AMD Ryzen 5 230 vs Intel Core i7-14701TE Comparison

The Intel Core i7-14701TE and AMD Ryzen 5 230 are both 78th-percentile parts, meaning they sit in the upper tier of all CPUs, but they achieve that status through very different designs. The Intel chip is a desktop Raptor Lake part with 8 cores and 16 threads, while the AMD is a mobile Hawk Point chip with 6 cores and 12 threads. Looking at the head-to-head benchmark data, the AMD Ryzen 5 230 wins 12 of the 17 comparisons, but the Intel chip’s victories are often by larger margins, making the choice between them heavily workload-dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive Intel wins come in specialized compute tasks. In PassMark’s find prime numbers test, the i7-14701TE scores 143 versus the Ryzen 5 230’s 66, a massive 116.7% advantage. Similarly, in PassMark physics, Intel leads 1860 to 958, a 94.2% gap. These are not close contests; the Intel part is more than twice as fast in prime number finding and nearly double in physics simulation. Floating point math also favors Intel decisively: 50219 against 38993, a 28.8% lead. These three wins show that the i7-14701TE has a significant edge in heavy, repetitive mathematical workloads.

On the multi-core front, the Intel chip wins PassMark multithread with 20042 versus 19411, a 3.3% margin, and data compression with 220520 versus 218588, a slim 0.9% lead. These are modest wins, suggesting that in broadly parallel tasks, the two chips are close, but Intel holds a slight edge. However, the AMD chip wins the Cinebench suite outright. In Cinebench R23 multicore, the Ryzen 5 230 scores 17857 against Intel’s 17035, a 4.6% advantage. The same 4.6% delta repeats in Cinebench R20 multicore (7499 vs 7154) and Cinebench R15 multicore (1799 vs 1716). This is a consistent pattern: AMD wins every Cinebench multi-core test by the same margin.

Single-core performance is where AMD asserts clear dominance. In PassMark single-thread, the Ryzen 5 230 scores 3558 versus Intel’s 2637, a 25.9% lead. Cinebench R23 single-core shows AMD ahead 2521 to 2405, a 4.6% delta, and Cinebench R15 single-core shows 253 to 242, a 4.3% gap. The PassMark single-thread gap is far larger than the Cinebench gap, indicating AMD’s advantage is particularly strong in certain lightweight workloads. AMD also wins data encryption (13280 vs 11699, an 11.9% lead), extended instructions (15618 vs 14354, 8.1% lead), random string sorting (26019 vs 22760, 12.5% lead), and integer math (67257 vs 65792, a 2.2% edge). The picture is clear: AMD wins the majority of tests, especially those that rely on single-thread speed and modern instruction efficiency, while Intel wins a smaller set of very specific, math-heavy tasks by large margins.

Architecture Differences

The two CPUs are built on fundamentally different foundations. The Intel Core i7-14701TE uses the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process from Intel, with a die size of 257 mm². The AMD Ryzen 5 230 uses the Zen 4 architecture on a 4 nm process from TSMC, with a die size of 178 mm² and 25,000 million transistors. The Intel chip has 8 cores and 16 threads, while the AMD has 6 cores and 12 threads. Intel’s cache hierarchy is larger: 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 33 MB shared L3. AMD’s is 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 16 MB shared L3. This means Intel has more than double the L3 cache.

The clock speeds tell a different story. Intel has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. AMD has a higher base clock of 3.50 GHz but a lower boost of 4.90 GHz. The Intel chip is rated at 45 W TDP, while the AMD is rated at 28 W TDP, making the AMD part significantly more power-efficient on paper. Intel supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, while AMD supports only DDR5. Both are dual-channel, but AMD lists a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, while Intel does not specify one. Intel supports ECC memory; AMD does not. Intel’s PCIe is Gen 5 with 16 lanes, while AMD’s is Gen 4 with 20 lanes. Intel uses UHD Graphics 770 integrated graphics, while AMD uses Radeon 760M. AMD’s socket is FP8, indicating a mobile design, while Intel uses Socket 1700. Intel launched on 2024-06-30, AMD on 2025-01-05.

The Verdict

From the data, the AMD Ryzen 5 230 is the better all-around performer. It wins 12 of 17 head-to-head tests, including every Cinebench multi-core and single-core benchmark, and it delivers a 25.9% lead in PassMark single-thread performance. If you are doing general productivity, content creation, or anything that benefits from modern single-thread speed, the Ryzen 5 230 is the clear choice. It also does this at a lower TDP of 28 W versus 45 W, making it more suitable for compact or power-sensitive builds. The Intel i7-14701TE is not without merit, though. Its wins in find prime numbers (116.7% ahead), physics (94.2% ahead), and floating point math (28.8% ahead) suggest it has a unique strength in scientific computing, simulation, and other heavy numerical tasks. If your workload is specifically math-intensive, the Intel chip is dramatically faster.

However, the Intel chip’s overall average benchmark score is 26013, slightly above AMD’s 25782, but this is within a rounding error. The AMD chip’s nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-11700K, which is 0.1% behind, while the Intel chip’s nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340, which is 0.1% ahead. Both chips are effectively tied in overall performance, but the distribution of wins favors AMD for most users. The verdict is simple: buy the AMD Ryzen 5 230 for general use and single-threaded performance, and buy the Intel Core i7-14701TE only if your specific applications are dominated by the mathematical workloads where it excels.

Specification Differences

• Cores: Intel has 8, AMD has 6.
• Threads: Intel has 16, AMD has 12.
• Base Clock: Intel 2.10 GHz, AMD 3.50 GHz.
• Boost Clock: Intel 5.20 GHz, AMD 4.90 GHz.
• TDP: Intel 45 W, AMD 28 W.
• Socket: Intel Socket 1700, AMD Socket FP8.
• Architecture: Intel Raptor Lake, AMD Zen 4.
• Process Node: Intel 10 nm, AMD 4 nm.
• Foundry: Intel, TSMC.
• Transistors: Intel not specified, AMD 25,000 million.
• Die Size: Intel 257 mm², AMD 178 mm².
• L1 Cache: Intel 80 KB per core, AMD 64 KB per core.
• L2 Cache: Intel 2 MB per core, AMD 1 MB per core.
• L3 Cache: Intel 33 MB shared, AMD 16 MB shared.
• Memory Support: Intel DDR4 and DDR5, AMD DDR5 only.
• Memory Bandwidth: Intel not specified, AMD 89.6 GB/s.
• ECC Memory: Intel true, AMD false.
• PCIe: Intel Gen 5, 16 Lanes, AMD Gen 4, 20 Lanes.
• Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 770, AMD Radeon 760M.
• Market Segment: Intel Desktop, AMD Mobile.
• Release Date: Intel 2024-06-30, AMD 2025-01-05.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU has better single-core performance?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 230 wins all single-core benchmarks. It leads by 25.9% in PassMark single-thread (3558 vs 2637) and by 4.6% in Cinebench R23 single-core (2521 vs 2405).

Q: Is the Intel chip better for multi-threaded workloads?

A: It depends on the test. Intel wins PassMark multithread by 3.3% (20042 vs 19411), but AMD wins all Cinebench multi-core tests by 4.6% (e.g., R23: 17857 vs 17035).

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two?

A: The largest gap is in PassMark find prime numbers, where Intel scores 143 versus AMD’s 66, a 116.7% advantage for Intel. The second largest is PassMark physics, where Intel leads by 94.2% (1860 vs 958).

Q: Which CPU has more cache?

A: Intel has more cache at every level. It has 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 33 MB shared L3. AMD has 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 16 MB shared L3.

Q: Which CPU supports ECC memory?

A: Only the Intel Core i7-14701TE supports ECC memory. The AMD Ryzen 5 230 does not list ECC support.

Q: Which CPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The Intel Core i7-14701TE has a higher boost clock at 5.20 GHz, compared to the AMD Ryzen 5 230’s 4.90 GHz. However, the AMD chip has a higher base clock at 3.50 GHz versus Intel’s 2.10 GHz.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 230 wins in most everyday and professional scenarios. It takes all Cinebench versions, both multi-core and single-core, meaning it is better for rendering, video encoding, and general CPU-intensive tasks that use those benchmarks as a proxy. It also wins in data encryption, extended instructions, random string sorting, integer math, and PassMark single-thread, making it the superior choice for office work, web browsing, programming, and any application that responds to high IPC and modern instruction sets. Its lower TDP of 28 W also makes it a better fit for thin-and-light laptops or mini PCs where heat and power are constraints.

The Intel Core i7-14701TE wins a narrower but very specific set of workloads. Its 116.7% lead in find prime numbers and 94.2% lead in physics point to a strong advantage in mathematical computation, scientific simulation, and financial modeling. The 28.8% lead in floating point math reinforces this, making it the go-to for number-crunching applications that are not well-threaded but rely on raw FPU throughput. It also wins PassMark multithread and data compression, so it has a slight edge in file archiving and some parallel workloads. If you are building a desktop workstation for scientific research, the Intel chip’s specialized wins make it worth considering despite losing the overall benchmark count. For everything else, the AMD Ryzen 5 230 is the data-backed winner.