AMD Ryzen 5 4600H vs Intel Core i5-10500H

AMD Ryzen 5 4600H

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600H is a mobile SoC for big laptops based on the Renoir architecture. The 4600H integrates six of the eight cores based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 3 (guaranteed base clock) to 4 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (12 threads).

In addition to the six CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 6 integrated graphics adapter 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.

Performance

The average 4600H in our database matches the Intel Core i7-10875H and even the Core i9-10885H, both significantly more costly chips, in multi-thread performance, giving this Ryzen an outrageously high price-to-performance ratio.

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

The Ryzen 5 chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 45 W, a value that laptop makers are free to change to anything between 35 W and 54 W with clock speed and performance changing accordingly as a result. Either way, a high-performance cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this.

The 7 nm TSMC process this APU is built with makes for better-than-average, as of early 2022, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i5-10500H

The Intel Core i5-10500H is a fast processor for laptops with six cores based on the Comet Lake-H series (4th generation of Skylake architecture). The processor clocks at between 2.5 and 4.5 GHz and can execute up to twelve threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured on a 14nm (14nm++) process. 

The Comet Lake architecture is similar to Coffee Lake and offers the same features and is produced on the same 14nm process. Other than the improved clock rates, the memory controller now also supports faster DDR4-2933 RAM. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

Performance

The average 10500H in our database matches the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U, a noticeably less power-hungry processor, in multi-thread performance making the i5 a somewhat underwhelming option as far as H-class processors go.

Your mileage may vary depending on how competent the cooling solution of your system is, and how high the CPU power limits are.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a similar performance as the UHD630 in the Core i5-9300H. As a  low-end solution it will probably only run current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power consumption

This Core i5 series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 45 W. Laptop makers are free to reduce that value slightly, 35 W being the minimum Intel-recommended value, resulting in lower clock speed and lower performance. Either way, an active cooling solution will still be needed to dissipate the heat.

The i5-10500H is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for low, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.