Is one of these CPUs significantly better than the other?

Joined
Aug 14, 2015
Messages
2,431
Location
CA, USA
Probably be shopping for a new laptop soon. There are two chips that are in the laptops in my price range:

AMD Ryzen 7 5700U

Intel Core i711390H

I have always noticed that when I was bottom feeding on laptops, AMD chips were almost always the ones for sale. This made me think that Intel chips were better but more expensive. I've also read that Intel has not produced cutting edge chips lately.

So is one of these going to be better? I do basic email & document reading, occasional watching of videos. No video editing or anything too demanding like that.
 
more cores, more performance. more watts=more performance. and thicker, bulkier design.
it´s up to you for what job you need it.
gaming, "heavy lifting" (higher watts) or office&internets (15w ).

intel is 4 cores 35w, zen is 8 cores at 15w. in some cases 4 cores can be limiting factor.

i have intel 15w company work laptop, but not happy with it, because random slow downs and heat.
actually it blows more heat than very old 35w intel i had before :oops:
anyway, new mobile series zen 6000 , intel 12000 are soon to be released. you may want postpone purchase a bit.
 
They are fairly similar, intel faster single thread performance but fewer cores and uses more power.

I'd pick based on some other differences in the laptops if all else isn't equal, since either cpu will be plenty of performance for your listed uses.
 
Either one would work for what you need, but I would recommend Intel, just because like you, i see most AMD's on budget and slow older laptops. AMD has made great strides recently in terms of performance, and power draw/heat ect.. so they are not as bad as they once were imho, and even some times AMD will surpass a intel chip even with the same clock speed and threads,(at least in benchmarking) but you cant find a macbook pro with a AMD chip - unless it graphics or M1, and i think that says something, so i have been intel all the way and only recommend Intel, even on Windows laptops..

OT: The Intel 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 in the macbook pro i use is many years old, but it is still a very capable CPU even today, and ive never had one slow down or over heat, and i feel like i ask alot from it sometimes. Show me a multiple year old AMD chip that you can actually still use in 2022..
 
I bought a new Lenova lap top with the Ryzen processor. It runs circles around the Intel I5 it replaced. I will be buying another AMD Ryzen when I buy again.
 
They are fairly similar, intel faster single thread performance but fewer cores and uses more power.

I'd pick based on some other differences in the laptops if all else isn't equal, since either cpu will be plenty of performance for your listed uses.
This^

It sounds like your demands are not too great.
Unless you are looking to keep the laptop for a long time, you might look into the equivalent i5/Ryzen 5 and get some other upgrades such as a larger SSD or the best display you can get at your price point. It doesn't sound like you need a top of the range processor unless you are simply trying to future proof the machine for a long time.

Edited to add, you might also look into refurbished machines. I've been buying refurbished machines for years now. About a year ago, I picked up an HP Envy x360 for $550. It's the machine oilBabe uses as her personal laptop.

ENVY x360 Convertible 15-ds1063cl 15.6" 2-in-1 Laptop Computer Refurbished - Black; AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Processor 2.375GHz; 8GB DDR4-3200 RAM; 512GB Solid State Drive; AMD Radeon Graphics; Microsoft Windows 10 Home; Multi-Format SD Media Card Reader; 2x2 Intel Wi-Fi AX 200+Bluetooth 5.0 Combo; 15.6" Full HD IPS Micro-Edge WLED-backlit Multitouch-Enabled Edge-to-Edge Glass Display
1 of (SKU) 177881 @ $549.99

An even older Ryzen5 and it's been a good machine for her for a similar use case, social media, web browsing, e-mail, bill paying, and watching movies.

I don't know what your budget is. You can often stretch it a bit by looking at reputable refurbished machine. The one I got last year was from the local MicroCenter.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Y_K
If you're just doing basic work, either will be fine. I'd go AMD

I'm using an Intel i7-3770, and it's just fine for the web browsing, emails, YouTube, light video editing.

Do you really need an i7 for web browsing?

i5 would be just fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Y_K
Issue I have with refurbs is that this current (Lenovo Thinkpad E555) is 6 years old, and showing the signs of age. My guess is that if I buy a refurb that is 1-2 years old, I'd just need to replace it sooner. My original goal was to keep this 8 years, then last year i decided to try to make it last till next spring (2023), and recently with random shutdowns, it looks like it won't make it that long.

Budget is something like $800. I suppose I could go more (I mean there is tax & shipping), but the ones I'm looking at are 800-900.
 
Issue I have with refurbs is that this current (Lenovo Thinkpad E555) is 6 years old, and showing the signs of age. My guess is that if I buy a refurb that is 1-2 years old, I'd just need to replace it sooner. My original goal was to keep this 8 years, then last year i decided to try to make it last till next spring (2023), and recently with random shutdowns, it looks like it won't make it that long.

Budget is something like $800. I suppose I could go more (I mean there is tax & shipping), but the ones I'm looking at are 800-900.
You definitely don't need to spend more than 800 dollars on a laptop for basic tasks.

I'm questioning if you really need a laptop.

Why not just get an iPad with an external keyboard?
 
Would be helpful to know what model i5 was replaced by what model Ryzen.
I would expect newest chips to outperform previous versions.
Danno, You are absolutely correct. I did not provide enough information for a fair comparison. Here is the model that I purchased.

 
I bought a new Lenova lap top with the Ryzen processor. It runs circles around the Intel I5 it replaced. I will be buying another AMD Ryzen when I buy again.
It's not exactly fair to compare a newer CPU to an older CPU.

I've replaced a 10 year old laptop with Intel i5 CPU with a new Lenovo with AMD CPU, and no surprise that the AMD is much faster. :)
 
i have intel 15w company work laptop, but not happy with it, because random slow downs and heat.
at our testdepartment (electronics debug,labview coding, teststand development) we have watercooled 10core i9-10900k, with 96gb ram and bunch fast ssd disks. not cheap or weak thing.
i tried to replicate code compile also at home with 8core zen5800x; for some reason zen is more responsive.
both chips are about same age (2020), so no disadvantages there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Y_K
Issue I have with refurbs is that this current (Lenovo Thinkpad E555) is 6 years old, and showing the signs of age. My guess is that if I buy a refurb that is 1-2 years old, I'd just need to replace it sooner. My original goal was to keep this 8 years, then last year i decided to try to make it last till next spring (2023), and recently with random shutdowns, it looks like it won't make it that long.

Budget is something like $800. I suppose I could go more (I mean there is tax & shipping), but the ones I'm looking at are 800-900.
In that price range I’d give a hard look at an Apple refurbished MacBook Air, unless you’re anti-Apple. They’re $849 from Apple, and I find the 16:10 aspect ratio of the screen a bit more useful for text/document reading than the far more standard 16:9, it’s a small but appreciable change. They’re also VERY solidly built. The IPS screen is also nice to look at for extended periods of time… it doesn’t doesn’t wash out colors if you don’t look at it at exactly the right angle and no risk of screen burn in like on an OLED.

 
paulri,

I've been doing the same shopping and comparisons that you have but on higher-end machines ($1200-$1500). In my opinion, the two are so close that I would never notice any difference in performance. I have noticed that the AMD is always less expensive which will likely sway me in that direction.
 
In that price range I’d give a hard look at an Apple refurbished MacBook Air, unless you’re anti-Apple. They’re $849 from Apple, and I find the 16:10 aspect ratio of the screen a bit more useful for text/document reading than the far more standard 16:9, it’s a small but appreciable change. They’re also VERY solidly built. The IPS screen is also nice to look at for extended periods of time… it doesn’t doesn’t wash out colors if you don’t look at it at exactly the right angle and no risk of screen burn in like on an OLED.

Agree, love my MacBook Air, same model, been using laptops for decades, always intel, this is my first MacBook, had it since Dec 2020, will never go back to an intel... btw you can buy new at Costco for $100 more.

It never even gets warm, doesn't even have a fan, battery lasts for like, forever, amazing all around product for general use.
https://www.costco.com/macbook-air-13.3"-–-apple-m1-chip-8-core-cpu,-7-core-gpu-–-8gb-memory-–-256gb-ssd-–-silver.product.100688289.html

BTW - My wife has a Lenovo Yoga since Dec 2020
If your stuck on a Windows Machine I would highly recommend it. Has a first class feel and construction like the MacBook, actually its built like a tank, real solid, sharp looking. She loves it and I can see why, granted except for this one laptop and her company workstation we are almost completely out of the Windows world now. I doubt in future years here next laptop will be windows. Since she, like me now have Mac Desktops and iPhones too.
Yoga 12mb memory/ i5 Intel EVO machine. I just found it, still the same unit. I see they added some stuff like Amazon Alexa which is a major turn off for me, she doesn't have that, its a nice clean slate. I hate when companies add crap like that, more so in this price range.
No issues other than its Windows, I can't stress the construction makes this a real sharp looking machine and feels that way too =
 
Last edited:
Between the 2 CPU alone, the Ryzen is on 7nm TSMC and Intel on 10nm (somehow equivalent to 7nm TSMC in performance), the integrated graphics on Ryzen seems to be more powerful. So if all else are identical I would pick the Ryzen laptop.

However, as always nothings are identical so personally I'd pick my laptop with both DRAM slot upgradable, bigger SSD and DRAM capacity, lower price, longer battery life, etc. I wouldn't focus solely on the CPU.
 
Back
Top