Consumercarts is reader-supported. Learn more
AMD Ryzen 5 230 vs Intel Core 5 220U: Comparison
AMD Ryzen 5 230 vs Intel Core 5 220U total cores compared
There is no decisive spec gap here. Total cores splits them by a margin most buyers will never feel, AMD Ryzen 5 230 6 against Intel Core 5 220U 10. AMD Ryzen 5 230 also leads on l3 cache, 16 MB on the AMD Ryzen 5 230 versus 12 MB on the Intel Core 5 220U. They differ on igpu too, AMD Radeon 760M on the AMD Ryzen 5 230 versus Intel Graphics on the Intel Core 5 220U.
Which should you buy, AMD Ryzen 5 230 or Intel Core 5 220U?
Buy the AMD Ryzen 5 230 for budget and midrange thin-and-light laptops and office work, browsing and video calls, though it is not built for modern games at high settings without a dedicated GPU and copilot+ PC AI features, which need a 40+ TOPS NPU. Avoid it for heavy video rendering or 3D work, where 8-core chips finish much sooner. The Intel Core 5 220U is the one to take for budget student and office laptops and browsing, documents, video calls and streaming, though it is not the pick for heavy video editing, rendering or large code builds and gaming beyond older or light titles at low settings. It is not the one for copilot+ PC and on-device AI features, since it has no NPU.
Where the two are identical
Everything else lines up. Total threads, integrated graphics, form factor, release year and market segment read the same on both, so those are not worth weighing. They match on 3 further specifications as well.
Do the AMD Ryzen 5 230 and Intel Core 5 220U differ on performance cores?
Yes. Performance Cores reads 6 on the AMD Ryzen 5 230 versus 2 on the Intel Core 5 220U.
Is the SMT Enabled the same on the AMD Ryzen 5 230 and Intel Core 5 220U?
It is. Both are listed at Yes, so it is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Specs and benchmarks
Form Factor
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- Laptop
- Intel Core 5 220U
- Laptop
Codename
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- Hawk Point
- Intel Core 5 220U
- Raptor Lake
Release Year
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 2025
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 2025
TDP
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 28 W
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 15 W
iGPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- AMD Radeon 760M (8 cores, up to 2600 MHz)
- Intel Core 5 220U
- Intel Graphics
Market Segment
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- Laptop
- Intel Core 5 220U
- Laptop
Socket
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- FP8, FP7, FP7r2
- Intel Core 5 220U
- FCBGA1744
Process Node
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 4 nm
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 7 nm
Total Cores
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 6
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 10Best
Performance Cores
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 6Best
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 2
Efficiency Cores
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 0
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 8Best
Total Threads
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 12
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 12
SMT Enabled
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- Yes
- Intel Core 5 220U
- Yes
P-Core Base Clock
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 3.5 GHz
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 1.4 GHz
P-Core Boost Clock
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- Up to 4.9 GHz
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 5.0 GHz
Unlocked Multiplier
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- No
- Intel Core 5 220U
- No
L3 Cache
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 16 MBBest
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 12 MB-25%
Base Power
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- 15-30W
- Intel Core 5 220U
- 15 W
Memory Type
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- DDR5 (FP8) , LPDDR5X (FP8) , DDR5 (FP7r2) , LPDDR5X (FP7), 2-Channel
- Intel Core 5 220U
- DDR5 up to 5200 MT/s, DDR4 up to 3200 MT/s, LPDDR5/x up to 6400 MT/s, LPDDR4x up to 4267 MT/s
Integrated Graphics
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- Yes
- Intel Core 5 220U
- Yes
PCIe Generation
- AMD Ryzen 5 230
- PCIe 4.0
- Intel Core 5 220U
- PCIe 4.0
Which one should you pick?
Choose AMD Ryzen 5 230 if you want the higher L3 cache (16 MB vs 12 MB).
Choose Intel Core 5 220U if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.