Intel Core i5-7600 vs Intel Core i7-4940MX Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a surprisingly consistent pattern: the older mobile flagship, the Intel Core i7-4940MX, takes seven of the eight head-to-head tests, while the desktop Core i5-7600 manages only a single victory. The i7-4940MX leads by a margin of 3% in the Cinebench R15 multicore test, scoring 580 against 563. That same 3% advantage repeats in Cinebench R20 multicore, where the i7-4940MX posts 2418 versus 2348, and again in Cinebench R23 multicore, with scores of 5759 and 5591 respectively. The consistency of that 3% delta across three generations of Cinebench suggests a stable, architecture-level performance gap in multi-threaded workloads.

The single-core Cinebench results tell a similar story, albeit with slightly smaller margins. In Cinebench R15 single-core, the i7-4940MX scores 81 against 79, a 2.5% edge. The R20 single-core test shows the i7-4940MX at 341 versus 331, a 3% lead, and the R23 single-core test repeats that 3% figure with scores of 813 and 789. These are narrow margins, but they are consistent across every Cinebench iteration recorded.

The largest win for the i7-4940MX comes in Geekbench multicore, where it scores 3869 against 3704, a 4.5% advantage. That is the standout delta in the entire comparison. The only test where the i5-7600 strikes back is Geekbench single-core, where it scores 1344 against 1227, an 8.7% lead. That is the single biggest percentage difference in either direction, and it flips the expected narrative: the newer desktop part has a clear edge in lightly-threaded integer performance.

Looking at the broader database context, the i7-4940MX sits at the 43rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1886. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon D-1531, scores 1885, a delta of just 0.1%. The i5-7600, meanwhile, holds the 42nd percentile with an average score of 1844, sitting just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-8706G at 1842. The two CPUs are separated by only 42 points in average score, which is less than 2.3%, making them effectively peers in the database's overall ranking.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins more benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-4940MX wins seven of the eight recorded head-to-head tests. The Intel Core i5-7600 wins only one, the Geekbench single-core test.

Q: What is the largest performance gap in the comparison?

A: The i5-7600's Geekbench single-core victory is the biggest swing, with an 8.7% lead over the i7-4940MX. The i7-4940MX's largest win is in Geekbench multicore, where it leads by 4.5%.

Q: How close are the two chips in overall average score?

A: The i7-4940MX has an average benchmark score of 1886, while the i5-7600 averages 1844. That is a difference of 42 points, roughly 2.3%.

Q: Are these processors comparable in the database's ranking?

A: Yes. The i7-4940MX sits at the 43rd percentile of all CPUs, and the i5-7600 sits at the 42nd percentile. Their nearest rivals also score within a fraction of a point: the i7-4940MX is 0.1% ahead of the Xeon D-1531, and the i5-7600 is 0.1% ahead of the Core i7-8706G.

Q: Does the i5-7600 have any advantage in multi-threaded tests?

A: No. The i7-4940MX leads in every multi-threaded benchmark recorded, including all three Cinebench multicore iterations and Geekbench multicore.

Q: What does the single-core Geekbench result suggest about the two architectures?

A: The 8.7% lead for the i5-7600 indicates that the newer Kaby Lake design has a meaningful advantage in single-threaded integer workloads, even though it loses in every other recorded test.

Where Each One Wins

The i7-4940MX is the clear choice for multi-threaded workloads. It wins every Cinebench multicore test, from R15 through R23, and takes Geekbench multicore as well. The 4.5% Geekbench multicore margin is its strongest result, and the 3% Cinebench multicore margins are consistent across all three versions. This pattern points to the i7-4940MX's 8 threads versus the i5-7600's 4 threads as the decisive factor in heavily parallel tasks. For rendering, video encoding, compilation, or any workload that scales across cores and threads, the recorded data favors the i7-4940MX.

The i5-7600's sole victory is in Geekbench single-core, where its 8.7% lead is substantial. That result makes it the better option for lightly-threaded integer performance, such as older games, single-threaded productivity apps, or workloads that rely heavily on low-latency single-core response. The i5-7600 also has higher base and boost clocks, which likely contribute to this single-threaded advantage, though the Cinebench single-core results tell a different story.

In Cinebench single-core tests, the i7-4940MX actually wins by 2.5% to 3%, which complicates the picture. The two chips trade single-threaded victories depending on the benchmark suite. Geekbench single-core favors the i5-7600 by a wide margin, while all three Cinebench single-core iterations favor the i7-4940MX by smaller, but consistent, amounts. The practical takeaway is that the i5-7600 is better for Geekbench-style integer workloads, while the i7-4940MX holds its own or wins in Cinebench-style rendering workloads, even at single-thread level.

For an end-user deciding between the two, the choice hinges on workload type. Multi-threaded tasks go to the i7-4940MX with near-total dominance. Single-threaded tasks are split, with the i5-7600 winning decisively in Geekbench but losing narrowly in Cinebench. The i7-4940MX also offers an unlocked multiplier, which matters if overclocking is on the table. The i5-7600 does not allow multiplier adjustment.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in several fundamental specifications. The i7-4940MX is a mobile part with 4 cores and 8 threads, while the i5-7600 is a desktop part with 4 cores and 4 threads. The i7-4940MX has a base clock of 3.10 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The i5-7600 runs higher, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Despite the higher clocks, the i5-7600 carries a higher TDP of 65 watts against the i7-4940MX's 57 watts.

The sockets are incompatible: the i7-4940MX uses Intel Socket G3, while the i5-7600 uses Intel Socket 1151. Memory support also differs. The i7-4940MX uses DDR3 with dual-channel memory and a bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s. The i5-7600 uses DDR4 with dual-channel memory and a bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s. Neither supports ECC memory. Both offer PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

The i7-4940MX has an unlocked multiplier, making it overclockable. The i5-7600 has a locked multiplier. The i7-4940MX was released in January 2014 and is end-of-life, while the i5-7600 was released in January 2017 and remains active. The i7-4940MX has a launch MSRP of $1096. No launch MSRP is recorded for the i5-7600.

The integrated graphics differ as well. The i7-4940MX pairs with Intel HD 4600, while the i5-7600 includes Intel HD 630. The i7-4940MX is part of the Core i7 Extreme generation, while the i5-7600 belongs to the Core i5 generation. Their part numbers are SR1PP and SR334, respectively. The i7-4940MX has a larger shared L3 cache of 8 MB, compared to the i5-7600's 6 MB. Both have 64 KB of L1 cache per core and 256 KB of L2 cache per core.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two chips is significant. The i7-4940MX is built on Intel's Haswell architecture, using a 22 nm process node. The i5-7600 uses the newer Kaby Lake architecture on a 14 nm process node. That node shrink represents a major manufacturing difference, though the i7-4940MX compensates with a larger transistor count: 1,400 million transistors on a 177 mm² die. Transistor and die size data are not recorded for the i5-7600.

The i7-4940MX's Haswell design includes 8 threads through Hyper-Threading, while the i5-7600's Kaby Lake design runs 4 threads across 4 physical cores. The shared L3 cache also differs: 8 MB on the i7-4940MX versus 6 MB on the i5-7600. That 2 MB cache advantage, combined with the extra threads, explains much of the i7-4940MX's multi-threaded dominance.

The memory controller is another key difference. The i7-4940MX supports DDR3, while the i5-7600 supports DDR4. The i5-7600's memory bandwidth is 38.4 GB/s, which is 12.8 GB/s higher than the i7-4940MX's 25.6 GB/s. Despite that bandwidth advantage, the i5-7600 cannot convert it into a multi-threaded win in any recorded benchmark.

The integrated GPU also reflects the generational gap. The i7-4940MX uses Intel HD 4600, which was the integrated solution for Haswell mobile chips. The i5-7600 uses Intel HD 630, the Kaby Lake integrated GPU. The i5-7600's newer iGPU is paired with the newer architecture's improved video decode and encode capabilities, though no benchmark data in the database measures iGPU performance directly.

The i7-4940MX is an unlocked, overclockable flagship mobile part from the Haswell Extreme family. The i5-7600 is a locked, mainstream desktop chip from the Kaby Lake Core i5 family. The i7-4940MX was designed to be the top mobile processor of its generation, while the i5-7600 was positioned as a mid-range desktop option. The production status reflects that: the i7-4940MX is end-of-life, while the i5-7600 remains active.

In the database's broader context, the i7-4940MX's nearest rivals are the Xeon D-1531 and Xeon E3-1270L v4, both server-oriented parts. The i5-7600's nearest rivals include the Core i7-8706G and AMD Ryzen 5 4600U, which are mobile and APU parts. This suggests that the two chips occupy different performance tiers in the database, despite their similar average scores. The i7-4940MX, despite being older and on a larger node, holds a slight edge in overall average score and in the majority of head-to-head tests.