AMD Ryzen 3 3200U vs Intel Core i5-8250U
AMD Ryzen 3 3200U
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The AMD Ryzen 3 3200U is a dual-core SoC designed for laptops that was announced in January 2019. The Ryzen features two Zen cores with support for the thread-doubling SMT tech, clocked at 2.6 GHz - 3.5 GHz. The built-in Radeon RX Vega 3 iGPU has 3 CUs (192 unified shaders) clocked at up to 1,200 MHz. The default TDP is 15 W which makes the Ryzen a good fit for thin mid-range laptops.
In comparison to the faster Ryzen 3000 CPUs, the 3200U is not using the newer Zen+ microarchitecture and is still manufactured in 14nm. Compared to the old Ryzen 3 2200U, the 3200U therefore only offers a 100 MHz higher clock speed.
The Ryzen 3 is compatible with single-channel or dual-channel DDR4-2400 RAM.
Please go to our Raven Ridge launch article for details on the architecture and more.
Performance
The average 3200U in our extensive database is anything but a performance monster, its multi-thread benchmark scores only just matching those of the Core i3-8130U and the Pentium N6000. While not as atrociously slow as most N-series and J-series Intel chips, this specific Ryzen is good enough for basic day-to-day activities only.
Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.
Power consumption
This Ryzen 3 series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 15 W. Laptop makers are free to change that to anything between 12 W and 25 W; most will go for a higher value to extract more performance out of it. Either way, an active cooling solution will be needed to dissipate the heat.
The R3 3200U is built with a 14 nm manufacturing process for low, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.
Intel Core i5-8250U
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The Intel Core i5-8250U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake Refresh generation and was announced in August 2017. Contrary to its direct predecessor the Core i5-7200U, which were still dual-cores, the i7-8250U is equipped with four cores but at a lower base frequency of 1.6 GHz. The Turbo Boost can go up to 3,4 GHz and therefore also offer good short term single core speeds. The GPU is now named Intel UHD Graphics 620 but otherwise identical to the Intel HD Graphics 620. The integrated memory controller supports DDR4-2400 / LPDDR3-2133 and dual channel memory.
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.
Performance
According to Intel, the new quad core models are up to 40% faster than their dual core predecessors. Due to the reduced TDP and the same 14nm+ process, the long term performance and throttling behavior will be interesting and depending on the laptop design. Therefore, the older 35 Watt quad-core models should be faster in applications that demand longer CPU loads.
Graphics
The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 (Intel Gen 9.5) is untouched from the 8th Gen Kaby Lake chips. With fast dual-channel memory it can reach the performance of a dedicated GeForce 920M.
Contrary to Skylake, Kaby lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors announced in January should also support HDCP 2.2.
Power Consumption
The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors (14nm+), the same as the 7th Gen Kaby Lake processors. Intel still specifies the TDP with 15 Watts, which is typical for ULV chips. Depending on the usage scenario, the TDP can vary between 7.5 (cTDP Down) and 25 Watts.
| Model | AMD Ryzen 3 3200U | Intel Core i5-8250U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Picasso-U (Zen) | Kaby Lake Refresh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | AMD Picasso (Ryzen 3000 APU) | Intel Kaby Lake Refresh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clock | 2600 - 3500 MHz | 1600 - 3400 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L1 Cache | 192 KB | 256 KB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 1 MB | 1 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 4 MB | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 2 / 4 | 4 / 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 15 Watt | 15 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transistors | 4500 Million | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 14 nm | 14 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| max. Temp. | 105 °C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Socket | FP5 | BGA1356 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | DDR4-2400 RAM, PCIe 3, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4A, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, SMT, CPB, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SME | Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 ( - 1200 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1100 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | www.amd.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: Kaby Lake Refresh Kaby Lake Refresh |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $297 U.S. |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks AMD Ryzen 3 3200U → 100% n=48
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-8250U → 149% n=48
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
