Core i5-4590T vs Core i7-7660U

The Core i5-4590T packs 4 cores / 4 threads, while the Core i7-7660U offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the Core i5-4590T has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3 GHz on the Core i5-4590T versus 4 GHz on the Core i7-7660U — a 28.6% clock advantage for the Core i7-7660U (base: 2 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Core i5-4590T uses the Haswell (2013−2015) architecture (22 nm), while the Core i7-7660U uses Kaby Lake (2016−2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-4590T scores 4,064 against the Core i7-7660U's 4,059 — a 0.1% lead for the Core i5-4590T. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 917 vs 1,150, a 22.5% lead for the Core i7-7660U that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 6 MB (total) on the Core i5-4590T vs 4 MB on the Core i7-7660U.

The Core i5-4590T uses the LGA1150 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i7-7660U uses BGA1356 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR3-1600 on the Core i5-4590T versus DDR4-2133 on the Core i7-7660U — the Core i7-7660U supports 28.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. Both support up to 32 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (Core i5-4590T) vs 12 (Core i7-7660U) — the Core i5-4590T offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: B85,Q85,H81,Q87,H87,Z87,H97,Z97 (Core i5-4590T) and SoC (Core i7-7660U).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-4590T) vs VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-7660U). Both include integrated graphics — HD Graphics 4600 (Core i5-4590T) and Iris Plus 640 (Core i7-7660U) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-4590T targets Low Power Desktop, Core i7-7660U targets Productivity. Direct competitor: Core i5-4590T rivals A8-7600; Core i7-7660U rivals Core i5-8250U.