AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS vs Intel Core i5-1235U Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS and Intel Core i5-1235U are two mobile processors that land in the same performance tier, yet they achieve parity through completely different strategies. The data shows a near-even split in benchmark victories, with the AMD chip taking 8 wins and the Intel chip taking 9. The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS holds a slight edge in average benchmark score at 16902 compared to 16770 for the Intel Core i5-1235U, and both sit at the 70th percentile of all CPUs. This is not a story of a clear winner, but rather a tale of two architectures that excel in different workloads, making the choice highly dependent on what the user prioritizes.

The Verdict

The benchmark data points to a nuanced decision. For users whose primary workloads involve Cinebench-style rendering tasks, the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS is the clear choice. It wins all six Cinebench R15, R20, and R23 tests, with a consistent 6.6% advantage in both single-core and multi-core scenarios. This suggests that for sustained CPU rendering, the AMD part's Zen 3+ architecture delivers more efficient processing per clock cycle.

Conversely, the Intel Core i5-1235U is the pick for general system responsiveness and math-heavy tasks. The data shows it wins the PassMark single-thread test with a score of 3151 versus 2873 for the AMD chip, an 8.8% difference. It also dominates in floating-point operations with a score of 43303 against 23091, a massive 46.7% lead. For users who prioritize everyday snappiness, spreadsheet calculations, or any workload that leverages heavy math, the Intel chip is better suited.

The overall average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with a difference of only 132 points (0.8%). This indicates that for a mixed workload, neither processor would feel substantially faster than the other. The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS is the specialist for rendering, while the Intel Core i5-1235U is the specialist for raw computational throughput and single-threaded performance. The choice should be dictated by the dominant use case, not by overall performance averages.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental difference lies in the core design philosophy. The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS is built on the Zen 3+ architecture (codenamed Rembrandt-R) and manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It features 4 cores and 8 threads, a configuration that prioritizes efficiency and raw throughput per core. In contrast, the Intel Core i5-1235U uses the Alder Lake architecture (codenamed Alder Lake-U) on Intel's 10 nm process, featuring 10 cores and 12 threads. This hybrid design combines performance and efficiency cores to handle a wider variety of tasks simultaneously.

Cache configurations also tell a story. The AMD chip has 64 KB of L1 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, with a shared 8 MB L3 cache. The Intel chip has a larger L1 cache at 80 KB per core and a substantially larger L2 cache at 1.25 MB per core, with a shared 12 MB L3 cache. This larger cache hierarchy on the Intel side likely contributes to its advantage in data-heavy tasks like integer math and random string sorting.

Memory support diverges as well. The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS supports only DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a memory bandwidth of 76.8 GB/s, and it includes ECC memory support. The Intel Core i5-1235U supports both DDR4 and DDR5, also on a dual-channel bus, but does not list a memory bandwidth figure and lacks ECC support. This makes the AMD chip more robust for mission-critical or data-integrity-sensitive applications.

The integrated graphics differ, with the AMD chip featuring a Radeon 660M and the Intel chip featuring Iris Xe 80EU. Both processors use the same PCIe configuration (Gen 4, 20 Lanes CPU only), but the AMD chip uses an AMD Socket FP7 while the Intel chip uses Intel BGA 1744. The TDP also differs significantly, with the AMD chip rated at 45 watts versus 15 watts for the Intel chip, a factor that will influence thermal design and battery life in portable devices.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Cinebench results are consistently in favor of the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the AMD chip scores 10418 against 9774 for Intel, a 6.6% advantage. The single-core R23 test shows the same 6.6% delta, with AMD scoring 1470 and Intel scoring 1379. This consistency extends to R20 and R15, where the AMD chip wins with the same 6.6% and 7.2% margins (in R15 single-core), respectively. This pattern suggests a fundamental architectural efficiency in the Zen 3+ core that translates across all rendering generations.

The Intel Core i5-1235U's biggest wins come in the PassMark math tests. The most dramatic is in PassMark floating-point math, where Intel scores 43303 against AMD's 23091, a 46.7% lead. Similarly, in integer math, Intel wins with 48553 against 40174, a 17.3% margin. The PassMark find prime numbers test is even more lopsided, with Intel scoring 954 against AMD's 31, a 96.8% difference. These results indicate that the Intel chip's hybrid core design is exceptionally good at parallel mathematical computations.

Another notable Intel win is in PassMark physics, with a score of 686 against 574, a 16.3% lead. The PassMark multithread test also goes to Intel (12923 versus 12243, a 5.3% lead), which is surprising given the AMD chip's Cinebench wins. The data suggests that Intel's 10-core, 12-thread configuration handles certain multithreaded workloads better than AMD's 4-core, 8-thread setup, even though AMD wins in the specific Cinebench rendering scenarios. The AMD chip does win the PassMark extended instructions test decisively, scoring 10887 against 8176, a 33.2% advantage.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The Intel Core i5-1235U has a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which is higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS's boost clock of 4.20 GHz.

Q: Does the AMD chip support error-correcting memory?

A: Yes, the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS supports ECC memory, while the Intel Core i5-1235U does not.

Q: In which benchmark does the Intel chip have its largest advantage?

A: The Intel Core i5-1235U's largest win is in the PassMark find prime numbers test, where it scores 954 versus 31, a 96.8% difference.

Q: How do the two chips compare in average overall benchmark score?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS has an average benchmark score of 16902, which is slightly higher than the Intel Core i5-1235U's average score of 16770.

Q: Which chip has more cores and threads?

A: The Intel Core i5-1235U has 10 cores and 12 threads, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS has 4 cores and 8 threads.

Q: Do both processors have the same PCIe configuration?

A: Yes, both the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS and the Intel Core i5-1235U support PCIe Gen 4 with 20 Lanes (CPU only).

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS is the winner for all Cinebench-based rendering workloads. Its consistent 6.6% lead across all Cinebench versions indicates that it is the superior choice for 3D rendering, video encoding, and other tasks that rely on sustained multi-core CPU performance. The 33.2% win in PassMark extended instructions also makes it a strong candidate for workloads that use SIMD instructions, such as certain scientific computing or image processing tasks. Its larger die size of 210 mm² and ECC memory support further suggest it is designed for more demanding, professional-level applications.

The Intel Core i5-1235U wins in almost every other PassMark category. Its dominance in floating-point math (46.7% lead) and integer math (17.3% lead) makes it the clear choice for engineering simulations, financial modeling, or any application that requires heavy arithmetic calculations. The 16.3% lead in physics and 10.3% lead in random string sorting also indicate strengths in specific algorithm-heavy workloads. The 8.8% lead in single-thread performance means that the Intel chip will feel faster in general desktop usage, where most applications are not fully multithreaded.

The Intel chip's wins in PassMark multithread (5.3% lead) and data encryption (3.2% lead) show that its hybrid architecture handles a broader range of parallel tasks more effectively. However, the AMD chip wins in data compression by 3.2%, showing it is better at that specific task. The split is clear: AMD for rendering and instruction-heavy tasks, Intel for math and general responsiveness.

Specification Differences

The most significant difference is in core count and architecture. The AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS has 4 cores and 8 threads based on Zen 3+ architecture, while the Intel Core i5-1235U has 10 cores and 12 threads based on Alder Lake architecture. The base clocks differ dramatically, with the AMD chip at 3.20 GHz and the Intel chip at 1300.00 MHz, though the boost clocks are closer at 4.20 GHz and 4.40 GHz, respectively.

The TDP is another major divergence, with the AMD chip rated at 45 watts and the Intel chip at 15 watts. The process nodes differ (6 nm for AMD, 10 nm for Intel), and the cache sizes are not the same: AMD has 8 MB L3 cache while Intel has 12 MB L3 cache. Memory support is different, with the AMD chip supporting only DDR5 and the Intel chip supporting both DDR4 and DDR5. The AMD chip includes ECC memory support and has a die size of 210 mm², while the Intel chip does not support ECC and has no listed die size. The integrated graphics differ (Radeon 660M versus Iris Xe 80EU), and the sockets are different (AMD Socket FP7 versus Intel BGA 1744).