to its closest rivals in average score?

A: The A8-7670K sits at 944, essentially tied with the Intel Core i3-1110G4 (945, a 0.1% deficit), the AMD Athlon X4 860K (943, a 0.1% lead), the AMD Phenom II X6 1045T (946, a 0.2% deficit), and the Intel Xeon X5560 (946, a 0.2% deficit). The differences are within a point or two, so the A8-7670K is in a tightly packed performance cluster.

Q: Where does the i7-4600U rank among its nearest rivals?

A: The i7-4600U has an average score of 931, placing it slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-870 (928, a 0.3% lead), the Intel Core i5-4288U (927, a 0.4% lead), the Intel Core i3-4350T (926, a 0.5% lead), and the Intel Celeron G6900TE (925, a 0.7% lead). It leads all four rivals but by less than 1% in each case.

Q: What are the percentile rankings for these two chips?

A: Both the AMD A8-7670K and the Intel Core i7-4600U sit at the 25th percentile among all CPUs in the database. Despite the A8-7670K's head-to-head sweep, the two chips occupy the same overall performance tier.

Q: Is the A8-7670K's benchmark lead consistent across all recorded tests?

A: Yes, in the five head-to-head Cinebench tests, the A8-7670K wins every one with deltas between 19% and 19.1%. The i7-4600U has no wins in the comparison set.

Q: Does the i7-4600U have any benchmarks that the A8-7670K lacks?

A: The i7-4600U has Geekbench multi-core and single-core scores (1664 and 889 respectively), while the A8-7670K's recorded benchmark list does not include Geekbench results. These tests are not part of the head-to-head comparison set.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for multi-threaded and single-threaded Cinebench workloads: the AMD A8-7670K outperforms the Intel Core i7-4600U by roughly 19% across the board. If the task is rendering, encoding, or any benchmark that mirrors Cinebench's workload, the AMD part is the stronger performer.

However, the overall picture is more nuanced. The average benchmark scores are close: 944 for the A8-7670K versus 931 for the i7-4600U, a gap of only 13 points. Both chips land at the 25th percentile among all CPUs, meaning they are in the same broad performance tier. The i7-4600U also has Geekbench results in the database, which the A8-7670K does not, suggesting the Intel part may have strengths in different workload types.

The A8-7670K is a desktop processor with a 95W TDP, four physical cores, and clock speeds reaching 3.90 GHz. The i7-4600U is a mobile chip with a 15W TDP, two physical cores with four threads, and a boost clock of 3.30 GHz. The user should pick the A8-7670K if raw Cinebench performance is the priority and power consumption is not a concern. The i7-4600U is the choice in a mobile or low-power context, where its dramatically lower TDP makes it suitable for thin laptops or fanless designs, despite the benchmark deficit.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in nearly every fundamental specification. The A8-7670K has 4 cores and 4 threads, while the i7-4600U has 2 cores and 4 threads. Base clocks are 3.60 GHz for the AMD part and 2.10 GHz for the Intel part; boost clocks are 3.90 GHz and 3.30 GHz respectively. TDP is a major differentiator: 95W for the A8-7670K versus 15W for the i7-4600U.

Sockets are incompatible: the A8-7670K uses AMD Socket FM2+, while the i7-4600U uses Intel BGA 1168. The A8-7670K has an unlocked multiplier, whereas the i7-4600U is locked. Cache layouts differ: the A8-7670K has 256 KB L1 and 4 MB L2, while the i7-4600U has 64 KB L1 per core, 256 KB L2 per core, and 4 MB shared L3. The A8-7670K has no L3 cache.

Memory support is DDR3 for both, but the A8-7670K lists dual-channel with 34.1 GB/s bandwidth, while the i7-4600U has no recorded memory bus or bandwidth data. PCIe support is also different: the A8-7670K has Gen 3 with 16 lanes (CPU only), while the i7-4600U has no PCIe data recorded. Integrated graphics differ: Radeon R7 for AMD, Intel HD 5000 for Intel. The A8-7670K is a desktop part, the i7-4600U is mobile. Release dates are 2015-07-19 for the AMD chip and 2013-08-31 for the Intel chip.

Architecture Differences

The A8-7670K is built on AMD's Steamroller architecture, codenamed Godaveri, using a 28 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 2,411 million transistors on a 245 mm² die. The i7-4600U uses Intel's Haswell architecture, codenamed Haswell-ULT, on a 22 nm process at Intel, with 1,300 million transistors and a 118 mm² die.

The A8-7670K's Steamroller design is a refinement of AMD's modular architecture, with four full cores and no hyperthreading. The i7-4600U's Haswell-ULT is a dual-core design with Hyper-Threading, enabling four threads from two physical cores. The process node difference (28 nm versus 22 nm) gives Intel a density advantage, but the A8-7670K compensates with higher clocks and more physical cores.

Cache architecture is a fundamental split. The A8-7670K has 256 KB L1 and 4 MB L2, with no L3. The i7-4600U has 64 KB L1 per core, 256 KB L2 per core, and 4 MB shared L3. The Intel part's L3 cache is shared across both cores, which can help in certain workloads, but the A8-7670K's larger L2 and higher clocks win in Cinebench.

The integrated graphics differ as well: Radeon R7 on the AMD side, Intel HD 5000 on the Intel side. The A8-7670K's GPU is part of a larger die, while the i7-4600U's haswell graphics are integrated into a smaller package. The A8-7670K also supports PCIe Gen 3 with 16 CPU lanes, a feature the i7-4600U does not list in the database.

The transistor count difference is notable: 2,411 million for the A8-7670K versus 1,300 million for the i7-4600U, reflecting the larger die and additional GPU hardware on the AMD chip. The i7-4600U's smaller die and lower TDP make it a power-efficient mobile part, while the A8-7670K is a higher-power desktop component. The 95W TDP versus 15W TDP is the single largest architectural consequence, dictating the cooling and platform requirements for each.