Intel Core i5-11260H vs Intel Core i5-3470

Intel Core i5-11260H

The Intel Core i5-11260H is a mid range hexa core SoC for gaming laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates six Willow Cove processor cores (12 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.6 GHz. The single and dual core boost speed can reach up to 4.4 GHz, all cores can reach up to 4 GHz. The CPU offers 12 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory.

Thanks to the new Tiger Lake architecture, the i5-11260H should be able to reach the level of the high clocked Intel Core i7-10850H (Comet Lake-H, 6 cores, 2.7 - 5.1 GHz, 16 MB L3) in single and multi threaded performance. Compared, to current AMD offerings, the 11260H should perform similar to a Ryzen 5 5600H (6 cores, 2.4 - 3.3. GHz, 16 MB L3 cache) or the 5600HS when the TDP is set to 35W.

The SoC also features a much improved UHD Graphics (16 EUs) iGPU based on the Xe architecture.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (20 lanes in the H45 series), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6E in the chip.

The chip is produced in the improved 10nm process (called 10nm SuperFin) at Intel, which should be comparable to the 7nm process at TSMC (e.g. Ryzen 4000 series). The default TDP is rated at 45 W at 2.6 GHz base speed, at 35 Watt the base clock speed decreases to 2.1 GHz (cTDP down).

All articles on Tiger Lake can be found on our Tiger Lake architecture hub.

Intel Core i5-3470

The Intel Core i5-3470 is a fast LGA1155 quad-core desktop processor based on the Ivy Bridge architecture. Each core offers a base speed of 3.2 GHz, but can dynamically increase clock rates with Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz (for 4 active cores), 3.5 GHz (for 2 active cores) and 3.6 GHz (for 1 active core).

Ivy Bridge is an enhanced die shrink of the Sandy Bridge architecture with improvements on both GPU and CPU performance. The CPUs are produced in 22nm (versus 32nm Sandy Bridge CPUs) and the first to introduce 3D transistors for increased energy efficiency when compared to similarly clocked Sandy Bridge processors. Other new features are integrated PCI Express 3.0 and  DDR3(L)-1600 support.

The performance of the Core i5-3470 is slightly above a similarly clocked Sandy Bridge processor due to some architectural improvements. Compared to AMD's fastest desktop CPU (FX-8350), the Core i5-3470 offers higher performance per thread, but features less cores (4 instead of 8). Overall, the Core i5 is just slightly faster in most applications.

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 2500 GPU offers 6 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at 650 MHz up to 1100 MHz with Turbo Boost. The very low performance is only sufficient for some older and less demanding games.

The total power consumption of the CPU, graphics and memory controller is specified by Intel at 77 watts (TDP).