AMD Opteron 4274 HE vs Intel Core i5-7300HQ Comparison

The Intel Core i5-7300HQ and the AMD Opteron 4274 HE occupy very different corners of the processor market, one built for high-end mobile laptops and the other for dense server racks. Yet the recorded benchmark data places them in nearly the same performance tier, with the AMD chip holding a consistent, if modest, lead across every single test in the database. Their average benchmark scores sit close together, 1448 for the Intel part against 1420 for the AMD part, but the head-to-head results tell a different story than the averages suggest.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The AMD Opteron 4274 HE wins all six recorded head-to-head comparisons, but the margins are narrow and remarkably uniform. In Cinebench R15 multicore, the Opteron scores 494 against the Core i5-7300HQ's 434, a difference of 12.1 percent in AMD's favor. The single-core R15 test follows the same pattern, with the Opteron posting 69 points to the Intel chip's 61, again a 11.6 percent gap. These are not overwhelming victories, but they are consistent across every workload in the database.

Moving to Cinebench R20, the pattern holds. The AMD part scores 2061 in multicore performance, while the Intel chip manages 1812, a 12.1 percent deficit. In single-core R20, the Opteron records 291 against Intel's 255, a 12.4 percent margin. The newest benchmark in the database, Cinebench R23, shows the same story: 4909 for the AMD processor versus 4316 for the Intel processor in multicore, and 693 versus 609 in single-core, both results landing at a 12.1 percent gap.

The consistency of these margins is striking. Every benchmark, regardless of generation or whether it stresses one core or all of them, produces nearly the same 12 percent advantage for the Opteron. This suggests the performance difference is not workload-dependent but rather a structural characteristic of how these two chips execute instructions. The Intel part does have Geekbench results in the database, scoring 3044 in multicore and 1052 in single-core, but no equivalent Geekbench scores exist for the AMD chip, so those numbers cannot be compared directly.

When measured against their own peers, both processors sit at similar percentile positions. The Intel Core i5-7300HQ ranks in the 38th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the AMD Opteron 4274 HE sits at the 37th percentile. The nearest rivals for the Intel chip include the AMD Opteron 6378 with an average score of 1447, essentially tied at a 0 percent delta, and the Intel Xeon E3-1505L v5 at 1446, just 0.2 percent behind. The AMD Opteron 4274 HE's closest competitors are the Intel Core i7-3720QM at 1421, a 0.1 percent difference, and the Intel Core i7-2700K at 1419, also 0.1 percent off. These rival comparisons confirm that both chips perform in the same general range, even though the direct head-to-head tests consistently favor the AMD part.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear answer for anyone choosing between these two processors: the AMD Opteron 4274 HE wins every benchmark in which both chips were measured. The margins are not dramatic, hovering around 12 percent across all Cinebench tests, but they are uniform and repeatable. The Intel Core i5-7300HQ never takes a single victory in the head-to-head results, recording zero wins against six for the AMD part.

For workloads that resemble Cinebench rendering tasks, the Opteron 4274 HE is the better performer. It delivers higher scores in both single-threaded and multi-threaded tests, which means it should handle both lightly threaded applications and heavily parallel workloads with greater speed. The Intel chip does have a higher average benchmark score in the database, 1448 versus 1420, but that figure includes Geekbench results that have no AMD counterpart, and the direct comparisons all favor AMD.

The choice becomes more nuanced when considering the platform context. The Intel Core i5-7300HQ is a mobile processor with integrated graphics, while the AMD Opteron 4274 HE is a server part with no integrated graphics at all. The data cannot tell a buyer which platform is more suitable for their use case, but on raw performance, the Opteron is the winner in every measured category. The Intel chip does offer a lower launch MSRP of $250, while the AMD part launched at $377, but performance per dollar is not the question here; the question is which chip is faster, and the answer is unambiguous.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from fundamentally different design philosophies and manufacturing eras. The Intel Core i5-7300HQ is built on Kaby Lake architecture, specifically the Kaby Lake-H variant, using a 14 nm process node from Intel's own foundries. It packs 4 cores with 4 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 3.50 GHz. The die size measures 126 mm², and the thermal design power is 45 watts. The chip uses the Intel BGA 1440 socket and targets the mobile market segment. Its cache layout is per-core: 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core, with 6 MB of shared L3 cache.

The AMD Opteron 4274 HE belongs to the Opteron 4000 series, built on the Bulldozer architecture with the Valencia codename. It uses a 32 nm process from GlobalFoundries, with 1,200 million transistors on a 315 mm² die. The chip provides 8 cores and 8 threads, running at the same base clock of 2.50 GHz and the same boost clock of 3.50 GHz as the Intel part. Its thermal design power is higher at 65 watts, and it uses the AMD Socket C32. The cache configuration differs significantly: 384 KB of L1, 8 MB of L2, and 8 MB of shared L3. The AMD chip targets the server and workstation segment and supports ECC memory, while the Intel mobile part does not.

Memory support also diverges. The Intel chip supports both DDR3 and DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus, while the AMD Opteron supports only DDR3, also dual-channel, with a recorded memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s. PCI Express support differs as well: the Intel chip offers Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU, while the AMD part provides Gen 2. The Intel processor includes integrated Intel HD Graphics 630, whereas the AMD Opteron has no integrated graphics at all.

The release dates are separated by more than five years. The AMD Opteron 4274 HE launched in November 2011, while the Intel Core i5-7300HQ arrived in January 2017. Both are now end-of-life products. Neither chip has an unlocked multiplier. The process node difference, 14 nm versus 32 nm, explains why the Intel chip achieves similar performance with half the cores and a much smaller die, though the AMD part still manages to come out ahead in the recorded benchmarks despite its older manufacturing technology.

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in multi-core workloads?

A: The AMD Opteron 4274 HE wins all three multi-core Cinebench tests. It scores 494 versus 434 in R15, 2061 versus 1812 in R20, and 4909 versus 4316 in R23, a consistent 12.1 percent advantage in each case.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-7300HQ win any benchmark against the AMD Opteron 4274 HE?

A: No. The head-to-head results show zero wins for the Intel chip and six wins for the AMD Opteron across all recorded Cinebench tests.

Q: How do these processors compare in single-core performance?

A: The AMD Opteron 4274 HE leads in every single-core test as well. It scores 69 versus 61 in Cinebench R15, 291 versus 255 in R20, and 693 versus 609 in R23, with margins between 11.6 percent and 12.4 percent.

Q: Do both processors support the same memory types?

A: No. The Intel Core i5-7300HQ supports DDR3 and DDR4, while the AMD Opteron 4274 HE supports only DDR3. Both use a dual-channel memory bus, and the AMD chip has a recorded memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s.

Q: Which processor supports ECC memory?

A: The AMD Opteron 4274 HE supports ECC memory, while the Intel Core i5-7300HQ does not. This makes the AMD chip more suitable for server and workstation environments where error correction is critical.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for each processor?

A: The Intel Core i5-7300HQ has 4 cores and 4 threads. The AMD Opteron 4274 HE has 8 cores and 8 threads, double the core count of the Intel part.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Opteron 4274 HE wins everywhere in the direct benchmark comparisons. Every Cinebench test, from R15 through R23, in both single-core and multi-core variants, goes to the AMD chip. The margins are tight, between 11.6 and 12.4 percent, but they are absolute. For anyone running Cinebench-style rendering workloads, the Opteron is the faster processor without exception.

The Intel Core i5-7300HQ does not win a single head-to-head benchmark, but it does have advantages outside the raw performance numbers. It is a mobile processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 630, meaning it can operate in a laptop without a discrete graphics card. The AMD Opteron has no integrated graphics and requires a separate GPU. The Intel chip also supports newer DDR4 memory, while the AMD part is limited to DDR3. For a compact, power-conscious mobile system, the Intel chip has platform advantages that the benchmarks do not capture.

The Opteron's strengths lie in its core count, 8 cores versus 4, and its ECC memory support, making it a candidate for server deployments where data integrity matters more than power efficiency. Its higher thermal design power of 65 watts reflects the additional cores, but the benchmark results show that those cores translate into real performance gains in every test. The Intel chip, with its 45 watt TDP and 14 nm process, is more efficient per watt, but efficiency is not the same as speed.

The database also shows where each chip stands relative to its own competitors. The Intel Core i5-7300HQ sits at the 38th percentile and is essentially tied with the AMD Opteron 6378, the Intel Xeon E3-1505L v5, and the AMD Ryzen 3 2200GE, all within 0.3 percent of its average score. The AMD Opteron 4274 HE sits at the 37th percentile and is nearly tied with the Intel Core i7-3720QM, the Intel Core i7-2700K, and the Intel Xeon Bronze 3106, all within 0.2 percent. This means buyers looking at either chip are getting performance in the same neighborhood as several well-known desktop and mobile processors from the same era.

For rendering and compute-heavy tasks, the choice is simple: the AMD Opteron 4274 HE delivers higher scores in every measured category. For mobile use with integrated graphics and DDR4 support, the Intel Core i5-7300HQ offers platform features that the Opteron cannot match. The benchmark data favors AMD on performance, but the overall system requirements will determine which chip is the right fit.