Quick Verdict
The i5-450M is a minor clock speed increase over the i5-430M that arrived just months before Sandy Bridge rendered the entire Arrandale lineup obsolete. Only relevant for existing Socket G1 laptop owners considering a cheap upgrade.
Overview
Launch
2010
Status
End-of-lifeGeneration
1st Gen Core i5 (Arrandale)
Market
Mobile
The Intel Core i5-450M is a slightly higher-clocked Arrandale dual-core mobile processor released in September 2010, offering 2.4 GHz base and 2.667 GHz turbo speeds with the same dual-die 32nm/45nm design as the i5-430M.
The Core i5-450M raised the base clock to 2.4 GHz with a 2.667 GHz turbo using an 18x multiplier on the same 133 MHz base clock.
It shares the same 3 MB L3 cache, 35 W TDP, and dual-die Arrandale design as the i5-430M, making it a minor refresh rather than a meaningful architectural update.
Specifications
Performance
Marginally faster than the i5-430M in CPU-bound tasks, but the difference is barely noticeable in real use.
Slightly more headroom than the 430M but still impractical for serious VM workloads.
Slightly better than the i5-430M but still entirely dependent on discrete graphics for any gaming capability.
Same 35 W TDP with only ~6% more frequency than the i5-430M, resulting in slightly worse performance per watt.
- •Graphics on chipset, not CPU
- •GMA HD extremely limited
- •Requires discrete GPU for any gaming
- •No AI capabilities
- •No AVX support
- •Completely unsuitable for AI workloads
Architecture
32nm CPU / 45nm I/O
Process Node
Arrandale
Codename
2C / 4T
Core Config
3 MB
L3 Cache
35 W
TDP
Architecture Overview
The i5-450M is architecturally identical to the i5-430M, differing only in its 18x multiplier versus 17x, yielding 2.4 GHz base and 2.667 GHz turbo compared to 2.267 GHz and 2.533 GHz respectively. The 133 MHz base clock and dual-die Arrandale package remain unchanged. The 32nm CPU die contains the two Westmere cores with 3 MB of shared L3 cache, while the 45nm I/O die handles DDR3-1066 memory, PCIe 2.0, and GMA HD graphics. This minor speed bump was typical of Intel's tick-tock strategy, where mid-cycle clock increases filled the gap between major architectural launches.
CPU Design
32nm Westmere dual-core with Hyper-Threading, 18x multiplier on 133 MHz BCLK, 3 MB L3 cache.
Memory Subsystem
Dual-channel DDR3-1066 via the 45nm I/O die, limited to 8 GB maximum.
PCIe & I/O
16 PCIe 2.0 lanes from the I/O die.
Overclocking
Not supported. Multiplier is locked and BCLK adjustment is impractical.
- 133 MHz higher base clock
- 133 MHz higher turbo clock
- Marginally better single-thread performance
Key Highlights
- Slightly faster than i5-430M at the same TDP
- Socket G1 allows upgrade to i7-620M
- AES-NI and VT-x/VT-d support
- Reliable and well-tested platform
- Hyper-Threading improves multitasking
- Minimal performance improvement over i5-430M
- Launched just months before Sandy Bridge made it obsolete
- No on-die GPU
- No AVX instruction support
- DDR3-1066 memory speed limitation
- Only 8 GB maximum RAM
History
The Core i5-450M arrived in September 2010 as a quiet mid-cycle refresh of the Arrandale mobile lineup. Intel had already launched Sandy Bridge desktop processors at the IDF conference that same month, making the i5-450M's release feel oddly timed. The processor filled a gap between the early-2010 i5-430M and the higher-clocked i5-520M, offering OEMs a new part number to keep laptop specifications looking fresh during the holiday shopping season.
</br></br>In practice, the i5-450M was nearly indistinguishable from the i5-430M in everyday use. The single multiplier step translated to a roughly 6% frequency increase, which was below the threshold of human perception for most tasks. Its main significance is historical: it represents the peak of Arrandale's maturity just before Sandy Bridge's unified die design made the entire dual-die approach obsolete.
Laptops shipping with the i5-450M in late 2010 were, in a sense, already outdated before they left the factory.
Improvements over Previous Generation
- 133 MHz higher base clock
- 133 MHz higher turbo clock
- Marginally better single-thread performance
Alternatives & Competitors
Should You Buy It?
Not Recommended for the right buyer
Found in an existing laptop at no additional cost
Avoid if…
- Paying extra over an i5-430M
- Any new laptop purchase
- Expecting meaningful performance difference from the 430M
Use Cases
Interesting Facts
The i5-450M was released on September 26, 2010, less than four months before Sandy Bridge mobile launched in January 2011.
Its 133 MHz clock increase over the i5-430M translates to approximately 5.9% higher base frequency, a nearly imperceptible difference in daily use.
The i5-450M was often priced identically to the i5-430M at launch, as the newer SKU simply replaced the older one in the supply chain.
Laptops that shipped with the i5-450M include the HP Pavilion dv6, Dell Inspiron 15R, and Sony VAIO E Series.
The part number was not publicly documented in Intel's sSPEC database for many laptop configurations, leading to 'unknown' listings in many databases.
The 2.667 GHz turbo clock is achieved with a 20x multiplier, three steps above the base 18x, representing the maximum single-core turbo bin.
Despite being faster than the i5-430M, the i5-450M is still significantly slower than the i5-520M which launched earlier in 2010 at 2.4 GHz base with a 2.93 GHz turbo.
Arrandale's 133 MHz BCLK meant the i5-450M could theoretically be overclocked to i5-520M speeds by raising the BCLK to ~163 MHz, but this was unstable and impractical.
The 45nm I/O die in the i5-450M package consumed approximately 10-12 watts of the 35 W TDP budget, leaving roughly 23-25 watts for the CPU cores.
The i5-450M was one of the last Arrandale processors released before the platform was superseded, making it uncommon in business laptops that typically had longer procurement cycles.
People Also Ask
What is the difference between i5-430M and i5-450M?
The i5-450M runs 133 MHz faster at both base (2.4 vs 2.267 GHz) and turbo (2.667 vs 2.533 GHz) due to one additional multiplier step. Everything else is identical.
Is the i5-450M worth upgrading from an i5-430M?
No, the performance difference is too small to justify the cost and effort. If upgrading, go directly to an i7-620M.
What is the turbo boost of the i5-450M?
2.667 GHz with one active core, using a 20x multiplier.
Does the i5-450M have integrated graphics on the CPU?
No, Arrandale places graphics on the separate 45nm I/O die, not on the CPU die itself.
Can the i5-450M be upgraded to Sandy Bridge?
No, Socket G1 and Socket G2 are electrically incompatible despite similar physical dimensions.
What is the base clock multiplier of the i5-450M?
18.0x on a 133 MHz base clock for 2.4 GHz.
Does the i5-450M support AVX?
No, AVX was introduced with the next-generation Sandy Bridge architecture.
How much RAM can the i5-450M support?
Up to 8 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM memory.
What laptops used the i5-450M?
It appeared in mid-to-late 2010 laptops including the HP Pavilion dv6, Dell Inspiron 15R, and Sony VAIO E Series.
Is the i5-450M better than the i5-520M?
No, the i5-520M has a higher turbo boost (2.93 GHz vs 2.667 GHz) despite the same base clock, making it faster in single-threaded tasks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the TDP of the i5-450M?
35 watts, identical to all standard Arrandale mobile processors.
What process node is the i5-450M built on?
32nm for the CPU die and 45nm for the I/O die.
How many transistors are in the i5-450M?
Approximately 382 million on the 32nm CPU die, plus 177 million on the 45nm I/O die.
What is the die size?
81 mm² for the 32nm CPU die.
Does the i5-450M support AES-NI?
Yes, hardware AES encryption is supported.
Does it support Hyper-Threading?
Yes, 2 cores with 4 threads.
What is the L3 cache size?
3 MB of shared L3 cache.
What is the L2 cache?
256 KB per core, 512 KB total.
Can it run 64-bit Windows?
Yes, it supports Intel 64 (x86-64).
What instruction sets does it support?
MMX, SSE through SSE4.2, and Intel 64. No AVX support.