Intel Core i5-13600HX vs Intel Core Ultra 7 255H vs Intel Core Ultra 5 225H

Intel Core i5-13600HX

The Intel Core i5-13600HX 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 HyperThreading. The P-Cores clock between 2.6 GHz (base) up to 4.8 GHz (single core boost, all-core 4.5 GHz). The smaller E-Cores clock between 1.9 and 3.6 GHz. All cores can access the combined 24 MB L3 cache. The CPU supports vPro (Enterprise) management features.

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

While we have not tested a single system built around the 13600HX as of August 2023, we have plenty of performance data for the i7-13650HX, a chip with almost the same specs (six P-cores mated to eight E-cores, with the latter running at the same clock speeds as what the 13600HX has and the former running at up to 100 MHz faster which is a very small difference). Based on that, we expect the 13600HX to be just a few percentage points behind the i7-13700HX and the i9-12950HX, meaning it's 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 peak Turbo power consumption is not supposed to go over 157 W and its Intel-recommended Base power consumption is 55 W. Most laptop makers will probably go for a noticeably higher value to get better performance.

The i5-13600HX is built with Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core Ultra 7 255H

The Intel Core Ultra 7 255H is a mobile high-end CPU for larger notebooks based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It offers 16 cores consisting of 6 fast performance cores (Lion Cove) with up to 5.1 GHz and 8 smaller efficiency cores (Skymont) with up to 4.4 GHz clock speed and two additional "low power" efficiency cores with up to 2.5 GHz (Skymont). The CPU has access to 24 MB of cache and is specified with a TDP of 28 watt (PL1, 115W PL2).

The SoC integrates a small dedicated NPU called AI Boost with 13 TOPS (Int8) and optionally supports vPro Essentials. The integrated memory controller supports up to 192 GB LPDDR5/x-8400 or DDR5-6400 (dual channel). The integrated GPU (iGPU) is an Intel Arc 140T graphics card which offers eight Xe cores with up to 2.25 GHz.

Performance - High End

The Core Ultra 7 is superior to the top model Core Ultra 9 285H as only the maximum Turbo frequency is 200 MHz lower. Due to the improved IPC of the cores (especially the efficiency cores), the CPU should perform slightly below the level of the old Raptor Lake Core Core 9 270H (6 + 8 cores, max 5.8 / 4.1 GHz). This makes the CPU very suitable for demanding tasks such as high-end gaming and content creation.

Chiplet design

Like the desktop and HX chips, the Arrow Lake-H chips are based on individual chiplets that are placed on a 22nm base tile from Intel using Foveros 3D packaging. The CPU part comes from TSMC using the modern N3B (3nm) process. As with HX, the GPU also is produced at TSMC and is manufactured using the N5P process. SoC and I/O Tile are also from TSMC but in the older N6 process.

Intel Core Ultra 5 225H

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225H is a mobile high-end CPU for larger notebooks based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It offers 14 cores consisting of 4 fast performance cores (Lion Cove) with up to 4.9 GHz and 8 smaller efficiency cores (Skymont) with up to 4.3 GHz clock speed and two additional "low power" efficiency cores with up to 2.5 GHz (Skymont). The CPU has access to 24 MB of cache and is specified with a TDP of 28 watts (PL1, 115W PL2).

The SoC integrates a small dedicated NPU called AI Boost with 13 TOPS (Int8) and optionally supports vPro Essentials. The integrated memory controller supports up to 192 GB LPDDR5/x-8400 or DDR5-6400 (dual channel). The integrated GPU (iGPU) is an Intel Arc 130T graphics card which offers eight Xe cores with up to 2.2 GHz.

Performance - High End

Compared to the more powerful variants (such as the top model Core Ultra 9 285H) due to the lack of two P-cores. However, thanks to the improved IPC of the cores (especially the efficiency cores), the CPU should be able to hold its own against its Raptor Lake predecessors. As a result, the CPU is also very suitable for demanding tasks such as gaming and content creation.

Chiplet design

Like the desktop and HX chips, the Arrow Lake-H chips are based on individual chiplets that are placed on a 22nm base tile using Foveros 3D packaging. The CPU part comes from TSMC using the modern N3B (3nm) process. As with HX, the GPU also comes from TSMC and is manufactured using the N5P process. SoC and I/O Tile also from TSMC but in the older N6 process.