Difference between 4770 and 4770S

[Nprod]

Just curious if there is a big difference between the regular 4770 and the 4770S model. It seems like the performance of the S is negligibly lower but the TDP is significantly less - 65W compared to 84W on the regular 4770. Is it worth getting the S because of the lower TDP or would just underclocking the regular 4770 produce the same results?

 

[jaguarskx]

One paper the only difference between the two is the base clockspeeds the i7-4770's base clockspeed is 3.4GHz while the i7-4770s is 3.1GHz. Both can turbo boost up to 3.9GHz. The Intel HD 4600 in both CPUs operates that the same frequency.

I figure the i7-4770s would sell for a little more money due to the lower TDP. But at least on newegg, both are selling for the same price. So my answer is .... I dunno...

 

[BSim500]

Just curious if there is a big difference between the regular 4770 and the 4770S model. It seems like the performance of the S is negligibly lower but the TDP is significantly less - 65W compared to 84W on the regular 4770. Is it worth getting the S because of the lower TDP or would just underclocking the regular 4770 produce the same results?

4770S is meant for lower power (eg, small form factor) with a smaller heatsink. If they're the same price, then you might as well buy the 4770 as yes you can easily "mimic" a 4770S, simply by playing around with the power settings:-

Control Panel->Power Options->Change Plan Settings->Advanced Power Options, then under Processor Power Management->Maximum Processor State, enter "90%" instead of 100%, and it will select the 2nd highest SpeedStep as its "maximum load state" which is usually equal to an "S" chip.

 

[Nprod]

One paper the only difference between the two is the base clockspeeds the i7-4770's base clockspeed is 3.4GHz while the i7-4770s is 3.1GHz. Both can turbo boost up to 3.9GHz. The Intel HD 4600 in both CPUs operates that the same frequency.

I figure the i7-4770s would sell for a little more money due to the lower TDP. But at least on newegg, both are selling for the same price. So my answer is .... I dunno...

Do you think underclocking the 4770 to 3.1Ghz give the same type of power consumption? I mean obviously consumption changes depending on the workload, so perhaps the S is "limited" to 65W because of the lower frequency?

 

[Nprod]

Just curious if there is a big difference between the regular 4770 and the 4770S model. It seems like the performance of the S is negligibly lower but the TDP is significantly less - 65W compared to 84W on the regular 4770. Is it worth getting the S because of the lower TDP or would just underclocking the regular 4770 produce the same results?

4770S is meant for lower power (eg, small form factor) with a smaller heatsink. If they're the same price, then you might as well buy the 4770 as yes you can easily "mimic" a 4770S, simply by playing around with the power settings:-

Control Panel->Power Options->Change Plan Settings->Advanced Power Options, then under Processor Power Management->Maximum Processor State, enter "90%" instead of 100%, and it will select the 2nd highest SpeedStep as its "maximum load state" which is usually equal to an "S" chip.

Aha, so underclocking it will make it the same as an "S" - this is what i wanted to know, thank you!

 

[BSim500]

Do you think underclocking the 4770 to 3.1Ghz give the same type of power consumption? I mean obviously consumption changes depending on the workload, so perhaps the S is "limited" to 65W because of the lower frequency?

It's often actually better. Eg, on an i5-3570, the "90%" trick I mentioned above underclocks by only 400MHz (from 3.4GHz to 3GHz) but also auto-undervolts by a significant -0.18v on my CPU. At those speeds & volts, it's virtually a i5-3550S chip with an actual measured 39w quad-core load far, far lower than claimed "65w" of a proper S chip...

Most S chips are much lower than 65w and underclocking / undervolting / using the SpeedStep tweaking mentioned above, even a "proper" 4770 is going to be much lower than quoted "worst case" TDP too.

 

[Nprod]

Do you think underclocking the 4770 to 3.1Ghz give the same type of power consumption? I mean obviously consumption changes depending on the workload, so perhaps the S is "limited" to 65W because of the lower frequency?

It's often actually better. Eg, on an i5-3570, the "90%" trick I mentioned above underclocks by only 400MHz (from 3.4GHz to 3GHz) but also auto-undervolts by a significant -0.18v on my CPU. At those speeds & volts, it's virtually a i5-3550S chip with an actual measured 39w quad-core load far, far lower than claimed "65w" of a proper S chip...

Most S chips are much lower than 65w and underclocking / undervolting / using the SpeedStep tweaking mentioned above, even a "proper" 4770 is going to be much lower than quoted "worst case" TDP too.

Wow, neat! Is there a way to do this under Linux? What about through the BIOS?

 

[BSim500]

Wow, neat! Is there a way to do this under Linux? What about through the BIOS?

Sorry, I've not much experience with Linux recently. You could force it through the BIOS though by under-clocking it by around 400Mhz, and then gradually manually reducing the offset voltage (ie, add a *negative* offset voltage) until it's at the lowest stable rate it can go (use same stability tests as you do overclocking, eg, Prime / Intel burn Test, etc). With manual voltage tweaking like that on a "good" chip (naturally lower VIDs) it's possible to get a quad-core @ 3GHz to almost down to 30w max 4C loaded under Prime (voltage has a far bigger impact than frequency on TDP).

 

[Nprod]

Thanks again!

 

[jaguarskx]

Basically all i7 CPUs coming off of the production are the exact same CPU. However due to the millions upon millions of transistors and other components that make up a CPU not every single CPU coming off of the production line is exactly the same quality. Some may have more corrupt / non working transistor than others which is why there are different models of i7 CPUs. The CPUs with the least defects would be binned as the i7-4770 (for corporate use) or the i7-4770k (for enthusiasts).

It is likely that i7-4770s CPUs are ones that have been tested to be capable of running on lower voltages than standard i7 CPUs, thus they are labeled as 65w TDP chips instead of 84w TDP chips. While you should be able to downclock an i7-4770 or i7-4770k to 3.1GHz those chips will probably still consume a little more power than the i7-4770s CPUs.

 

[Drejeck]

The S versions are usually chosen chips with lower voltage leaks. As an example the i5 4570s can often use ram over 1866mhz similarly to a K and the regular 4570 doesn't go over 1600.
If you are using OS power tuning it won't affect the chip until the OS is loaded.
The i7 4770s power consumption is obviously higher than the i5 4570s and possibly higher than the i5 4430 which is rated at 84W tdp. I'm looking for some benchmarks about haswell S quadcores. I'm probably waiting for the Broadwell (Tick) i5 5570s or some quadcore with 85 or less watts of power consumption as I have difficulties finding the low profile 750 Ti.