AMD Ryzen 7 5700U vs. Intel Core i7

This article compares AMD's Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel's Core i7-1255U laptop CPUs. We evaluated AMD's Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel's Core i7-1255U laptop CPUs to determine which would be better for various use cases. We shaped our testing methodology to focus on each CPU's attributes rather than relying solely on benchmarks.

This article helps you make an informed decision by comparing each CPU's attributes, such as the core types, core counts, frequencies, cache capacities, PCIe support, and DDR support. We've examined these attributes for each CPU to help you compare their abilities. By understanding these key factors, you can determine which CPU will best suit your needs and provide the performance you desire.

When selecting a CPU, it's important to consider your specific needs and use case. Some people may prioritize high clock speeds and single-threaded performance for tasks like gaming, while others may require a higher core count and multi-threaded performance for tasks like video editing or rendering. We've analyzed the capabilities to determine which CPU performs best for each use case.

We investigated the capabilities of both CPUs to compare them objectively. Ultimately, the decision between these two CPUs will depend on your specific requirements, budget, and priorities. However, by examining the attributes of each CPU, we aim to provide you with the information needed to make an informed decision when selecting a laptop.

5700U: Based on our evaluation, the 5700U's 8 cores allow for excellent performance overall.

1255U: Based on our evaluation, the 1255U's limit of 2 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores will result in poor performance overall.

Learn more about Core Counts below.

5700U: The 5700U has a 1.8 GHz base frequency, which is the speed before boosting.

1255U: The 1255U has a 1.70 GHz P-core base frequency, which is the speed before boosting.

Learn more about CPU Clock Speeds below.

5700U: Based on our evaluation, the 5700U's 4.3 GHz single-core max boost frequency is excellent for performance overall. You can maintain these frequencies with good heat dissipation.

1255U: Based on our evaluation, the 1255U's 4.70 GHz single-core max turbo boost frequency is excellent for performance overall. You can maintain these frequencies with good heat dissipation.

Learn more about CPU Clock Speeds below.

5700U: The 5700U does not have Performance cores.

1255U: Based on our evaluation, the 1255U's 4.70 GHz max turbo boost frequency of the Performance cores is excellent for performance overall. P-core turbo boost frequencies can be maintained with good heat dissipation.

Learn more about CPU Clock Speeds below.

5700U: The 5700U CPU's lack of support for overclocking cannot benefit performance overall.

1255U: The 1255U CPU's lack of support for overclocking cannot benefit performance overall.

Learn more about Overclocking below.

5700U: Based on our evaluation, the 5700U CPU's support for DDR4 with a max stock speed of 3200 MHz can be good for performance overall.

1255U: Based on our evaluation, the 1255U CPU's support for DDR5 with a max stock speed of 4800 MHz can be excellent for performance overall.

Learn more about DDR Support below.

5700U: Based on our evaluation, the 5700U CPU's support for PCIe 3.0 can be poor for performance overall, as it will limit the potential of the latest SSDs and graphics cards.

1255U: Based on our evaluation, the 1255U CPU's support for PCIe 5.0 can be excellent for performance overall, when using the fastest SSDs and graphics cards.

5700U: Based on our evaluation, the 5700U's lackluster 8 MB of L3 cache is poor for performance overall.

1255U: Based on our evaluation, the 1255U's 12 MB of L3 cache is mediocre for performance overall.

Learn more about Cache Sizes below.

Based on our evaluation of using AMD's Ryzen 7 5700U CPU for gaming, you can expect mediocre game performance.

Based on our evaluation of using Intel's Core i7-1255U CPU for gaming, you can expect good game performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or mediocre game performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.

While a good GPU is critical for gaming performance, your CPU will also have a significant impact. If the CPU is too slow, it can be a bottleneck for your GPU, which can reduce your framerate or cause stuttering. The most important CPU capabilities for gaming are single-core max boost frequency and the number of cores.

Depending on the game, the CPU will often handle tasks including scene management, gameplay logic, physics calculations, and asset loading. We took these factors into account when assessing the expected CPU performance for gaming.

Having multiple CPU cores can improve performance with games that utilize them. However, developers cannot split up every task to take advantage of a growing number of cores. Most modern games don't benefit from having more than 6–8 cores. Game performance will experience diminishing returns as you add more CPU cores.

Based on our evaluation of using AMD's Ryzen 7 5700U CPU for general apps, you can expect good app performance.

Based on our evaluation of using Intel's Core i7-1255U CPU for general apps, you can expect good app performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or mediocre app performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.

If you're only planning to stream shows, use office apps, or browse the internet, you won't need a top-end CPU to get good performance. The most important CPU capability for general app usage is the single-core max boost frequency.

Browsers depend on your CPU to quickly load pages and video content and manage multiple browser tabs. Higher single-core boost frequencies can speed up page load times.

Office and web applications are typically single-threaded, so running a single application won't take advantage of a many-core CPU.

The more cores a CPU has, the more applications you can run simultaneously without noticing a performance impact.

Office and web applications rarely max out the CPU for long periods. These applications can use boost speeds when a burst of processing power is needed, returning to the more efficient base frequencies afterward.

We took all of these factors into account while assessing the expected CPU performance for general apps.

Based on our evaluation of using AMD's Ryzen 7 5700U CPU for professional tools, you can expect mediocre tool performance.

Based on our evaluation of using Intel's Core i7-1255U CPU for professional tools, you can expect good tool performance when the laptop is good at dissipating heat or mediocre tool performance with inadequate heat dissipation. Most laptops will fall somewhere in between in terms of their cooling capabilities.

Video editors, 2D and 3D graphics tools, software compilers, and engineering tools require high-performing CPUs.

Professional tools are often well optimized to use many cores. CPU cores allow tools to parallelize processing tasks. Increasing the number of cores can divide the time required to process a task if the tool has good multi-threading support.

To maximize performance with professional tools, you'll want to use a CPU with a high boost frequency and many CPU cores. Good heat dissipation is needed to maintain boost frequencies for extended periods. We took these factors into account while assessing the expected CPU performance for professional tools.

While graphics applications use your GPU for some rendering tasks, most calculations and data operations are still dependent on your CPU.

AMD's Ryzen 7 5700U CPUs have 8 cores.

Intel's Core i7-1255U CPUs have 2 Performance cores (P-cores) and 8 Efficiency cores (E-cores) for a total of 10 cores.

We found that, in general, more cores do provide better performance in professional tools and when running multiple applications simultaneously.

Increased core counts can improve the performance of games and professional tools that use them. Most modern games don't benefit from having more than 6–8 cores. Even general apps can benefit from many cores when numerous applications are open simultaneously. Web browsers don't significantly take advantage of multiple cores when loading a single page. However, more CPU cores can improve performance when running demanding web apps in multiple windows.

Intel's 12th generation and newer CPUs have performance cores (P-cores) and efficiency cores (E-cores). The P-cores are comparable to previous generation cores. E-cores are focused on adding additional threads in an energy-efficient manner. They take up much less room on the CPU and generate less heat. However, their smaller cache and minimal interconnect capabilities make them more appropriate for offloading background tasks. E-cores do not support hyper-threading.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U has a 1.8 GHz base frequency and supports a 4.3 GHz single-core max boost frequency.

The Intel Core i7-1255U's 2 Performance cores have a 1.70 GHz base frequency and support a 4.70 GHz max turbo boost frequency. Its 8 Efficiency cores have a 1.20 GHz base frequency and support a 3.50 GHz max turbo boost frequency. The Core i7-1255U has a 4.70 GHz single-core max turbo boost frequency.

We've experienced that single-core performance is essential for some games, as many don't take full advantage of multiple cores. Similarly, we have experienced that professional tools depend on high single and multi-core boost frequencies to maximize their processing speed.

Boost frequencies are only achieved under ideal circumstances. However, with adequate cooling, you may be able to maintain speeds near the max boost frequency.

We've found that lower base clock speeds result in lower power consumption.

A CPU's base frequency refers to the clock speed at which its cores run under normal operating conditions. However, the actual clock speed of the CPU can vary depending on the workload and the system power state.

A lower base frequency can lead to better power savings overall since the clock speed decreases when the load is low, resulting in lower power consumption. However, a CPU may run slower than the base frequency to conserve power or reduce heat generation. For example, modern CPUs use technologies like Intel SpeedStep or AMD Cool'n'Quiet to dynamically adjust the CPU's clock speed based on the system's workload and power state.

A CPU with a lower base frequency may generate less heat under normal operating conditions, enabling it to boost some cores to higher frequencies while remaining within its thermal limits. This lower base frequency results in better performance than a CPU with a higher base frequency, which may not be able to sustain its boost frequency for long periods due to thermal throttling. However, this is mostly only relevant if your system's cooling solution can only partially dissipate the heat produced by all cores being fully boosted.

The 5700U CPU's fastest supported DDR memory type is DDR4, with a max stock speed of 3200 MHz.

The 1255U CPU's fastest supported DDR memory type is DDR5, with a max stock speed of 4800 MHz.

You can exceed these stock speeds officially supported by CPUs when overclocking memory, such as with an XMP profile. Motherboard specifications will indicate their supported overclocked-memory speeds. To be able to overclock DDR memory, your motherboard chipset needs to support memory overclocking.

Faster PC memory can improve game and professional tool performance by reducing the time it takes to perform calculations and data operations.

We've experienced that using the quickest RAM may not have as much of an impact as upgrading your CPU and graphics card or adding more RAM.

Learn more about DDR in DDR4 vs. DDR5? Which You Should Buy.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U has an L3 cache capacity of 8 MB.

The Intel Core i7-1255U has an L3 cache capacity of 12 MB.

A CPU's cache is a small amount of memory, close to the CPU cores, containing recently used data. An L3 cache capacity of at least 20 MB is ideal for games and professional tool performance.

Games and professional tool performance can improve as cache size increases, as it can reduce delays when retrieving commonly used assets from memory. While nearly any task will use a CPU's cache, our research indicates that a large cache becomes less impactful for general PC usage, such as browsing webpages.

Remember that cache sizes often increase with core counts, so if you want to increase your L3 cache, you may need to get a CPU with more cores.

The 5700U does not support overclocking.

The 1255U does not support overclocking.

While CPU overclocking is primarily relevant to desktop CPUs, some newer mobile CPUs also claim overclocking support. Overclocking a laptop CPU will be pretty limited, as it is often difficult to improve cooling aside from using a cooling pad.

Overclocking is mainly relevant for PC gamers who want to maximize their game framerates. CPU overclocking increases frequencies past their default limits. Excellent heat dissipation via fans or another solution is required to maintain system stability while overclocking. While we felt a sense of excitement and anticipation when we pushed the limits of our CPU's performance, it's essential to remember that overclocking comes with the risk of damaging your system components or voiding warranties.

Professional tools can benefit from overclocked frequencies. However, overclocking may introduce some possibility of system instability, which may be less acceptable in business scenarios. We've found out the hard way that losing work due to system instability is a pain.

Find laptops with the Ryzen 7 5700U on Amazon (affiliate link) or the Core i7-1255U on Amazon (affiliate link).

Find laptops with the Ryzen 7 5700U at Best Buy or the Core i7-1255U at Best Buy.

Find laptops with the Ryzen 7 5700U at Newegg or the Core i7-1255U at Newegg.

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