AMD Athlon PRO 300U vs Intel Core i5-4440 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits cleanly between these two processors, and the Intel Core i5-4440 wins every recorded head-to-head test. Across five Cinebench workloads, the Intel part takes all five wins, while the AMD Athlon PRO 300U records zero wins. The margins are consistent, sitting between 14.9% and 15% in every comparison. That consistency across both multithreaded and single-threaded tests indicates a broad performance gap rather than a workload-specific advantage.

Starting with multithreaded performance, the Intel Core i5-4440 leads in Cinebench R15 multicore with 410 points against 349 for the Athlon PRO 300U, a 14.9% difference. In Cinebench R20 multicore, Intel scores 1712 versus 1456, again a 15% margin. The Cinebench R23 multicore test shows 4077 for Intel against 3468 for AMD, a 14.9% gap. These results are notable because the Intel chip uses four physical cores and four threads, while the AMD chip uses two cores and four threads. The extra two physical cores on the Intel side appear to provide a decisive advantage in fully threaded rendering workloads.

Single-threaded performance tells a similar story, although the architecture differences are less obvious. In Cinebench R20 single-core, Intel leads 241 to 205, a 14.9% margin. In Cinebench R23 single-core, Intel scores 575 against 489, a 15% difference. The Athlon PRO 300U has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.30 GHz, while the Core i5-4440 has a base clock of 3.10 GHz and the same 3.30 GHz boost. Despite identical boost clocks, the Intel part still wins single-threaded tests by roughly 15%, suggesting that per-clock efficiency and architecture maturity favor the Haswell design.

The average benchmark scores place both processors in the same overall tier. The Athlon PRO 300U has an average benchmark score of 1193, while the Core i5-4440 sits at 1179. The database ranks both at the 33rd percentile among all CPUs. That means the two chips occupy nearly the same overall performance class, even though the Intel part wins every individual head-to-head test. The discrepancy between the average scores and the head-to-head results is explained by the fact that the average includes a broader set of workloads, while the head-to-head tests are limited to Cinebench iterations.

For the AMD Athlon PRO 300U, the strongest recorded results are in Cinebench R23 multicore, where it reaches 3468 points, and in Cinebench R20 multicore, where it scores 1456. Its single-thread scores are lower at 489 in R23 and 205 in R20. The Intel Core i5-4440, by contrast, reaches 4077 in R23 multicore and 1712 in R20 multicore. The Intel part also posts higher single-thread numbers, with 575 in R23 and 241 in R20.

The R15 single-core test is only recorded for the Intel part, which scores 57. No comparable R15 single-core score exists in the database for the Athlon PRO 300U, so that specific comparison is unavailable. The remaining four tests all show the same pattern: Intel leads by roughly 15% regardless of whether the workload is single-threaded or multithreaded.

In terms of what each processor wins, the answer is straightforward: the Intel Core i5-4440 wins every benchmark where both chips have recorded data. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U does not claim a single victory in the head-to-head set. That said, the AMD chip is a 15-watt mobile part with a 14nm process node, while the Intel chip is an 84-watt desktop part on a 22nm node. The power envelope difference is substantial, and the performance gap is modest relative to that power gap. The data does not include battery life, thermal, or efficiency measurements, so any efficiency conclusion would be outside the recorded facts.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear performance hierarchy. The Intel Core i5-4440 outperforms the AMD Athlon PRO 300U in every head-to-head benchmark, with margins between 14.9% and 15% across Cinebench R15, R20, and R23. If the selection criterion is raw rendering performance, the Intel part is the correct choice. It delivers higher scores in both single-threaded and multithreaded workloads, and it does so consistently.

Who should pick the Intel Core i5-4440? Anyone whose workload is dominated by Cinebench-style rendering, which includes 3D modeling, animation previews, and CPU-bound content creation tasks. The four physical cores give it a structural advantage in multithreaded tests, and the single-thread scores show it also handles lightly threaded tasks better than the AMD part. Users who already have an Intel Socket 1150 platform, such as a Haswell-era desktop motherboard, can drop in this chip without changing the memory type, which is DDR3. The Intel part also supports PCIe Gen 3, which may matter for discrete GPU pairing.

Who should pick the AMD Athlon PRO 300U? The data does not show any performance win for this chip, so the choice would have to rest on factors outside the recorded benchmarks. The AMD part is a mobile processor with a 15-watt TDP, which suggests a cooling and power design that is far lighter than the 84-watt Intel part. It uses DDR4 memory, which is a more modern memory standard. It also has a 14nm process node compared to Intel's 22nm, indicating a newer manufacturing generation. The Radeon Vega 3 integrated graphics may outperform Intel HD 4600 in some scenarios, but the database does not include graphics benchmarks for either chip, so that comparison cannot be made from the recorded facts.

The 33rd percentile ranking for both processors reinforces the idea that neither chip is a high-end performer. They sit in the lower-middle range of the database's CPU distribution. For a user building a new system from scratch, the AMD part's mobile nature means it is likely found in laptops or compact systems, while the Intel part is a desktop component. The socket and platform differences, AMD Socket FP5 versus Intel Socket 1150, mean they are not interchangeable.

The verdict from the data alone is that the Intel Core i5-4440 is the faster processor. It wins all five recorded head-to-head benchmarks, and the margins are uniform. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U is not without merit in terms of platform characteristics, but those characteristics are not benchmark results. The recorded numbers favor Intel without exception.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head set includes five Cinebench tests, and the Intel Core i5-4440 wins all of them. The largest margin, expressed as a delta percentage, is 15%, which appears in both Cinebench R20 multicore and Cinebench R23 single-core. The remaining three tests show a 14.9% margin. The consistency of these deltas is striking; it suggests a nearly fixed performance ratio between the two chips regardless of the specific workload.

In Cinebench R15 multicore, the Intel Core i5-4440 scores 410 points, while the AMD Athlon PRO 300U scores 349 points. The delta is 14.9% in favor of Intel. This test is one of the older Cinebench versions, but it still stresses all available cores and threads. The Intel chip's four physical cores are likely the deciding factor, as the AMD chip relies on two cores with simultaneous multithreading to reach four threads.

Cinebench R20 multicore shows a similar result. Intel scores 1712, AMD scores 1456, and the delta is 15%. The absolute difference is 256 points. For context, the AMD chip's total multicore score is lower than the Intel chip's score by an amount larger than the AMD chip's own single-core R20 score of 205. That means the performance gap in multicore is more than one full single-core unit of performance for the AMD chip.

Cinebench R20 single-core shows Intel at 241 and AMD at 205, a 14.9% delta. The gap of 36 points is smaller in absolute terms than the multicore gaps, but the percentage is nearly identical. This is notable because the boost clocks are the same at 3.30 GHz. The Intel chip's base clock is higher at 3.10 GHz versus 2.40 GHz, but in a boost scenario, both chips should reach the same frequency. The data suggests that Intel's Haswell architecture extracts more instructions per clock than AMD's Zen-based Raven Ridge 2 design in this test.

Cinebench R23 multicore gives Intel 4077 and AMD 3468, a 14.9% delta. The absolute difference is 609 points. This is the largest absolute gap in the entire head-to-head set, which makes sense because R23 multicore tends to produce the highest scores. The Intel chip crosses the 4000-point threshold, while the AMD chip remains below 3500.

Cinebench R23 single-core shows Intel at 575 and AMD at 489, a 15% delta. The gap of 86 points is the largest single-core absolute difference. Again, the percentage aligns with the rest of the set. The Intel chip's single-core score is roughly 17.6% higher than the AMD chip's, which is consistent with the 15% delta when accounting for rounding.

The wins breakdown is 0 for the AMD Athlon PRO 300U and 5 for the Intel Core i5-4440. No test ends in a tie, and no test shows the AMD chip ahead. The nearest rivals data for each chip provides additional context. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U's nearest rival by average score is the Intel Core i3-4170, which matches at 1193 with a 0% delta. The Intel Core i7-8665UE also matches at 1193 with 0%. The AMD Opteron 3365 is 0.1% behind, and the AMD Opteron 6234 is 0.2% ahead. For the Intel Core i5-4440, the nearest rival is the Intel Core i5-3550 at 1178, a 0.1% delta, followed by the Intel Core i3-7320 at 1173 (0.5% ahead), the Intel Core i5-2400 at 1187 (0.7% behind), and the Intel Core i7-3635QM at 1170 (0.8% ahead).

These rival comparisons show that both chips are clustered with older mid-range desktop processors and some low-power mobile parts. The AMD chip's rivals include a low-power Intel mobile chip, the i7-8665UE, which suggests its performance class is similar to thin-and-light laptop CPUs. The Intel chip's rivals are all desktop parts, including older i5 and i3 models.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins more head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-4440 wins all 5 recorded head-to-head benchmarks. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U wins 0.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each processor?

A: The AMD Athlon PRO 300U has an average benchmark score of 1193. The Intel Core i5-4440 has an average benchmark score of 1179.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the head-to-head tests?

A: The Intel Core i5-4440 leads by 14.9% in Cinebench R15 multicore, Cinebench R20 single-core, and Cinebench R23 multicore, and by 15% in Cinebench R20 multicore and Cinebench R23 single-core.

Q: Do both processors support the same memory type?

A: No. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U supports DDR4 memory, while the Intel Core i5-4440 supports DDR3 memory. Both use a dual-channel memory bus.

Q: What are the core and thread counts?

A: The AMD Athlon PRO 300U has 2 cores and 4 threads. The Intel Core i5-4440 has 4 cores and 4 threads.

Q: Are the integrated graphics the same?

A: No. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U uses Radeon Vega 3, while the Intel Core i5-4440 uses Intel HD 4600. The database does not include graphics benchmark scores for either chip.

Q: What percentile do these processors rank in among all CPUs?

A: Both processors rank at the 33rd percentile among all CPUs in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from different eras and design philosophies. The AMD Athlon PRO 300U is based on the Zen architecture with the codename Raven Ridge 2, manufactured on a 14nm process by GlobalFoundries. It belongs to the Athlon generation of AMD mobile processors. The Intel Core i5-4440 is based on the Haswell architecture, also with the codename Haswell, manufactured on a 22nm process by Intel. It is a desktop part from the Core i5 generation.

The core counts differ significantly. The AMD chip has 2 physical cores and 4 threads, relying on simultaneous multithreading to double its thread count. The Intel chip has 4 physical cores and 4 threads, with no hyper-threading. This means the Intel part has twice the physical core count, which likely explains its consistent lead in multithreaded Cinebench tests. The thread counts are equal at 4, but the physical core count favors Intel.

Clock speeds are partially shared. The AMD chip has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.30 GHz. The Intel chip has a base clock of 3.10 GHz and a boost clock of 3.30 GHz. The boost clocks are identical, but the Intel part has a significantly higher base clock. The Intel chip also has a much higher TDP at 84 watts, compared to 15 watts for the AMD chip. This 69-watt difference reflects the very different thermal and power design targets: the AMD part is built for mobile, while the Intel part is a desktop component.

Cache hierarchies differ in structure. The AMD chip has 128 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 4 MB of shared L3 cache. The Intel chip has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 6 MB of shared L3 cache. The AMD chip has larger per-core L1 and L2 caches, while the Intel chip has a larger shared L3 cache. The total L3 capacity favors Intel by 2 MB.

The memory support is split by generation. The AMD chip uses DDR4 memory, while the Intel chip uses DDR3. Both use a dual-channel memory bus. Neither chip supports ECC memory. The Intel chip supports PCIe Gen 3, while the database does not list PCIe support for the AMD chip.

The sockets are incompatible. The AMD chip uses AMD Socket FP5, a mobile socket. The Intel chip uses Intel Socket 1150, a desktop socket. This means the two processors cannot be swapped between platforms. The process nodes also differ, with AMD at 14nm and Intel at 22nm. Intel has a reported transistor count of 1,400 million and a die size of 177 mm², while the database does not list transistor count or die size for the AMD chip.

The integrated graphics are different as well. The AMD chip includes Radeon Vega 3, while the Intel chip includes Intel HD 4600. No graphics benchmarks are recorded in the database for either chip, so their relative graphical performance is not measured here. The release dates show a generational gap: the Intel chip was released in September 2013, while the AMD chip was released in April 2019. The Intel part number is SR14F, while no part number is listed for the AMD chip. The AMD chip is classified as Active in production status, while the Intel chip has no production status listed. Neither chip has an unlocked multiplier.