Intel Pentium Gold 5405U vs AMD Ryzen 5 4600U

Intel Pentium Gold 5405U

The Intel Pentium 5405U is an ULV (ultra low voltage) dual-core SoC based on the Whiskey-Lake architecture and has been launched in 2019. The CPU can be found in ultrabooks as well as normal notebooks. In addition to two CPU cores with Hyper-Threading clocked at 2.3 GHz (no Turbo Boost), the chip also integrates an HD Graphics 610 GPU and a dual-channel DDR4-2133/DDR3L-1600 memory controller. The SoC is manufactured using a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors (14nm++).

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before. Compared to Kaby-Lake Refresh, Whiskey Lake only features a slightly improved process from 14nm+ to 14nm++.

Performance

The average 5405U in our database is in the same league as the Pentium N5000, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Performance of this kind is only sufficient for basic day-to-day tasks such as checking one's inbox, as of early 2023.

Graphics

The integrated graphics unit called UHD Graphics 610 (similar to the HD Graphics 510) represents the "GT1" version of the Whiskey Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9). Its 12 Execution Units, also called EUs, run at 300 - 950 MHz and offer a performance somewhat below the older HD Graphics 4400. Only a few games of 2018 can be played smoothly in lowest settings.

Power consumption

This Pentium has a default TDP of 15 W (also known as the long-term power limit) which is a little too high to be appropriate for a passively cooled laptop, tablet or mini-PC. OEMs are free to reduce that value somewhat, 12.5 W being the lower limit, with clock speeds and performance taking a hit as a result.

Intel Pentium 5405U is built with a fairly old, as of early 2023, 14 nm process making for subpar energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 5 4600U

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600U is a processor for thin and light laptops based on the Renoir architecture. The 4600U integrates six cores based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 2.1 (guaranteed base clock) to 4 GHz (Turbo) with SMT / Hyperthreading support (12 threads). The chip is manufactured in the modern 7 nm process at TSMC and partly thanks to it AMD advertises a 2x improved performance per Watt for the Renoir chips.

With two less cores, the Ryzen 5 4600U is clearly slower than the Ryzen 7 4700U and 4800U in multi threaded workloads. However, it should still beat the fastest 15 Watt Ice Lake Intel Core i7-1065G7 (4 cores, 3.9 GHz). Thanks to the 4 GHz Boost clock, the single core performance should be similar. Therefore, the Ryzen 5 4600U is a very fast 15 Watt CPU and clearly faster than the old Ryzen 7 3700U.

In addition to the six CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 6 integrated graphics card with 6 CUs and up to 1500 MHz. The dual channel memory controller supports DDR4-3200 and energy efficient LPDDR4-4266 RAM. Furthermore, 8 MB level 3 cache can be found on the chip. See our hub page on the Renoir Processors for more information.

The TDP of the APU is specified at 15 Watt (default) and can be configured from 10 to 25 Watt by the laptop vendor. That means the chip is intended for thin and light laptops (but with fans).