Intel’s (News - Alert) Broadwell CPU represents the company’s fifth generation chipset. Since it was introduced in January of this year, it appears that it has become the default laptop processor of choice. Since the beginning of the year, there have been a lot of comparisons between Intel’s fourth generation Haswell processor. Unfortunately the phrase that I keep seeing a lot is that it is difficult to compare apples-to-apples.
What do I mean by this? Although different generations of chipsets perform the same functions, it is somewhat difficult to run straight comparisons. The chipset is important because regardless of whether it is running a mobile device or a desktop computer, it is the chipset that rules the device.
To give you an example of how difficult it is to compare similar products, Intel’s claim is that the Broadwell chipset doubles the performance per watt over the Haswell chipset. Unfortunately, it seems that when both chipsets were put through several tests at various locations, it was almost impossible to reach conclusive results.
One test conducted by Legit Reviews compared the Broadwell i7-5775C against the Haswell 4770K in devices running HandBrake multiplatform video transcoder software. The results were as follows;
- The 5775C delivered 0.449 units of performance per watt of power consumed;
- The prior-generation Haswell 4770K delivered 0.297;
- The Haswell Refresh 4790K came in at 0.273;
- The Broadwell chip is 51 percent more efficient than the prior-generation Haswell chip.
This is where it gets a little tricky to do a head-to-head comparison. PCWorld conducted a test using the updated ThinkPad Carbon X1 Carbon with Broadwell to the Haswell ThinkPad Carbon X1. This test showed that the Broadwell CPU was significantly faster than the Haswell.
Additional research found two identical laptops, with the only difference being the chipset. Confining the tests as much as was possible, to isolating the CPU performance, showed that the Broadwell was indeed faster than the Haswell. The problem was that the results showed that clock speed was only between five and ten percent faster.
The Executive Editor at PCWorld, Gordon Mah Ung, said that his conclusion was “Broadwell cuts both ways. Broadwell is better than Haswell by 5 percent to 10 percent or so on a given task when the CPU models are exactly the same. Battery life is better by 10 percent or so. Graphics performance is much improved, but it’s still just integrated graphics, best suited for office dronage or low-ambition gaming.”
It seemed for a while like Intel was slowing down, however it looks like it is full steam ahead again. Six months after releasing the Broadwell chipset, Intel plans to introduce its next chipset called Skylake. The rumor is that the launch will come at the Gamescom show, which starts on August 5 in Cologne, Germany.
It appears, from the various reports, that the overall feeling right now is that new laptops will have the Broadwell chipset, however if your current laptop is working and performing the job that you need it to, there is no reason to switch just yet.