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AMD Ryzen 5 2500U vs AMD Ryzen 5 4600U: Comparison
Ryzen 5 2500U vs Ryzen 5 4600U: the l3 cache difference
The gap that matters here is l3 cache: Ryzen 5 2500U 4 MB against Ryzen 5 4600U 8 MB, which puts Ryzen 5 4600U 50% ahead. There is a split on p-core base clock as well, 2.0 GHz on the Ryzen 5 2500U versus 2.1 GHz on the Ryzen 5 4600U. Socket is not the same on both, FP5 on the Ryzen 5 2500U versus FP6 on the Ryzen 5 4600U. They differ on release year too, 2017 on the Ryzen 5 2500U versus 2020 on the Ryzen 5 4600U. Igpu is not the same on both, AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 on the Ryzen 5 2500U versus AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 on the Ryzen 5 4600U.
Who each one is for
Take the Ryzen 5 2500U for buyers wanting AMD's early genuinely competitive mobile chip with strong integrated graphics for its era. It is not the one for buyers prioritizing per-core CPU performance, later Zen generations offer meaningfully better single-threaded results. Take the Ryzen 5 4600U for mainstream thin-and-light laptops wanting genuine 6-core, 12-thread multi-threaded performance at 15W. It is the wrong buy for buyers wanting the absolute strongest ultraportable performance, the 8-core Ryzen 7 4700U/4800U offer meaningfully more within the same generation.
Where the two are identical
Everything else lines up. Efficiency cores, tdp, integrated graphics, product line and form factor read the same on both, so those are not worth weighing. They match on 3 further specifications as well.
Frequently asked questions
Do the Ryzen 5 2500U and Ryzen 5 4600U differ on total cores?
Yes. Total Cores reads 4 on the Ryzen 5 2500U versus 6 on the Ryzen 5 4600U.
Is the Market Segment the same on the Ryzen 5 2500U and Ryzen 5 4600U?
It is. Both are listed at Laptop, so it is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Specs and benchmarks
Brand
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- AMD
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- AMD
Product Line
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Ryzen 5
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Ryzen 5
Form Factor
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Laptop
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Laptop
Model Number
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 2500U
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 4600U
Codename
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Raven Ridge
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Renoir
Release Year
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 2017
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 2020
TDP
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 15 W
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 15 W
iGPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- AMD Radeon RX Vega 8
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- AMD Radeon RX Vega 6
Market Segment
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Laptop
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Laptop
Microarchitecture
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Zen, Ryzen 2000 Series "Raven Ridge"
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Zen 2, Ryzen 4000 Series "Renoir"
Socket
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- FP5
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- FP6
Process Node
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 14 nm
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 7 nm
Total Cores
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 4
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 6Best
Performance Cores
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 4
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 6Best
Efficiency Cores
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 0
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 0
Total Threads
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 8
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 12Best
SMT Enabled
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Yes
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Yes
P-Core Base Clock
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 2.0 GHz
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 2.1 GHz
P-Core Boost Clock
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 3.6 GHz
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 4.0 GHz
L3 Cache
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 4 MB-50%
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 8 MBBest
Base Power
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- 15 W
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- 15 W
Memory Type
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- DDR4
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- DDR4, LPDDR4
Integrated Graphics
- AMD Ryzen 5 2500U
- Yes
- AMD Ryzen 5 4600U
- Yes
Which one should you pick?
Choose 2500U if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.
Choose 4600U if you want the higher L3 cache (8 MB vs 4 MB).