CPU Comparison

The Intel Core i3-9300 and Intel Core i5-4690S are two quad-core desktop processors separated by five years of silicon evolution. The data shows a decisive performance shift: the i3-9300 wins all six head-to-head Cinebench comparisons, with margins ranging from 16.5% to 16.9%. While both chips hold the same 39th percentile ranking among all CPUs, the newer Coffee Lake part delivers consistently higher scores across every workload tested, making the architectural generation gap more significant than the core-count parity might suggest.

Where Each One Wins

The Intel Core i3-9300 is the outright winner in every benchmark category recorded. In multi-threaded workloads, it posts a Cinebench R23 score of 5374 against the i5-4690S’s 4609, a 16.6% advantage. The pattern holds in single-threaded tests, where the i3-9300 reaches 758 points in R23 single-core versus 650 for the older chip, again a 16.6% delta. This consistency across all six tests indicates a uniform performance uplift rather than workload-specific strengths.

The Intel Core i5-4690S, by contrast, has zero head-to-head wins. Its best showing comes in the Cinebench R15 multi-core test, where it scores 464, still 16.6% behind the i3-9300’s 541. The older chip’s sole statistical claim is its average benchmark score of 1551, which trails the i3-9300’s 1554 by a negligible 0.2%. That 3-point difference places both processors within the same performance tier according to the nearestRivals data, but the gap widens dramatically under sustained rendering loads.

The i3-9300’s advantage is not limited to raw compute. Its memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s with DDR4 support nearly doubles the i5-4690S’s 25.6 GB/s with DDR3. For memory-sensitive applications, which Cinebench is not, but general system responsiveness can be, this architectural edge compounds the CPU core improvements.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from fundamentally different Intel eras. The i3-9300 uses a Coffee Lake architecture on a 14 nm process node, while the i5-4690S is built on Haswell at 22 nm. This process shrink directly contributes to the newer chip’s efficiency: the i3-9300 runs at a 62 W TDP despite a higher 4.30 GHz boost clock, compared to the i5-4690S’s 65 W TDP at 3.90 GHz boost. The die size tells the story, 126 mm² for the i3-9300 versus 177 mm² for the i5-4690S, with the older chip packing 1,400 million transistors into that larger space.

Cache configurations differ meaningfully. Both share 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core, but the i3-9300 has 8 MB of shared L3 cache versus 6 MB on the i5-4690S. This 33% L3 increase helps the newer chip keep more working data on-die, reducing trips to system memory, particularly relevant given the memory bandwidth disparity.

Socket and platform support are incompatible: the i3-9300 uses Intel Socket 1151 with DDR4 memory, while the i5-4690S uses Intel Socket 1150 with DDR3. The i3-9300 also supports ECC memory, a feature absent from the i5-4690S. Integrated graphics advance from Intel HD 4600 on the older chip to UHD 630 on the newer one. Both parts offer Gen 3 PCIe with 16 lanes from the CPU, so expansion capability remains equal.

Clock speeds favor the i3-9300 across the board: 3.70 GHz base versus 3.20 GHz, and 4.30 GHz boost versus 3.90 GHz. Combined with the newer architecture’s higher instructions-per-clock, these frequency advantages translate directly into the observed benchmark deltas.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the Intel Core i3-9300 outperforms the Intel Core i5-4690S in every recorded test. The i3-9300’s average benchmark score of 1554 edges out the i5-4690S’s 1551, and its six head-to-head wins with consistent 16.5–16.9% margins leave no workload where the older chip pulls ahead.

For users choosing between these two, the decision hinges on platform constraints rather than compute capability. The i3-9300 demands a Socket 1151 motherboard with DDR4 memory, while the i5-4690S fits existing Socket 1150 boards with DDR3. If a user already owns a Haswell-era platform, the i5-4690S offers a drop-in upgrade path, but anyone building fresh or upgrading the entire platform should select the i3-9300 without hesitation.

The launch MSRP of the i3-9300 was $143, compared to $224 for the i5-4690S. That pricing difference, combined with the newer chip’s performance lead, positions the i3-9300 as the stronger option in nearly every scenario. The i5-4690S retains a niche only for those constrained by an existing Socket 1150 ecosystem. Both processors sit at the 39th percentile of all CPUs, indicating they occupy the same mid-range tier, but within that tier the i3-9300 is the clear leader.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the Intel Core i3-9300 in multi-core workloads?

A: The i3-9300 leads by 16.6% in Cinebench R15, R20, and R23 multi-core tests. Scores are 541 vs 464 (R15), 2257 vs 1935 (R20), and 5374 vs 4609 (R23).

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-4690S win any benchmark comparisons?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows zero wins for the i5-4690S across all six Cinebench tests, with the i3-9300 winning each by margins between 16.5% and 16.9%.

Q: What are the memory support differences between these two CPUs?

A: The i3-9300 supports DDR4 memory with 38.4 GB/s bandwidth, while the i5-4690S uses DDR3 with 25.6 GB/s. Both run in dual-channel mode.

Q: Are these processors compatible with the same motherboards?

A: No. The i3-9300 uses Intel Socket 1151, while the i5-4690S uses Intel Socket 1150. They require different motherboards and different memory types.

Q: How do their clock speeds compare?

A: The i3-9300 has a 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.30 GHz boost clock. The i5-4690S runs at 3.20 GHz base and 3.90 GHz boost.

Q: Which chip has more L3 cache?

A: The i3-9300 has 8 MB of shared L3 cache, while the i5-4690S has 6 MB. Both have 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Cinebench R15 multi-core test sets the tone: the i3-9300 scores 541 against the i5-4690S’s 464, a 16.6% advantage. The R15 single-core result shows an even larger relative gap at 16.9%, with 76 points versus 65. These two tests alone establish the i3-9300’s dual dominance, it wins both heavily threaded rendering and lightly threaded response workloads.

Moving to Cinebench R20, the margins tighten slightly but remain decisive. The i3-9300’s multi-core score of 2257 beats 1935 (16.6%), while its single-core 318 beats 273 (16.5%). The R20 suite’s longer workload duration suggests the i3-9300 sustains its boost clocks effectively under sustained load, a critical factor for professional rendering tasks.

Cinebench R23 repeats the pattern with remarkable consistency. Multi-core scores of 5374 versus 4609 yield a 16.6% delta, and single-core 758 versus 650 also lands at 16.6%. This uniformity across three Cinebench versions, each with different workload characteristics, indicates the performance difference is structural, not benchmark-specific.

The average benchmark score comparison provides context beyond Cinebench: the i3-9300 averages 1554 points, just 0.2% ahead of the i5-4690S’s 1551. This near-parity in aggregate scores comes from the i5-4690S’s additional Geekbench results (3251 multi-core, 1163 single-core), which are not present in the i3-9300’s data set. The nearestRivals list confirms both chips trade positions around the same performance cluster, the i3-9300 sits between the Xeon E3-1268L v5 and FX-8350, while the i5-4690S ranks just behind the same Xeon and the i7-4760HQ.

The single largest single-test delta belongs to the i3-9300 in R15 single-core at 16.9%. The smallest is 16.5% in R20 single-core. This narrow range, a spread of just 0.4 percentage points across all six tests, demonstrates that the i3-9300’s advantage is consistent and predictable, making it a reliable choice for any workload type represented by these benchmarks.