AMD PRO A12-8870E vs Intel Core i5-5300U Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data paints a remarkably consistent picture for this pairing. Across every single test recorded in the database, the AMD PRO A12-8870E finishes ahead of the Intel Core i5-5300U. There are no mixed results here, no trade-offs where one chip takes the lead in one workload and falls behind in another. The AMD part wins all five head-to-head comparisons, and the margin is nearly identical in each one.

Starting with Cinebench R15 multi-core, the AMD PRO A12-8870E scores 257 against 230 for the Intel Core i5-5300U. That is a 10.5% advantage for AMD. The pattern holds in Cinebench R20 multi-core, where AMD posts 1074 versus Intel's 960, a 10.6% lead. The single-core results tell the same story: in Cinebench R20 single-core, AMD scores 151 against Intel's 135, again a 10.6% gap. Cinebench R23 multi-core shows AMD at 2558 versus Intel at 2287, another 10.6% margin. Finally, Cinebench R23 single-core gives AMD 361 against Intel's 322, a 10.8% lead, the largest relative gap of any test in the set.

The consistency of these deltas is striking. The AMD PRO A12-8870E beats the Intel Core i5-5300U by roughly 10 to 11 percent across rendering workloads that stress both multi-core throughput and single-thread performance. That consistency suggests a fundamental per-clock or per-core advantage rather than a workload-specific quirk. The AMD chip does not merely win in one narrow scenario; it wins everywhere the database has recorded a comparison.

It is worth noting where these two chips sit relative to the broader field. The Intel Core i5-5300U lands in the 24th percentile of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 895. The AMD PRO A12-8870E sits just one point lower in percentile ranking, at the 23rd percentile, with an average score of 880. Despite losing every head-to-head test to AMD, the Intel part actually has a slightly higher average benchmark score in the broader database. That is because the Intel chip has additional Geekbench results recorded, while the AMD part only has Cinebench entries. The head-to-head comparisons, however, are unambiguous: AMD wins all five recorded tests.

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-5300U include the Intel Pentium G4600T and the AMD PRO A10-8770E, both with an average score of 895 and a 0% delta, putting them in a dead heat. The AMD Ryzen 3 3200U trails by a hair at 893, a 0.2% gap, and the Intel Core i3-6100 sits at 888, a 0.7% difference. For the AMD PRO A12-8870E, the closest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 3 2300U at 880 with a 0% delta, followed by the Intel Core i3-1000NG4 and AMD Phenom II X6 1035T, both at 881 with a 0.1% gap, and the AMD Athlon Silver 7120U at 881 with a 0.2% difference. These rival clusters show that both chips are operating in a similar performance tier, even though the head-to-head results favor AMD.

Where Each One Wins

Given that the AMD PRO A12-8870E wins every recorded head-to-head benchmark, the use-case split is straightforward. AMD takes the category for multi-threaded rendering workloads. In Cinebench R15, R20, and R23 multi-core tests, the AMD part leads by roughly 10.6% each time. That spans three different versions of the same rendering engine, which means the advantage is durable across software generations. Users running CPU-based rendering tasks, video encoding, or other heavily threaded workloads would see a consistent benefit from the AMD part based on these results.

AMD also wins the single-threaded category. The Cinebench R20 single-core test shows AMD ahead by 10.6%, and Cinebench R23 single-core shows a 10.8% lead. This is notable because the Intel Core i5-5300U is a dual-core part with Hyper-Threading, while the AMD PRO A12-8870E is a true quad-core design. Yet even when only one core is being exercised, the AMD chip still comes out ahead. That means applications that rely on single-thread performance, such as older games or lightly threaded productivity tools, would also favor the AMD part according to the recorded data.

There is no benchmark category in the database where the Intel Core i5-5300U wins. The wins column for Intel is zero, and the wins column for AMD is five. The Intel part does have a slightly higher average benchmark score overall, 895 versus 880, but that figure is inflated by the inclusion of Geekbench results that have no direct AMD counterpart in the head-to-head set. In the tests where both chips were measured under identical conditions, AMD wins every time.

The Intel Core i5-5300U does have one clear advantage that is not captured in the rendering benchmarks: power consumption. Its TDP is 15 watts, compared to 35 watts for the AMD PRO A12-8870E. That makes the Intel part a better fit for fanless or low-power mobile designs, as it is a mobile-market segment chip. The AMD part, by contrast, is a desktop-market segment chip with more than double the thermal envelope. The data does not include battery-life or sustained-load tests, so the real-world impact of that TDP gap is not quantified here, but the specification difference is substantial.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the recorded benchmark data, the AMD PRO A12-8870E is the faster processor. It wins every head-to-head test, with margins ranging from 10.5% to 10.8%. A user choosing between these two purely on performance, as measured by Cinebench, should pick the AMD part without hesitation. It delivers a consistent double-digit advantage in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads.

That said, the choice is not purely about speed. The Intel Core i5-5300U is a mobile chip with a 15-watt TDP, designed for laptops and compact systems. The AMD PRO A12-8870E is a desktop chip with a 35-watt TDP. If the target system is a thin-and-light notebook, the Intel part is the only realistic option, as it is built for the Intel BGA 1168 socket and the mobile market segment. If the target system is a desktop with an AMD Socket AM4 motherboard, the AMD part is the obvious choice, both for its performance lead and its active production status.

The Intel Core i5-5300U is end-of-life, while the AMD PRO A12-8870E remains active in production. That matters for system builders who need long-term availability or replacement parts. The AMD chip also supports DDR4 memory and PCIe Gen 3, while the Intel part is limited to DDR3 and PCIe Gen 2. The AMD part has a higher memory bandwidth rating of 38.4 GB/s versus 25.6 GB/s for Intel. These platform-level differences reinforce the AMD recommendation for new desktop builds.

The AMD PRO A12-8870E also carries a larger transistor count, 3,100 million versus 1,300 million for the Intel part, and a larger die size, 250 mm² versus 82 mm². It is built on a 28 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the Intel chip uses Intel's 14 nm process. The Intel chip is smaller and more power-efficient, but the AMD chip has more physical resources to draw upon.

For buyers who prioritize raw performance in rendering workloads, the AMD PRO A12-8870E is the clear winner. For buyers who need a low-power mobile processor, the Intel Core i5-5300U is the only one of the two that fits that role, and its 15-watt TDP is a decisive advantage in that context. The launch MSRP of the Intel Core i5-5300U was $315. The AMD part has no recorded launch MSRP.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins the most head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The AMD PRO A12-8870E wins all five recorded head-to-head tests against the Intel Core i5-5300U.

Q: How large is the AMD PRO A12-8870E's performance advantage?

A: The AMD part leads by 10.5% in Cinebench R15 multi-core, 10.6% in Cinebench R20 multi-core, 10.6% in Cinebench R20 single-core, 10.6% in Cinebench R23 multi-core, and 10.8% in Cinebench R23 single-core.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-5300U have any advantage in the database?

A: The Intel part has a slightly higher average benchmark score overall, 895 versus 880, and it carries a much lower TDP of 15 watts compared to 35 watts for the AMD part. It also has a higher percentile ranking at 24 versus 23.

Q: What memory types do these two processors support?

A: The Intel Core i5-5300U supports DDR3 with 25.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The AMD PRO A12-8870E supports DDR4 with 38.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Q: Is the AMD PRO A12-8870E still in production?

A: Yes, the AMD PRO A12-8870E has an active production status. The Intel Core i5-5300U is listed as end-of-life.

Q: What sockets do these processors use?

A: The Intel Core i5-5300U uses Intel BGA 1168, while the AMD PRO A12-8870E uses AMD Socket AM4.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The Intel Core i5-5300U is built on Broadwell, specifically Broadwell-U, using a 14 nm process at Intel's foundry. It has 2 cores and 4 threads, with a base clock of 2.30 GHz and a boost clock of 2.90 GHz. The AMD PRO A12-8870E uses the Excavator architecture, codenamed Carrizo, built on a 28 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 4 cores and 4 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 3.70 GHz. The AMD part has more cores and higher clock speeds, which helps explain its consistent benchmark lead.

The transistor counts differ substantially. The Intel chip packs 1,300 million transistors into an 82 mm² die. The AMD chip has 3,100 million transistors across a 250 mm² die. The AMD die is roughly three times larger, and it uses a much older and less dense manufacturing process. The Intel chip is significantly smaller and more power-efficient, which aligns with its 15-watt TDP and mobile market segment. The AMD part draws 35 watts and targets desktop systems.

Cache configurations also differ. The Intel Core i5-5300U has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 3 MB of shared L3 cache. The AMD PRO A12-8870E has 320 KB of L1 cache total and 2 MB of L2 cache, with no L3 cache listed. The Intel part benefits from a shared L3 pool, while the AMD part relies on its larger per-core L1 allocation and higher clocks.

Memory support is another clear differentiator. The Intel chip uses DDR3 in a dual-channel configuration with 25.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD chip uses DDR4 in dual-channel with 38.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD platform offers a 50% higher theoretical memory bandwidth, which can benefit integrated graphics and memory-sensitive workloads. Neither chip supports ECC memory.

PCIe capabilities differ as well. The Intel Core i5-5300U offers PCIe Gen 2 with 12 lanes from the CPU. The AMD PRO A12-8870E offers PCIe Gen 3, though the lane count is not specified in the database. The AMD part has the newer PCIe standard, which provides higher per-lane bandwidth for expansion cards and storage.

The integrated graphics also differ. The Intel part includes Intel HD 5500, while the AMD part includes Radeon R7. The database does not include graphics benchmarks for either chip, so a performance comparison of the iGPUs cannot be made from this data. The AMD part does have a higher memory bandwidth figure, which generally benefits integrated graphics performance, but no direct measurements are available.

The market segments are distinct: the Intel Core i5-5300U is a mobile chip, while the AMD PRO A12-8870E is a desktop chip. The Intel part is end-of-life, with a release date of February 2015 and a launch MSRP of $315. The AMD part has no recorded release date or launch MSRP, and it remains active in production. The Intel chip is a locked multiplier part with part number SR23X, and the AMD chip is also locked, with part number AD887BAHM44AB.

These architecture differences explain the benchmark results. The AMD part has more cores, higher clocks, newer memory support, and a larger silicon budget. The Intel part counters with a more advanced process node, lower power draw, and a compact die. In pure computational throughput, as measured by Cinebench, the AMD PRO A12-8870E comes out ahead in every test. In efficiency and mobility, the Intel Core i5-5300U holds the edge.