AMD Ryzen 5 4500U vs Intel Core i5-8300H Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 5 4500U and Intel Core i5-8300H sit at nearly the same position in the database, with average benchmark scores of 2035 and 2005 respectively, and both land in the 45th percentile against all recorded CPUs. That surface-level parity hides a lopsided head-to-head: the Ryzen 5 4500U wins three of the four direct benchmark comparisons, and it does so while drawing a fraction of the power. The Intel chip's only victory, a 5.2 percent edge in Cinebench R23 multi-core, comes with a 45 W TDP against the Ryzen's 15 W. The recorded data makes this one of the clearer matchups in the mobile segment.

The Verdict

Pick the Ryzen 5 4500U in almost every scenario the database covers. It wins single-core performance decisively in every shared test, holds the lead in older multi-core workloads, and its one multi-core loss in Cinebench R23 is small at 5.2 percent. When that deficit is weighed against a TDP of 15 W versus 45 W, the efficiency story favors AMD by a wide margin.

The Core i5-8300H makes sense only where its specific traits matter. It has 8 threads through SMT against the Ryzen's 6 threads on 6 cores, which is the likely source of its R23 multi-core win, so heavily threaded rendering workloads run for sustained periods are its one strong case. It is also end-of-life, while the Ryzen 5 4500U remains listed as active in the database, which matters for platform longevity. Buyers choosing strictly on the recorded numbers should default to the AMD chip.

Architecture Differences

These CPUs come from different eras and different design philosophies. The Ryzen 5 4500U is built on TSMC's 7 nm process using AMD's Zen 2 architecture under the Renoir codename, packing 9,800 million transistors onto a 156 mm² die. The Core i5-8300H uses Intel's own 14 nm process with the Coffee Lake-H design on a 126 mm² die. The node gap is the single biggest reason for the efficiency difference recorded in the TDP figures.

Core topology diverges sharply. AMD went with 6 cores and 6 threads, no SMT. Intel went with 4 cores and 8 threads. Base clocks are identical at 2.30 GHz, and boost clocks are close, 4.00 GHz for AMD against 3.90 GHz for Intel. Cache is split: AMD gives each core 512 KB of L2 with 8 MB of shared L3, while Intel pairs 256 KB of L2 per core with a larger 12 MB shared L3.

Memory and I/O also differ. The Ryzen supports DDR4 and LPDDR4 on a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth; the Intel chip lists DDR4 support only. The Ryzen offers PCIe Gen 3 with 12 CPU lanes, while the database records no PCIe detail for the i5-8300H. Both ship with integrated graphics, Radeon Graphics 384SP for AMD and UHD 630 for Intel, and neither supports ECC or an unlocked multiplier. Sockets are BGA-style on both, AMD Socket FP6 and Intel BGA 1440, so neither is user-replaceable in the usual sense.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU is faster overall?

A: The Ryzen 5 4500U. It has the higher average benchmark score, 2035 versus 2005, and it wins three of the four head-to-head tests, including single-core wins of 97.7 percent in Cinebench R15 and 30.8 percent in Cinebench R23.

Q: Does the Intel chip win anything?

A: Yes, one test. The i5-8300H scores 6245 in Cinebench R23 multi-core against 5920 for the Ryzen, a 5.2 percent advantage. Its 8 threads versus the Ryzen's 6 likely explain it, though it does so at triple the TDP.

Q: How do they compare in efficiency?

A: The Ryzen is rated at 15 W TDP and the Intel at 45 W. Given the near-identical average scores, the data indicates the AMD part delivers essentially the same performance envelope at a third of the power rating, thanks in large part to its 7 nm node against Intel's 14 nm.

Q: Are they in the same performance class?

A: Yes. Both sit in the 45th percentile versus all CPUs in the database. The Ryzen's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon E-2124G (avg score 2034) and Core i7-7700T (2039), while the i5-8300H tracks with the Xeon D-1712TR (2004) and Ryzen 7 2800H (2002).

Q: Which is newer and still available?

A: The Ryzen 5 4500U launched January 5, 2020 and is listed as active. The Core i5-8300H launched April 1, 2018 and is marked end-of-life.

Q: Which has better memory support?

A: The Ryzen. It supports both DDR4 and LPDDR4 across a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth, whereas the Intel part lists DDR4 only with no recorded bandwidth figure.

Specification Differences

• Cores/threads: Ryzen has 6 cores and 6 threads; Intel has 4 cores and 8 threads.
• Base/boost clock: Both start at 2.30 GHz; AMD boosts to 4.00 GHz, Intel to 3.90 GHz.
• TDP: 15 W for AMD, 45 W for Intel.
• Process node: 7 nm (TSMC) for AMD, 14 nm (Intel) for Intel.
• Cache: AMD pairs 512 KB L2 per core with 8 MB L3; Intel pairs 256 KB L2 per core with 12 MB L3.
• Memory: AMD supports DDR4 and LPDDR4 with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth on a dual-channel bus; Intel lists DDR4 only.
• PCIe: AMD records PCIe Gen 3 with 12 CPU lanes; no PCIe data is recorded for Intel.
• Graphics: Radeon Graphics 384SP versus UHD 630.
• Transistors and die size: AMD lists 9,800 million transistors on 156 mm²; Intel lists no transistor count with a 126 mm² die.
• Launch and status: AMD launched January 5, 2020, active; Intel launched April 1, 2018, end-of-life.
• Socket: AMD Socket FP6 versus Intel BGA 1440.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single-core results are not close. In Cinebench R15 single-core, the Ryzen 5 4500U scores 174 against 88, a 97.7 percent lead that ranks among the largest gaps the database records between such similarly rated chips. Cinebench R23 single-core tells the same story with a smaller margin: 1152 versus 881, a 30.8 percent AMD win. Any workload that leans on one fast thread, browsers, office applications, most games, favors the Ryzen emphatically.

Multi-core splits by test generation. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Ryzen scores 892 against 629, a 41.8 percent win driven by its two extra physical cores. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the result flips: Intel scores 6245 against 5920, a 5.2 percent advantage, most plausibly because R23's longer run lets the i5-8300H's 45 W budget and 8 threads sustain throughput the 15 W Ryzen cannot match over time.

Context from the wider database reinforces the picture. The Ryzen 5 4500U's average score of 2035 sits within rounding distance of the Intel Core i7-3960X (2037) and AMD Opteron 6386 SE (2038), while the i5-8300H's 2005 aligns with the Intel Core i5-8400H (2003) and AMD Ryzen 7 2800H (2002). Both chips occupy the same tier overall, but the distribution of wins favors AMD.

Where Each One Wins

Ryzen 5 4500U territory: Single-threaded and lightly threaded work, where its 30.8 to 97.7 percent single-core leads dominate. Shorter burst-style multi-core tasks, where its R15 multi-core win of 41.8 percent applies. Any efficiency-sensitive build: 15 W TDP, 7 nm silicon, and LPDDR4 support make it the pick for thin machines where the 45 W Intel part cannot fit thermally. Its active production status also favors anyone specifying hardware for ongoing deployments.

Core i5-8300H territory: Sustained, heavily threaded rendering and encoding runs that mirror Cinebench R23 conditions, where its 8 threads deliver a 5.2 percent edge and its 45 W budget allows that performance to hold. Its larger 12 MB L3 cache may also help workloads with big working sets, though the database only permits qualitative mention there. Beyond that narrow band, the recorded results give it little ground to stand on: fewer cores, lower single-core scores, an older node, and end-of-life status.

The bottom line from the data: identical base clocks, near-identical average scores, but the Ryzen 5 4500U converts a 15 W envelope into three wins out of four tests. The i5-8300H's single multi-core victory is real but narrow, and it costs triple the power to achieve.