Intel Core i3-4170T vs Intel Core i5-4440S Comparison

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-4440S is the clear performance pick, winning all five head-to-head benchmarks with margins between 39.8% and 40.1%. If your workload is multi-threaded rendering or any task that scales with physical cores, the i5-4440S delivers roughly 40% more throughput than the i3-4170T across every Cinebench test listed. The i3-4170T, however, is the efficiency choice: it consumes only 35W TDP versus 65W, making it suitable for low-power builds or HTPCs where absolute performance is secondary. Both chips share the same 30th percentile ranking among all CPUs, meaning neither is a high-end part, but the i5-4440S offers nearly double the compute headroom for the same platform generation. Buy the i5-4440S if you need sustained multi-core performance; choose the i3-4170T if power draw and thermals are your primary constraints.

Architecture Differences

Both processors are built on Intel’s 22 nm Haswell architecture, fabricated at Intel’s own foundry with identical transistor counts of 1,400 million and the same 177 mm² die size. They share the Intel Socket 1150 platform, DDR3 memory support, dual-channel memory bus, and Gen 3 PCIe connectivity. The fundamental architectural split is core count: the i5-4440S has four physical cores with four threads, while the i3-4170T has two physical cores with four threads via Hyper-Threading. This means the i5-4440S has twice the physical execution resources, which explains its commanding lead in multi-threaded benchmarks. The i3-4170T compensates with a higher base clock of 3.20 GHz versus 2.80 GHz, but it lacks any boost clock capability; the i5-4440S can boost up to 3.30 GHz. Cache allocation differs substantially: the i5-4440S has 6 MB of shared L3 cache, double the 3 MB on the i3-4170T. Integrated graphics also differ, with the i5-4440S sporting Intel HD 4600 versus the Intel HD 4400 on the i3-4170T. The i3-4170T’s production status is marked as end-of-life, while the i5-4440S has no such designation. Both lack ECC memory support and have locked multipliers.

Where Each One Wins

The i5-4440S wins every benchmark in the comparison, so the practical question is not which chip wins tests, but which chip wins your particular use case. For multi-threaded workloads like Cinebench R23 multi-core rendering, the i5-4440S scores 3,729 versus 2,667 for the i3-4170T — a 39.8% advantage. This gap persists across all Cinebench versions, from R15 to R23, indicating that the i5-4440S’s four physical cores provide a consistent throughput advantage in render workloads. For single-threaded tasks, the i5-4440S still leads, scoring 526 in Cinebench R23 single-core against 376 for the i3-4170T, a 39.9% margin. The i3-4170T’s higher base clock of 3.20 GHz does not translate into a single-core win, likely because the i5-4440S’s boost clock of 3.30 GHz exceeds it. The i3-4170T’s only real win is power efficiency: at 35W TDP, it draws nearly half the power of the i5-4440S’s 65W. For a compact or passively cooled system, the i3-4170T is the sensible option. For any compute-heavy task, the data unambiguously favors the i5-4440S.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU is faster in multi-core benchmarks?

A: The i5-4440S is faster in every multi-core test. It scores 3,729 in Cinebench R23 multi-core versus 2,667 for the i3-4170T, a 39.8% lead. In Cinebench R20 multi-core, the i5-4440S scores 1,566 versus 1,120, also a 39.8% margin.

Q: Does the i3-4170T have any advantage in single-core performance?

A: No. Despite having a higher base clock of 3.20 GHz, the i3-4170T loses all single-core tests. The i5-4440S scores 526 in Cinebench R23 single-core versus 376, and 220 in Cinebench R20 single-core versus 157 — both about 40% higher.

Q: Are these CPUs from the same generation and socket?

A: Yes. Both use the Haswell architecture on Intel Socket 1150, with the same 22 nm process, 1,400 million transistors, and 177 mm² die size. They also share DDR3 memory support and dual-channel memory bus.

Q: Which CPU has more cache memory?

A: The i5-4440S has 6 MB of shared L3 cache, twice the 3 MB found on the i3-4170T. Both have the same per-core L1 and L2 cache sizes at 64 KB and 256 KB per core, respectively.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The i3-4170T has a 35W TDP, while the i5-4440S has a 65W TDP. The i3-4170T draws nearly half the power, making it more suitable for low-power builds.

Q: How do these CPUs compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The i5-4440S has an average benchmark score of 1,078, putting it within 0.4% of the Intel Pentium Gold G6505 (1,074) and within 0.2% of the AMD A12-9800 (1,081). The i3-4170T averages 1,072, matching the Intel Core i5-5287U exactly (0% delta) and trailing the Intel Core i5-2310 by 0.1%.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The i5-4440S wins all five head-to-head tests, and the margins are remarkably consistent. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the i5-4440S scores 375 against 268 for the i3-4170T, a 39.9% lead. This pattern holds in Cinebench R20 multi-core with scores of 1,566 versus 1,120 (39.8% delta) and in Cinebench R23 multi-core with 3,729 versus 2,667 (39.8% delta). The single-core results are just as lopsided: Cinebench R20 single-core shows 220 versus 157, a 40.1% margin, and Cinebench R23 single-core shows 526 versus 376, a 39.9% margin. The consistency of these deltas — all hovering between 39.8% and 40.1% — suggests that the i5-4440S’s performance advantage is structural rather than workload-specific. The four physical cores of the i5-4440S provide a nearly uniform 40% uplift across both single-threaded and multi-threaded tests, which is unusual; typically, a higher-clocked dual-core can close the gap in single-threaded workloads. Here, the i5-4440S’s boost clock of 3.30 GHz exceeds the i3-4170T’s fixed 3.20 GHz, and the extra cache likely helps as well. The i3-4170T’s only benchmark win is the Geekbench test, where it scores 1,945 multi-core and 972 single-core — but those results are not part of the head-to-head comparison, so they don’t factor into the win tally. The data shows a decisive, consistent victory for the i5-4440S across every Cinebench iteration.

Specification Differences

The two CPUs differ in several key specifications, while sharing the same underlying platform. Core count is the most significant difference: the i5-4440S has 4 cores and 4 threads, while the i3-4170T has 2 cores and 4 threads. Base clocks differ, with the i5-4440S at 2.80 GHz and the i3-4170T at 3.20 GHz, but only the i5-4440S has a boost clock (3.30 GHz). TDP is a major differentiator: 65W for the i5-4440S versus 35W for the i3-4170T. L3 cache is doubled on the i5-4440S at 6 MB shared versus 3 MB shared on the i3-4170T. Integrated graphics differ: Intel HD 4600 on the i5-4440S versus Intel HD 4400 on the i3-4170T. The i3-4170T lists a memory bandwidth figure of 25.6 GB/s, while the i5-4440S does not specify one. PCIe lanes are also specified differently: the i3-4170T lists Gen 3 with 16 lanes (CPU only), while the i5-4440S simply lists Gen 3. Production status differs, with the i3-4170T marked as end-of-life. Release dates are about a year and a half apart: the i5-4440S launched in 2013, while the i3-4170T launched in 2015. Part numbers are SR14L for the i5-4440S and SR1TC for the i3-4170T. Both CPUs have locked multipliers, no ECC support, and share the same L1 (64 KB per core) and L2 (256 KB per core) cache configuration.