AMD Ryzen 5 3550H vs Intel Core i5-8269U vs Intel Core i3-8109U
AMD Ryzen 5 3550H
► remove from comparisonThe AMD Ryzen 5 3550H is a mobile SoC that was announced in January 2019. It combines four Zen+ cores (8 threads) clocked at 2.1 GHz to 3.7 GHz with a Radeon RX Vega 8 graphics adapter with 8 CUs (512 Shaders) clocked at up to 1,200 MHz. Compared to the similar Ryzen 5 3500U, the 3550H offers a 20 Watt higher TDP and therefore a better performance under long periods of load. The integrated dual-channel memory controller supports up to DDR4-2400 memory. As the features of the Picasso APUs are the same compared to the Raven Ridge predecessors, we point to our Raven Ridge launch article.
The Picasso SoCs use the Zen+ microarchitecture with slight improvements that should lead to a 3% IPS (performance per clock) improvements. Furthermore, the 12 nm process allows higher clock rates at similar power consumptions.
Performance
The average 3550H in our database proves to be a solid mid-range CPU, its multi-thread benchmark scores hovering close to those of the Intel Core i7-10710U and the Core i5-8257U. Which is a little slow for an H-class processor, as of late 2021, but still more than enough for the vast majority of apps and games, provided one is fine with having to wait a little longer than usual for that 4K video encoding job to get completed.
Thanks to its decent cooling solution and sufficiently high CPU power limits, the Pavilion Gaming 15-ec0002ng is among the fastest laptops powered by the 3550H that we know of. It can be more than 20% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.
Power consumption
This Ryzen 5 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 35 W. Laptop makers are free to reduce that value significantly with 12 W being the minimum AMD-recommended value. Clock speeds and performance would take a hit as a result; either way, that's a little too high to allow for passively cooled designs.
Last but not the least, the AMD Ryzen 5 3550H is built with a 12 nm process for lower-than-average, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.
Intel Core i5-8269U
► remove from comparisonThe Intel Core i5-8269U is a quad-core SoC for notebooks based on the Coffee Lake architecture and was announced in April 2018. Compared to its predecessor Core i5-7287U, the CPU is now a quad-core with Hyperthreading support for the execution of up to 8 threads simultaneously. The base frequency is 2.6 GHz, but the Turbo goes all the way up to 4.2 GHz. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU with 128 MB eDRAM, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.
Compared to faster Core i7 model with eDRAM and 28 Watts, the i5-8269U only features 6 MB smart cache and a slower clock of the Iris Plus GPU.
Architecture
Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Kaby Lake, 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
Considering the clocks of the Core i5-8259U, its performance should be between above the 15W model Core i7-8650U. The i5-8269U should still be faster than the i7-8650U in practice thanks to the increased TDP, especially during sustained workloads.
Graphics
The integrated Intel Iris Plus 655 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1100 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 930M or 940MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Plus 650, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.
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, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel specifies the TDP with 28 Watts, which can be reduced to 23 Watts (cTDP Down) depending on the usage scenario. The TDP is pretty high compared to the common 15-Watt TDP for quad-core processors, but allows a better utilization of CPU and GPU Turbo.
Intel Core i3-8109U
► remove from comparisonThe Intel Core i3-8109U is a dual-core SoC for notebooks based on the Coffee Lake architecture and was announced in April 2018. Compared to its predecessor Core i3-7167U, the CPU now supports Turbo boost with up to 3.6 GHz. Thanks to Hyperthreading the CPU can execute up to 4 threads simultaneously. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU with 128 MB eDRAM (but with 300 - 1050 MHz it is the slowest Iris Plus), a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm++ process (3rd generation) with FinFET transistors.
Architecture
Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Kaby Lake, 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
Thanks to the Turbo Boost, the processor performance should be a bit above the old Core i7-7500U (max. 3.5 GHz, 15 Watt). Therefore the Core i3-8109U should be fine for most applications. Some games however already need four real cores for optimal performance (paired with a dedicated GPU e.g.).
Graphics
The integrated Intel Iris Plus 655 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 930M or 940MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Plus 650, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.
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 (14nm++, 3rd generation of 14nm) with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel specifies the TDP with 28 Watts, which can be reduced to 23 Watts (cTDP Down) depending on the usage scenario. The TDP is pretty high compared to the common 15-Watt TDP for quad-core processors, but allows a better utilization of CPU and GPU Turbo.
Model | AMD Ryzen 5 3550H | Intel Core i5-8269U | Intel Core i3-8109U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | AMD Picasso (Ryzen 3000 APU) | Intel Coffee Lake | Intel Coffee Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Picasso-U (Zen+) | Coffee Lake-U | Coffee Lake-U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Coffee Lake Coffee Lake-U |
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Clock | 2100 - 3700 MHz | 2600 - 4200 MHz | 3000 - 3600 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 384 KB | 256 KB | 128 KB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 2 MB | 1 MB | 512 KB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 4 MB | 6 MB | 4 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 2 / 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 35 Watt | 28 Watt | 28 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transistors | 4500 Million | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 12 nm | 14 nm | 14 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 105 °C | 100 °C | 100 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | FP5 | FCBGA1528 | FCBGA1528 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | DDR4-2400 RAM, PCIe 3, MMX (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA | Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI, Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE 4.2 | Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI, Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE 4.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) ( - 1200 MHz) | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (300 - 1100 MHz) | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (300 - 1050 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | x86 | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | www.amd.com | ark.intel.com | ark.intel.com |