CPU Comparison

The Intel Core i3-4150 and Intel Core i7-5557U represent two divergent philosophies from the same manufacturer: a desktop-oriented Haswell part designed for sustained throughput versus a mobile-focused Broadwell chip engineered for efficiency within a constrained thermal envelope. Both are end-of-life products with 2 cores and 4 threads, yet benchmark results reveal a fascinating split, the i3-4150 dominates Cinebench workloads across the board, while the i7-5557U counterattacks decisively in Geekbench tests. This creates a nuanced picture where the "winner" depends entirely on the benchmark suite, making the comparison less about raw superiority and more about workload-specific strengths.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Core i3-4150 is the clear victor in rendering and compute-oriented workloads. Across all four Cinebench variants, R15, R20, and R23 in both multi-core and single-core configurations, the desktop chip secures a consistent 7.4% to 7.7% advantage over the i7-5557U. This consistency is striking; the deltaPct barely fluctuates regardless of the Cinebench version or thread count. For users running CPU-bound rendering tasks, video encoding, or any application that leverages Cinebench-style ray tracing, the i3-4150 delivers measurably more work per unit time. The data shows a 290 vs 270 score in Cinebench R15 multicore and a 2888 vs 2682 result in R23 multicore, translating to roughly 7.7% more performance in the latest iteration.

The Intel Core i7-5557U, by contrast, wins decisively in Geekbench, a suite that emphasizes memory bandwidth, encryption, and integer/floating-point operations in a more latency-sensitive manner. The mobile chip posts a 2099 multicore score against the i3-4150's 1896, a 9.7% margin, and a 1060 single-core score versus 968, an 8.7% edge. This suggests the i7-5557U excels in everyday desktop responsiveness, web browsing, office productivity, and other burst-oriented tasks where the higher memory bandwidth (29.9 GB/s vs 25.6 GB/s) and newer architecture can flex their muscles. The 31st percentile ranking versus the i3-4150's 32nd percentile, nearly identical overall placement, reinforces that these chips perform at similar levels, but their strengths are distinctly compartmentalized.

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in Cinebench R23 multi-core?

A: The Intel Core i3-4150 wins with a score of 2888 against the i7-5557U's 2682, a 7.7% advantage. This pattern repeats across all Cinebench versions, where the i3-4150 consistently leads by 7.4% to 7.7%.

Q: Does the i7-5557U win any benchmarks?

A: Yes, the i7-5557U wins both Geekbench tests. It scores 2099 in multicore (9.7% ahead) and 1060 in single-core (8.7% ahead) compared to the i3-4150's 1896 and 968 respectively.

Q: Which chip has a higher base clock speed?

A: The Intel Core i3-4150 has a base clock of 3.50 GHz, while the i7-5557U runs at 3.10 GHz. However, the i7-5557U features a boost clock of 3.40 GHz, which the i3-4150 lacks entirely.

Q: How do their overall average benchmark scores compare?

A: The i3-4150 averages 1119 across all benchmarks, while the i7-5557U averages 1110, a negligible difference of less than 1%. Their percentile ranks are similarly close at 32nd and 31st respectively.

Q: What are the memory bandwidth differences?

A: The i7-5557U provides 29.9 GB/s of memory bandwidth versus 25.6 GB/s for the i3-4150, a 16.8% advantage that likely contributes to its Geekbench wins.

Q: Which processor has a larger L3 cache?

A: The i7-5557U has 4 MB of shared L3 cache, compared to 3 MB on the i3-4150. Both feature identical 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 caches per core.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data reveals a clean split: 5 wins for the i3-4150, 2 for the i7-5557U. The largest margin of victory belongs to the i7-5557U in Geekbench multicore, where its 2099 score beats the i3-4150's 1896 by 9.7%. This is a substantial gap, nearly double the 7.7% advantage the i3-4150 manages in its best Cinebench results. The Geekbench single-core test similarly favors the i7-5557U by 8.7% (1060 vs 968), indicating that the mobile chip's architectural refinements in Broadwell provide a meaningful boost in latency-sensitive workloads.

On the Cinebench side, the i3-4150's wins are remarkably uniform. In R15 multicore, it scores 290 versus 270 (7.4% ahead). In R20 multicore, 1212 versus 1126 (7.6% ahead). In R20 single-core, 170 versus 158 (7.6% ahead). In R23 multicore, 2888 versus 2682 (7.7% ahead). In R23 single-core, 407 versus 378 (7.7% ahead). This tight clustering suggests the i3-4150's advantage stems from its higher base clock (3.50 GHz vs 3.10 GHz) rather than any architectural superiority, the delta remains constant whether one or all cores are active, implying a straightforward frequency-driven performance edge in rendering workloads.

The average benchmark scores tell a story of near-parity: 1119 for the i3-4150 versus 1110 for the i7-5557U, a difference of less than 1%. The nearest rivals for the i3-4150 include the Intel Core i7-2860QM (0.1% slower), Intel Core i5-3550S (0.1% faster), AMD Athlon 240GE (0.1% slower), and Intel Xeon D-1518 (0.2% slower). The i7-5557U's rivals are similarly clustered: Intel Xeon E5630 (0% difference), Intel Xeon E5-2609 v3 (0.1% slower), Intel Core i5-4570T (0.2% slower), and AMD PRO A12-8870 (0.2% slower). Both chips sit in a crowded performance tier where tenths of a percent separate competitors.

Specification Differences

The two processors diverge sharply on physical and platform specifications. The i3-4150 uses the Intel Socket 1150 with a 54W TDP, while the i7-5557U is soldered to Intel BGA 1168 with a much lower 28W TDP, a 48% reduction in thermal design power. This makes the i7-5557U suitable for thin-and-light laptops, whereas the i3-4150 targets desktop motherboards with traditional cooling. The i3-4150's base clock of 3.50 GHz exceeds the i7-5557U's 3.10 GHz, but the i7-5557U compensates with a 3.40 GHz boost clock that the i3-4150 lacks entirely.

Memory support is DDR3 for both, with dual-channel buses, but the i7-5557U offers higher bandwidth at 29.9 GB/s versus 25.6 GB/s. PCIe capabilities differ significantly: the i3-4150 provides Gen 3 with 16 lanes, while the i7-5557U is limited to Gen 2 with 12 lanes, a notable gap for discrete GPU or NVMe connectivity. Integrated graphics also differ: the i3-4150 carries Intel HD 4400, while the i7-5557U features the more capable Intel Iris 6100. The i3-4150 launched with a $117 MSRP, while the i7-5557U carried a $426 launch MSRP. Neither chip has an unlocked multiplier, and both are end-of-life products.

Architecture Differences

The i3-4150 is built on Intel's Haswell architecture using a 22 nm process node, containing 1,400 million transistors on a 177 mm² die. The i7-5557U employs the newer Broadwell architecture (specifically Broadwell-U) on a 14 nm node, packing 1,900 million transistors into a smaller 133 mm² die. This represents a 35.7% increase in transistor count while shrinking the die area by 24.9%, enabled by the denser 14 nm manufacturing process. The transistor density jump from roughly 7.9 million per mm² on Haswell to 14.3 million per mm² on Broadwell illustrates the generational leap in Intel's fabrication technology.

Cache hierarchies differ in the L3 tier: the i3-4150 has 3 MB of shared L3 cache, while the i7-5557U offers 4 MB, a 33% increase. The L1 and L2 caches are identical at 64 KB and 256 KB per core respectively. The i7-5557U also benefits from a higher memory bandwidth figure (29.9 GB/s vs 25.6 GB/s), which correlates with its Geekbench dominance. The i3-4150's generation is listed as "Core i3 (Haswell)" with a release date of April 2014, while the i7-5557U's generation is "Core i7 (Broadwell-U)" released in February 2015, roughly ten months later. The i7-5557U's part number is SR26E, and the i3-4150's is SR1PJ. Both lack ECC memory support and unlocked multipliers, and neither supports PCIe Gen 4 or higher. The architectural differences, newer process, denser transistors, larger L3, and higher memory bandwidth, explain why the i7-5557U wins Geekbench despite lower clock speeds, while the i3-4150's clock advantage carries Cinebench.