AMD Ryzen 5 3600X vs Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Comparison

The Verdict

The data splits this comparison cleanly along workload lines. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X wins 11 of the 17 head-to-head benchmarks, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U takes 6. The AMD chip’s victories are often decisive: it leads by 59.5% in Cinebench R23 multi-core and by 69.2% in PassMark’s find prime numbers test. By contrast, Intel’s wins are concentrated in single-thread and math-heavy workloads, with its best margin being 21.4% in PassMark single-thread performance. For sustained multi-core rendering, data compression, and encryption, the Ryzen 5 3600X is the clear pick. For single-thread responsiveness and floating-point or integer math throughput, the Core Ultra 7 155U has the edge. The Ryzen also posts a higher average benchmark score: 21992 versus 21174. Both chips sit at the 75th percentile among all CPUs in the database, so they belong to the same overall performance tier, but they reach that tier through very different strengths.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from different design philosophies. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X is a desktop part built on the Zen 2 architecture with the Matisse codename. It uses a 7 nm process from TSMC and packs 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. It has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its thermal design power is 95 watts. The cache layout includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The chip uses PCIe Gen 4 and has no integrated graphics. It is unlocked for overclocking and fits the AMD Socket AM4.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155U is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It also uses a 7 nm node, but Intel is the foundry. It has 12 cores and 14 threads, a base clock of 1700.00 MHz, and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its thermal design power is only 15 watts, which explains its mobile positioning. The cache structure is different: 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3. It supports DDR5 memory, with capacity depending on the motherboard, over a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. It uses PCIe Gen 4 with 12 lanes from the CPU only. Unlike the AMD part, it includes integrated graphics: Arc Xe-LPG with 64 execution units. It is not overclockable and uses the Intel BGA 2049 socket. The Intel chip’s launch MSRP is $490.

The transistor count and die size for the Intel chip are not recorded in the database, so a direct density comparison is not possible. What the data does show is a clear divergence in design targets: the AMD part uses a larger power envelope and a bigger shared L3 cache to feed six full cores, while Intel spreads its 12 cores across a smaller power budget and relies on a faster boost clock and higher memory bandwidth. The Ryzen’s 32 MB of L3 versus Intel’s 12 MB is a substantial difference in cache capacity, and the AMD part’s 95-watt TDP versus Intel’s 15-watt TDP explains why the desktop chip can sustain heavier multi-core loads.

Where Each One Wins

The Ryzen 5 3600X dominates sustained multi-core workloads. It wins Cinebench R20 multi-core by 12.4%, Cinebench R23 multi-core by 59.5%, and Cinebench R15 multi-core by a slim 1.9% margin in Intel’s favor, which is the exception. The AMD chip also wins PassMark multithread by 10.8% and PassMark physics by 9.4%. In data compression, it leads by 26.6%, and in data encryption by 25.8%. Extended instruction throughput goes to AMD by 49.2%, and prime number finding by 69.2%. Random string sorting also favors AMD by 23.1%. These results point to a processor that handles rendering, compression, encryption, and scientific workloads with a strong multi-core advantage.

The Core Ultra 7 155U wins in single-thread and math throughput. It takes PassMark single-thread by 21.4%, Cinebench R15 single-core by 8.2%, floating-point math by 27.1%, and integer math by 13.3%. These wins suggest that for lightly threaded tasks, interactive response, and math-heavy code that scales with vector or integer units, the Intel part is the better choice. However, its single-core wins in Cinebench R20 and R23 go the other way: AMD leads by 12.4% and 30.7% respectively. The Intel chip’s single-thread advantage is therefore not universal across all benchmark suites. The recorded data shows Intel winning the older Cinebench R15 single-core test but losing the newer R20 and R23 single-core tests by wide margins.

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in Cinebench R23 multi-core?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X scores 15430, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U scores 9674.5. That is a 59.5% lead for AMD.

Q: Does the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U beat the AMD chip in any benchmark?

A: Yes. Intel wins 6 of the 17 head-to-head tests, including PassMark single-thread by 21.4%, PassMark floating-point math by 27.1%, and PassMark integer math by 13.3%.

Q: What is the difference in average benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has an average benchmark score of 21992, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U has an average of 21174. Both are at the 75th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: How do the core and thread counts compare?

A: The AMD chip has 6 cores and 12 threads. The Intel chip has 12 cores and 14 threads. Despite having fewer cores, the AMD part wins the majority of multi-core benchmarks.

Q: Do both processors support the same memory type?

A: No. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X supports DDR4, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U supports DDR5, with capacity depending on the motherboard.

Q: Which chip has integrated graphics?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155U includes Arc Xe-LPG graphics with 64 execution units. The AMD Ryzen 5 3600X has no integrated graphics.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest margin in the entire comparison belongs to AMD in the Cinebench R23 multi-core test. The Ryzen 5 3600X scores 15430 against Intel’s 9674.5, a 59.5% advantage. That is a massive gap for a benchmark that stresses sustained multi-core performance. The same pattern appears in PassMark’s find prime numbers test, where AMD scores 110 versus Intel’s 65, a 69.2% lead. Extended instructions also go heavily to AMD: 14773 versus 9903, a 49.2% margin. Data compression favors AMD by 26.6% (224318 versus 177122), and data encryption by 25.8% (14255 versus 11333). Random string sorting goes to AMD by 23.1% (24343 versus 19767). In Cinebench R20 multi-core, AMD leads 6480 versus 5765, a 12.4% margin. PassMark multithread goes to AMD by 10.8% (18154 versus 16382), and PassMark physics by 9.4% (1186 versus 1084). Cinebench R20 single-core also favors AMD by 12.4% (914 versus 813), and Cinebench R23 single-core by 30.7% (2178 versus 1666).

Intel’s wins are narrower but still clear. The biggest is PassMark single-thread, where Intel scores 3372 against AMD’s 2649, a 21.4% lead. Floating-point math goes to Intel by 27.1% (40256 versus 29339), which is actually Intel’s largest percentage win in the whole set. Integer math favors Intel by 13.3% (57564 versus 49934). Cinebench R15 single-core goes to Intel by 8.2% (238.5 versus 219), and Cinebench R15 multi-core by just 1.9% (1585 versus 1555). Notably, Intel’s PassMark single-thread score is duplicated in the database as both "passmark_single_thread" and "passmark_singlethread", both showing 3372. The Ryzen also has a duplicated entry for the same test, with both entries at 2649.

The overall pattern is consistent: AMD wins the workloads that depend on sustained multi-core execution and cache-heavy operations, while Intel wins the workloads that reward high boost clocks and math throughput. The Ryzen’s 30.7% lead in Cinebench R23 single-core is particularly striking because it contradicts the expectation that the higher-clocked Intel part would dominate all single-thread tests. The data shows that benchmark generation matters: Intel wins the older R15 single-core test but loses the newer R20 and R23 single-core tests. In the end, the Ryzen 5 3600X is the stronger all-around performer in the database’s measurements, with 11 wins and a higher average score, while the Core Ultra 7 155U is the specialist for single-thread and math-heavy tasks.