Intel Core i5-13600H vs Intel Core Ultra 5 225U vs Intel Core Ultra 7 265U

Intel Core i5-13600H

The Intel Core i5-13600H 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 all 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 2.8 to 4.8 GHz (single core boost, all core up to 4.7 GHz) on the performance cluster and 2.1 to 3.6 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 18 MB L3 cache. Compared to the 12650H, the 12600H offers less P-cores but more E-cores, a faster iGPU and "Enterprise" vPro features (for remote management).

Performance

Thanks to the higher clock speeds of the improved Intel 7 process, the Core i5-13600H can surpass the old Core i5-12600H (e.g., + 300 MHz boost).

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-5200 (up from DDR5-4800 of the i5-12600H). 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 80 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.

Intel Core Ultra 5 225U

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225U is an upper mid-range CPU with 12 cores from the Meteor Lake U series, which was introduced at the beginning of 2025. The chip is similar to the Meteor Lake U series, but the compute part is manufactured in the modern Intel 3 process and therefore offers higher clock rates.

The SoC continues to rely on a tile/chiplet design. The smaller compute tile (compared to the H processors) offers 2 performance cores (P cores, Redwood Cove architecture, SMT) and 8 efficiency cores (E cores, Crestmont architecture). The P-cores support hyperthreading (therefore 14 threads together) and clock up to 4.8 GHz. The E-cores clock at a maximum of 3.8 GHz. In addition, there are now two more low-power efficiency cores with up to 2.4 GHz on the low-power island; the compute tile can therefore be completely deactivated when idle and during simple tasks in order to save power.

Performance

Due to the higher clock rates and the support of faster memory, the performance is slightly below the old top model Core Ultra 7 165U (12 cores, max 4.9 / 3.8 GHz) and well ahead of the old Core Ultra 5 135U (12 cores, max 4.4 / 3.6 GHz).

Graphics unit

The Core Ultra 5 225U offers a new Arc-based iGPU called Intel Graphics with 4 Xe cores and 64 EUs that reach a maximum of 2 GHz. However, the performance is far below the new Arc iGPU in the H series.

Features

Arrow Lake-U has integrated WiFi 6E (WiFi 7 optional). The integrated memory controller now supports LPDDR5/x-8400 or DDR5-6400 (max. 128 GB). A dedicated NPU (2x Gen3 Neural Compute Engines) is now used. The Xe Media Engine supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 Decode, JPEG, VP8 Decode, VP9, HEVC and AV1 Decode up to 8K 10-bit HDR. The chip now supports PCIe-5.0 (x8 for GPU) and PCIe-4.0 (three x12 for SSDs).

Power consumption

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225U is specified with 15 watts TDP (base) and 57 watts (PL2) max. turbo power. Meteor Lake consists of five individual chips, whereby the processor part is manufactured using the new Intel 3 process (5 nm). The graphics unit is produced at TSMC in N5 and the SoC and I/O tile in the older N6 process. These 4 chips are then applied to the 22 nm base tile using the Foveros process.

Intel Core Ultra 7 265U

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265U is an upper mid-range CPU with 12 cores from the Arrow Lake U series, which was introduced at the beginning of 2025. The SoC is based on a tile/chiplet design. The chip is similar to the Meteor Lake U series, but the compute part is manufactured using the modern Intel 3 process and therefore offers higher clock rates.

The smaller compute tile (compared to the H processors) offers 2 performance cores (P cores, Redwood Cove architecture, SMT) and 8 efficiency cores (E cores, Crestmont architecture). The P-cores support hyperthreading (therefore 14 threads together) and clock up to 5.3 GHz. The E-cores clock at a maximum of 4.2 GHz. In addition, there are now two more low-power efficiency cores on the low-power island, so the compute tile can be completely deactivated when idle and during simple tasks in order to save power.

Performance

Thanks to the significantly higher clock rates, the Core Ultra 7 265U should be significantly faster than the old Core Ultra 7 165U (12 cores, max 4.9 / 3.8 GHz, 12 MB cache). Due to the 12 cores, the multi-thread performance is very good, but can be limited by the low TDP (especially under long load).

Graphics unit

The Core Ultra 7 265U offers a new Arc-based iGPU called Intel Graphics with 4 Xe cores and 64 EUs that reach a maximum of 2.1 GHz. However, the performance is clearly below the new Arc iGPU in the H series.

Features

Arrow Lake-U has integrated WiFi 6E (WiFi 7 optional) and Thunderbolt 4 (4x). The integrated memory controller now supports LPDDR5/x-8400 or DDR5-6400 (max. 128 GB). A dedicated NPU (2x Gen3 Neural Compute Engines) is now used. The Xe Media Engine supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 Decode, JPEG, VP8 Decode, VP9, HEVC and AV1 Decode up to 8K 10-bit HDR. The chip now supports PCIe-5.0 (x8 for GPU) and PCIe-4.0 (three x12 for SSDs).

Power consumption

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265U is specified with 15 watts TDP (base) and 57 watts (PL2) max. turbo power. Meteor Lake consists of five individual chips, whereby the processor part is manufactured in the new Intel 3 process (5nm). The graphics unit is produced at TSMC in N5 and the SoC and I/O tile in the older N6 process. These 4 chips are then applied to the 22nm base tile using the Foveros process.