Benchmark Results: PCMark 7
Before we dive into the benchmark results, note that we're including Intel's older Arrandale design and AMD's Llano-based APU for reference. Our focus is on the new 17 W Core i5-3427U CPU, though. Specifically, we're interested in measuring the CPU's performance at its lower TDP. For a thorough analysis of how the standard-voltage mobile Ivy Bridge-based processors compare to prior architectures, read Core i7-3720QM: Ivy Bridge Makes Its Mark On Mobility.
Sporting a base clock of 1.8 GHz that accelerates up to 3.6 GHz via Turbo Boost, the Ivy Bridge-based Core i5-3427U outpaces the Sandy Bridge-based -2467M by ~66%.
At least on paper, the new 17 W part even outmaneuvers a 45 W Core i7-2820QM with four cores, a much larger shared L3 cache, and a higher base frequency. Seem implausible? Let's drill down into PCMark's scoring methodology.
| PCMark 7 Results | i7-3720QM | i7-2820QM | i5-3427U | i5-2467M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video Playback | 23.12 FPS | 23.16 FPS | 23.16 FPS | 23.19 FPS |
| Video Transcoding | 169 531.73 KB/s | 17 416.99 KB/s | 179 126.24 KB/s | 9366.03 KB/s |
| Storage: Gaming | 15.22 MB/s | 14.87 MB/s | 15.17 MB/s | 15.37 MB/s |
| Graphics DX 9 | 22.99 FPS | 17.47 FPS | 17.54 FPS | 10.45 FPS |
| Image Manipulation | 11.55 Mpix/s | 9.3 Mpix/s | 8.80 Mpix/s | 6.48 Mpix/s |
| Storage: Importing Pictures | 26.37 MB/s | 26.58 MB/s | 26.05 MB/s | 24.72 MB/s |
| Web Browsing | 15.17 pages/s | 14.24 pages/s | 10.14 pages/s | 7.79 pages/s |
| Data Decrypting | 145.54 MB/s | 101.31 MB/s | 90.91 MB/s | 54.54 MB/s |
| Storage: Windows Defender | 5.37 MB/s | 5.25 MB/s | 5.39 MB/s | 5.41 MB/s |
The Ivy Bridge architecture's advantage is wholly attributable to PCMark's weighting system. For one reason or another, Futuremark is giving Intel's new Quick Sync implementation an almost-order-of-magnitude lead over what the company achieved last generation in its Video Transcoding test. Because PCMark weighs this particular discipline so heavily, the overall result favors the new 17 W chip. In other, more CPU-intensive tests, the 45 W Core i7 is actually faster.
When it comes to gaming, the new Ivy Bridge-based parts excel in PCMark's DirectX 9 component. Intel's extra investment in graphics performance seems to really pay off.
The dual-core Core i5-3427U and i5-2467M processors have to work much harder in PCMark 7 than the quad-core models, suggested by much higher spikes in CPU utilization. Comparing those peaks, we see that the Ivy Bridge-based Ultrabook seems to move through its workload slightly faster, though in other places, the usage numbers aren't as telling.
When it's working hard, the Ivy Bridge-based platform uses more power than Sandy Bridge, but the reverse is true when utilization is lower. At the end of the day, both platforms end up chewing up the same amount of energy. An updated architecture simply allows Ivy Bridge to serve up better performance in the process.
