Core i7-4600M vs Core i5-2400S

The Core i7-4600M packs 2 cores / 4 threads, while the Core i5-2400S offers 4 cores / 4 threads — the Core i5-2400S has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.6 GHz on the Core i7-4600M versus 3.3 GHz on the Core i5-2400S — a 8.7% clock advantage for the Core i7-4600M (base: 2.9 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Core i7-4600M uses the Haswell (2013−2015) architecture (22 nm), while the Core i5-2400S uses Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) (32 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-4600M scores 3,204 against the Core i5-2400S's 3,187 — a 0.5% lead for the Core i7-4600M. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 656 vs 1,965 (99.9% advantage for the Core i5-2400S). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,025 vs 578, a 55.8% lead for the Core i7-4600M that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 2,132 vs 1,966 (8.1% advantage for the Core i7-4600M). L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Core i7-4600M vs 6144 kB (total) on the Core i5-2400S.

The Core i7-4600M uses the PGA946 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i5-2400S uses LGA1155 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR3L 1600 MHz on the Core i7-4600M versus DDR3-1333 on the Core i5-2400S — the Core i7-4600M supports 200% 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. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: Intel HM86,Intel HM87,Intel QM87 (Core i7-4600M) and H61,H67,P67,Z68,B75,Z77 (Core i5-2400S).

Virtualization support: true (Core i7-4600M) vs Yes (Core i5-2400S). Both include integrated graphics — Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Core i7-4600M) and Intel HD Graphics 2000 (Core i5-2400S) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-4600M targets Mobile.