Intel Core i5-11600K vs Intel Core i5-13500HX

Intel Core i5-11600K

The Intel Core i5-11600K is a high-end desktop CPU based on the Rocket Lake architecture. The CPU offers 6 cores and 12 threads clocked at 3.9 - 4.9 GHz (Turbo Boost 2.0 only). Using all cores, the CPU can clock up to 4.6 GHz.  

The TDP is rated at 125 Watt (PL1, power limit sustained load) but the PL2 is set to around 250 Watt for short term boosts (up to 56 seconds). 

The Sunny Cove processor cores (known from the Ice Lake mobile CPUs) offer larger caches and an improved IPC (up to 19%). Furthermore, the chip also includes (partly) integrated WiFi 6E and Thunderbolt 4. The platform supports PCIe 4.0 and Intel DL Boost for AI acceleration.

Thanks to the faster core architecture, the 11600K can beat the old i5-10600K by around 20 percent. Therefore, the i5-11600K is a good mid range choice for gaming.

The faster Rocket Lake-S CPUs also integrate a new Intel UHD Graphics 750 that is based on the current Intel Xe architecture (e.g. mobile Tiger Lake) and offers 32 EUs. In the 11600K, the GPU is clocked from 350 - 1300 MHz.

The CPU is manufactured on the old 14nm process like the Comet Lake predecessors. The power consumption is not as high, as the Core i9-11900K, but can't come close to the power efficient Ryzen 5 5600X.

Intel Core i5-13500HX

The Intel Core i5-13500HX is a fast mid-range mobile processor of the Raptor Lake series. Is was announced in early 2023 and integrates 6 fast Raptor Cove performance cores (P-cores) with HyperThreading and 8 Gracemont efficiency cores without Hyper-Threading. The P-Cores clock between 2.5 GHz (base) up to 4.7 GHz (single core boost, all-core 4.5 GHz). The smaller E-Cores clock between 1.8 and 3.5 GHz. All cores can access the combined 24 MB L3 cache.

Compared to Alder Lake, Raptor Lake offers improved P-Cores (Raptor Cove micro-architecture) with bigger Caches and more E-Cores (same Gracemont micro-architecture). Furthermore, the chip supports faster DDR5 memory (up to 5600 MHz for the 13980HX, but only 4800 MHz for the i5).

Performance

The average 13500HX in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 7 7745HX, Core i7-13705H, Core i9-12900HK, Core i9-13900H, Core i9-13905H, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very, very fast CPU, as of mid 2023.

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

Power consumption

The chip's "minimum assured" power consumption sits at 45 W. Its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption is 157 W and the Base power consumption is supposed to be around 55 W. Most laptop makers will go for a value much higher than 55 W to get better performance.

The i5-13500HX is manufactured on Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.