Performance of the Ryzen 5 5500U vs. Core i5-10300H
| Core Count: | 6 |
|---|---|
| Thread Count: | 12 |
| L3 Cache: | 8 MB |
| Base Freq.: | 2.1 GHz |
| Max Boost Freq. (1 Core): | 4.0 GHz |
| Core Count: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Thread Count: | 8 |
| L3 Cache: | 8 MB |
| Base Freq.: | 2.50 GHz |
| Max Turbo Freq. (1 Core): | 4.50 GHz |
Cores
5500U: Based on our evaluation, the 5500U's 6 cores allow for good performance overall.
10300H: Based on our evaluation, the 10300H's 4 cores allow for mediocre performance overall.
Learn more about Core Counts
below.
Base Frequency
5500U: The 5500U has a 2.1 GHz base frequency, which is the speed before boosting.
10300H: The 10300H has a 2.50 GHz base frequency, which is the speed before boosting.
Learn more about CPU Clock Speeds below.
Single-Core Boost Frequency
5500U: Based on our evaluation, the 5500U's 4.0 GHz single-core max boost frequency is excellent for performance overall. You can maintain these frequencies with good heat dissipation.
10300H: Based on our evaluation, the 10300H's 4.50 GHz single-core max turbo boost frequency is excellent for performance overall. You can maintain these frequencies with good heat dissipation.
Learn more about CPU Clock Speeds below.
P-Core Boost Frequency
5500U: The 5500U does not have Performance cores.
10300H: The 10300H does not have Performance cores.
Learn more about CPU Clock Speeds below.
Overclocking Support
5500U: The 5500U CPU's lack of support for overclocking cannot benefit performance overall.
10300H: The 10300H CPU's lack of support for overclocking cannot benefit performance overall.
Learn more about Overclocking below.
DDR Support
5500U: Based on our evaluation, the 5500U CPU's support for DDR4 with a max stock speed of 3200 MHz can be good for performance overall.
10300H: Based on our evaluation, the 10300H CPU's support for DDR4 with a max stock speed of 2933 MHz can be mediocre for performance overall.
Learn more about DDR Support below.
PCIe
5500U: Based on our evaluation, the 5500U CPU's support for PCIe 3.0 can be poor for performance overall, as it will limit the potential of the latest SSDs and graphics cards.
10300H: Based on our evaluation, the 10300H CPU's support for PCIe 3.0 can be poor for performance overall, as it will limit the potential of the latest SSDs and graphics cards.
L3 Cache
5500U: Based on our evaluation, the 5500U's lackluster 8 MB of L3 cache is poor for performance overall.
10300H: Based on our evaluation, the 10300H's lackluster 8 MB of L3 cache is poor for performance overall.
Learn more about Cache Sizes below.
Use Cases of the Ryzen 5 5500U and Core i5-10300H
Considerations for Gaming
Based on our evaluation of using AMD's Ryzen 5 5500U CPU for gaming, you can expect mediocre game performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or poor game performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.
Based on our evaluation of using Intel's Core i5-10300H CPU for gaming, you can expect mediocre game performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or poor game performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.
While a good GPU is critical for gaming performance, your CPU will also have a significant impact. If the CPU is too slow, it can be a bottleneck for your GPU, which can reduce your framerate or cause stuttering. The most important CPU capabilities for gaming are single-core max boost frequency and the number of cores.
Depending on the game, the CPU will often handle tasks including scene management, gameplay logic, physics calculations, and asset loading. We took these factors into account when assessing the expected CPU performance for gaming.
Having multiple CPU cores can improve performance with games that utilize them. However, developers cannot split up every task to take advantage of a growing number of cores. Most modern games don't benefit from having more than 6–8 cores. Game performance will experience diminishing returns as you add more CPU cores.
Considerations for General Apps
Based on our evaluation of using AMD's Ryzen 5 5500U CPU for general apps, you can expect good app performance.
Based on our evaluation of using Intel's Core i5-10300H CPU for general apps, you can expect good app performance.
If you're only planning to stream shows, use office apps, or browse the internet, you won't need a top-end CPU to get good performance. The most important CPU capability for general app usage is the single-core max boost frequency.
Browsers depend on your CPU to quickly load pages and video content and manage multiple browser tabs. Higher single-core boost frequencies can speed up page load times.
Office and web applications are typically single-threaded, so running a single application won't take advantage of a many-core CPU.
The more cores a CPU has, the more applications you can run simultaneously without noticing a performance impact.
Office and web applications rarely max out the CPU for long periods. These applications can use boost speeds when a burst of processing power is needed, returning to the more efficient base frequencies afterward.
We took all of these factors into account while assessing the expected CPU performance for general apps.
Considerations for Professional Tools
Based on our evaluation of using AMD's Ryzen 5 5500U CPU for professional tools, you can expect mediocre tool performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or poor tool performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.
Based on our evaluation of using Intel's Core i5-10300H CPU for professional tools, you can expect mediocre tool performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or poor tool performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.
Video editors, 2D and 3D graphics tools, software compilers, and engineering tools require high-performing CPUs.
Professional tools are often well optimized to use many cores. CPU cores allow tools to parallelize processing tasks. Increasing the number of cores can divide the time required to process a task if the tool has good multi-threading support.
To maximize performance with professional tools, you'll want to use a CPU with a high boost frequency and many CPU cores. Good heat dissipation is needed to maintain boost frequencies for extended periods. We took these factors into account while assessing the expected CPU performance for professional tools.
While graphics applications use your GPU for some rendering tasks, most calculations and data operations are still dependent on your CPU.
Considerations for Choosing Between the 5500U and 10300H
Core Count
AMD's Ryzen 5 5500U CPUs have 6 cores.
Intel's Core i5-10300H CPUs have 4 cores.
We found that, in general, more cores do provide better performance in professional tools and when running multiple applications simultaneously.
Increased core counts can improve the performance of games and professional tools that use them. Most modern games don't benefit from having more than 6–8 cores. Even general apps can benefit from many cores when numerous applications are open simultaneously. Web browsers don't significantly take advantage of multiple cores when loading a single page. However, more CPU cores can improve performance when running demanding web apps in multiple windows.
Intel's 12th generation and newer CPUs have performance cores (P-cores) and efficiency cores (E-cores). The P-cores are comparable to previous generation cores. E-cores are focused on adding additional threads in an energy-efficient manner. They take up much less room on the CPU and generate less heat. However, their smaller cache and minimal interconnect capabilities make them more appropriate for offloading background tasks. E-cores do not support hyper-threading.
CPU Clock Speeds
The AMD Ryzen 5 5500U has a 2.1 GHz base frequency and supports a 4.0 GHz single-core max boost frequency.
The Intel Core i5-10300H has a 2.50 GHz base frequency and supports a 4.50 GHz single-core max turbo boost frequency.
We've experienced that single-core performance is essential for some games, as many don't take full advantage of multiple cores. Similarly, we have experienced that professional tools depend on high single and multi-core boost frequencies to maximize their processing speed.
Boost frequencies are only achieved under ideal circumstances. However, with adequate cooling, you may be able to maintain speeds near the max boost frequency.
Higher vs. Lower Base Frequencies
We've found that lower base clock speeds result in lower power consumption.
A CPU's base frequency refers to the clock speed at which its cores run under normal operating conditions. However, the actual clock speed of the CPU can vary depending on the workload and the system power state.
A lower base frequency can lead to better power savings overall since the clock speed decreases when the load is low, resulting in lower power consumption. However, a CPU may run slower than the base frequency to conserve power or reduce heat generation. For example, modern CPUs use technologies like Intel SpeedStep or AMD Cool'n'Quiet to dynamically adjust the CPU's clock speed based on the system's workload and power state.
A CPU with a lower base frequency may generate less heat under normal operating conditions, enabling it to boost some cores to higher frequencies while remaining within its thermal limits. This lower base frequency results in better performance than a CPU with a higher base frequency, which may not be able to sustain its boost frequency for long periods due to thermal throttling. However, this is mostly only relevant if your system's cooling solution can only partially dissipate the heat produced by all cores being fully boosted.
DDR Support
The 5500U CPU's fastest supported DDR memory type is DDR4, with a max stock speed of 3200 MHz.
The 10300H CPU's fastest supported DDR memory type is DDR4, with a max stock speed of 2933 MHz.
You can exceed these stock speeds officially supported by CPUs when overclocking memory, such as with an XMP profile. Motherboard specifications will indicate their supported overclocked-memory speeds. To be able to overclock DDR memory, your motherboard chipset needs to support memory overclocking.
Faster PC memory can improve game and professional tool performance by reducing the time it takes to perform calculations and data operations.
We've experienced that using the quickest RAM may not have as much of an impact as upgrading your CPU and graphics card or adding more RAM.
Cache Size
The AMD Ryzen 5 5500U has an L3 cache capacity of 8 MB.
The Intel Core i5-10300H has an L3 cache capacity of 8 MB.
A CPU's cache is a small amount of memory, close to the CPU cores, containing recently used data. An L3 cache capacity of at least 20 MB is ideal for games and professional tool performance.
Games and professional tool performance can improve as cache size increases, as it can reduce delays when retrieving commonly used assets from memory. While nearly any task will use a CPU's cache, our research indicates that a large cache becomes less impactful for general PC usage, such as browsing webpages.
Remember that cache sizes often increase with core counts, so if you want to increase your L3 cache, you may need to get a CPU with more cores.
Overclocking
The 5500U does not support overclocking.
The 10300H does not support overclocking.
While CPU overclocking is primarily relevant to desktop CPUs, some newer mobile CPUs also claim overclocking support. Overclocking a laptop CPU will be pretty limited, as it is often difficult to improve cooling aside from using a cooling pad.
Overclocking is mainly relevant for PC gamers who want to maximize their game framerates. CPU overclocking increases frequencies past their default limits. Excellent heat dissipation via fans or another solution is required to maintain system stability while overclocking. While we felt a sense of excitement and anticipation when we pushed the limits of our CPU's performance, it's essential to remember that overclocking comes with the risk of damaging your system components or voiding warranties.
Professional tools can benefit from overclocked frequencies. However, overclocking may introduce some possibility of system instability, which may be less acceptable in business scenarios. We've found out the hard way that losing work due to system instability is a pain.
Find laptops with the Ryzen 5 5500U on Amazon or the Core i5-10300H on Amazon
Learn More About the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
Learn More About the Intel Core i5-10300H