AMD Ryzen 5 5600H vs. Intel Core i5 12th generation: Which is better for gaming laptops in 2023?

An AMD Ryzen and Intel Core chip (Image via Sportskeeda)
An AMD Ryzen and Intel Core chip (Image via Sportskeeda)

While purchasing a mid-range gaming laptop, users will have to choose between the AMD Ryzen 5 5600H and the Intel Core i5 12th generation chips. Intel has introduced multiple mobile processors in this lineup; however, the most popular ones for gaming include the Core i5 12450H, 12500H, 12600H, 12450HX, and 12600HX.

Choosing the best chipset among these options can be difficult for most gamers. This is because both AMD 5 5600H and Intel 12th-gen processors are not that dissimilar in many aspects. Moreover, they come with multiple other factors that many users might overlook in their search for a portable gaming rig. Let's go over the differences between the two companies' offerings and figure out whether the i5 12th gen or Ryzen 5 5600H is best for gamers.


Which between Ryzen 5 5600H and Core i5 12th gen is the best choice for laptop gamers?

Before delving into the performance details, check out the specs of the chips from either company.

Ryzen 5 5600H

The Ryzen 5 5600H is a Zen 3-based mobile chip from the American fabless chip maker, AMD. The processor comes with a seven-core Radeon iGPU as well. Like most other Ryzen 5 chips, it packs six cores and twelve threads. The chip has a base clock of 3.3 GHz that can be boosted up to 4.2 GHz. It has a TDP of 45W, much higher than most other laptop processors.

The chip packs PCIe Gen 3 connectivity and supports LPDDR4 memory up to 4,266 MT/s.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600H
ArchitectureZen 3
Core count6
Thread count12
Base clock3.3 GHz
Boost clock

4.2 GHz
Cache (L2+L3)19 MB
TDP45W

Buy an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H-powered laptop from Amazon (for the US and internationally).


Core i5 12th gen chips

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The Core i5 12th-gen chips are based on the improved Alder Lake architecture. They utilize a hybrid core design that packs multiple performance 'P' and efficient 'E' cores into one. Thus, Intel Core i5 chips offer more than six cores.

The Core i5 12450H and the 12450HX come with four performance 'P' cores and four efficient 'E' cores to make up a total of eight cores. These offerings pack twelve threads. In comparison, the 12500H, 12600H, and 12600HX pack four performance 'P' cores and twelve efficient 'E' cores. These chips come with sixteen threads. All of these options present variable power limits and operating frequencies. The details are listed below.

Core i5 12450HCore i5 12450HXCore i5 12500HCore i5 12600HCore i5 12600HX
Architecture12th gen "Alder Lake"12th gen "Alder Lake"12th gen "Alder Lake"12th gen "Alder Lake"12th gen "Alder Lake"
P-core count4 4444
E-core count44888
Thread count1212161616
P-core Turbo clock
4.4 GHz4.4 GHz4.5 GHz4.5 GHz4.6 GHz
E-core Turbo clock3.3 GHz3.1 GHz3.3 GHz3.3 GHz3.3 GHz
Cache (L2+L3)12 MB18 MB18 MB18 MB18 MB
Base power35W45W35W35W45W
Turbo power95W157W95W95W157W

Buy a Core i5 12600H-powered laptop from Amazon (for the US and internationally).


Performance metrics

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In terms of performance, Intel Alder Lake registered a clear win over Zen 3 in both single-core and multi-core workloads. Thus, even the weakest Core i5 chip is way ahead of the Ryzen 5 5600H. Below is a chart with single-core and multi-core benchmark results for all of these processors.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600HIntel Core i5 12450HIntel Core i5 12450HXIntel Core i5 12500HIntel Core i5 12600HIntel Core i5 12600HX
Cinebench R23 single-core1,3701,7491,7761,7492,0131,880
Cinebench R23 multi-core10,12317,08517,26517,08519,65712,289
Geekbench 5 single-core1,3761,6501,6791,6741,7461,765
Geekbench 5 multi-core5,96777868,6839,78010,1668,167

As evident from the chart, the Ryzen 5 5600H is much slower than the Intel gen-12 offerings. Gaming is a single-core workload. In this metric, the Core i5 chips are about 30 to 50% faster than the AMD product depending on the exact SKU.

Thus, Intel Core chips come off as a no-brainer in this aspect. In multi-core performance, the higher core count of the i5 chips makes the Ryzen 5 chips look like last-gen processors. Thus, users who want to use their rig as a workstation should opt for the Core i5 option.


Conclusion

The Core i5 laptop chips are a massive step up from the 5600H. Thus, while purchasing a gaming or productivity laptop, gamers should opt for the former instead of what the Red Camp has to offer.

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