Intel Core i5-13420H vs AMD Ryzen 5 7535U

Intel Core i5-13420H

The Intel Core i5-13420H is a mid-range mobile CPU for laptops based on the Raptor Lake-H series (Alder Lake architecture). It was announced in early 2023 and offers 4 of the 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 of the 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 16 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.1 to 4.6 GHz (single core boost, all core up to 4.5 GHz) on the performance cluster and 1.5 to 3.4 GHz on the efficient cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 12 MB L3 cache. 

Performance

Thanks to the higher clock speeds of the improved Intel 7 process, the Core i5-13420H can surpass the old Core i5-12450H (e.g., + 200 MHz boost).

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-5200 (up from DDR5-4800 of the i5-12500H). The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU now supports PCIe 5.0 x8 for a GPU and two PCIe 4.0 x4 for SSDs.

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 48 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units).

The CPU is rated at 45 W base power (115 W PL2) but most laptops will use a PL1 of around 60 Watt. The SoC is manufactured in a further improved 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.

AMD Ryzen 5 7535U

The AMD Ryzen 5 7535U is a processor for thin and light laptops based of the Rembrandt refresh generation. The Ryzen packs six of the eight cores based on the Zen 3+ microarchitecture. They are clocked at 2.9 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.55 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (12 threads). The chip is manufactured in 6 nm FinFET at TSMC. The 7535U is the refresh of the 2022 AMD Ryzen 5 6600U and offers 50 MHz higher boost clock at a 3W higher maximum TDP.

The Zen 3+ is a refresh of the Zen 3 architecture and should not offer a lot of changes. The chip offers modern features, like support for USB 4 (40 Gbps), PCI-E Gen 4 and DDR5-4800MT/s or LPDDR5-6400MT/s.

The performance should be quite similar to the old Ryzen 5 6600U due to only a slightly increased boost speed (+50MHz) and TDP (28 versus 15-25W).

The integrated GPU Radeon 660M is still a fast iGPUs based on the RDNA2 architecture and offers 6 of the 12 CUs at up to 1.9 GHz.

The Ryzen 7535U is manufactured in 6nm FinFET at TSMC and specified at a TDP of 28W.