AMD Ryzen 5 7520C vs Intel Core i5-8500T Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C and Intel Core i5-8500T are two processors from different eras and market segments, yet they land in a similar performance class. The data shows the Ryzen 5 7520C, a modern 6nm mobile chip, consistently outperforms the older 14nm desktop Intel part across every Cinebench test in the benchmark set. While the Intel chip offers more physical cores, the AMD chip's higher boost clocks and newer architecture deliver a decisive performance advantage in the tested workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has a higher multi-core performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C scores 7355 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which is 11.9% ahead of the Intel Core i5-8500T's 6571 points.

Q: How do their single-core scores compare in Cinebench R20?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C achieves 435 points in Cinebench R20 single-core, while the Intel Core i5-8500T scores 389 points, giving AMD an 11.8% lead.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for each CPU?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C has 4 cores and 8 threads, whereas the Intel Core i5-8500T has 6 cores and 6 threads.

Q: What is the difference in their L3 cache sizes?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C has 4 MB of shared L3 cache, while the Intel Core i5-8500T has a larger 9 MB shared L3 cache.

Q: Which processor has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C has a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, which is significantly higher than the Intel Core i5-8500T's 3.50 GHz boost clock.

Q: What are the process nodes for these two chips?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C is built on a 6 nm process by TSMC, while the Intel Core i5-8500T uses Intel's 14 nm process.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two processors is substantial, reflecting their different release dates and target platforms. The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C is built on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Mendocino, and is manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the Intel Core i5-8500T uses the older Coffee Lake architecture on a 14 nm process from Intel. This generational difference in manufacturing technology has major implications for power efficiency and performance density.

The core configurations tell a fascinating story. The Intel chip has 6 physical cores but only 6 threads, meaning it lacks Hyper-Threading. The AMD chip has only 4 physical cores but 8 threads thanks to Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT). This means the Intel processor has two additional physical cores, but the AMD processor can process two threads per core, potentially improving parallel workload efficiency. The cache layouts also differ: both have 64 KB of L1 cache per core, but the AMD chip has 512 KB of L2 per core versus 256 KB on the Intel side. However, the Intel chip compensates with a much larger 9 MB shared L3 cache compared to AMD's 4 MB shared L3.

Memory support is another key differentiator. The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C supports LPDDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, delivering a theoretical memory bandwidth of 88.0 GB/s. The Intel Core i5-8500T uses DDR4 memory, also dual-channel, but with a much lower bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. This gives the AMD part a massive bandwidth advantage that can be critical for certain workloads. The PCIe support also differs: the AMD chip offers Gen 3 with 4 lanes from the CPU, while the Intel chip provides Gen 3 with 16 lanes, giving the Intel desktop part more room for expansion.

The integrated graphics are also different, with the AMD chip featuring a Radeon 610M and the Intel chip using UHD 630. The market segments are clear from the data: the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C is a mobile processor (15W TDP) on AMD Socket FT6, while the Intel Core i5-8500T is a desktop part (35W TDP) on Intel Socket 1151. The production status also differs, with the AMD chip marked as Active and the Intel chip as End-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data shows a remarkably consistent pattern: the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C wins every single test in the comparison, with scores that are tightly clustered around 12% higher than the Intel part. This uniformity suggests a fundamental architectural advantage rather than a workload-specific edge.

In Cinebench R15, the AMD chip scores 741 points in multi-core versus 662 for the Intel, a delta of 11.9%. The single-core test shows a similar story with AMD at 104 points and Intel at 93 points, a margin of 11.8%. Moving to Cinebench R20, the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C posts 3089 points in multi-core against Intel's 2759 points, a 12% lead. The single-core R20 result is 435 for AMD versus 389 for Intel, again an 11.8% difference.

The most modern benchmark in the set, Cinebench R23, reinforces the trend. The AMD chip scores 7355 points in multi-core, which is 11.9% higher than the Intel chip's 6571 points. In single-core R23, the AMD processor achieves 1038 points versus 927 for Intel, a 12% lead. It is notably the Intel chip has additional benchmark data from Geekbench (4293 multi-core, 1187 single-core), but no Geekbench scores are listed for the AMD chip, so a direct comparison cannot be made on that test.

The data implies that the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C's higher boost clock (4.30 GHz versus 3.50 GHz) and more efficient architecture more than compensate for having two fewer physical cores. The Intel chip's 6 cores cannot overcome the per-core performance deficit, as evidenced by the AMD chip winning even the multi-core tests that should theoretically favor the chip with more physical cores.

The Verdict

The benchmark data presents a clear picture: the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C is the faster processor in every measured workload. With 6 wins out of 6 head-to-head benchmarks, the AMD chip demonstrates a consistent 12% performance advantage over the Intel Core i5-8500T. This is a significant margin that would be noticeable in real-world applications like video encoding, 3D rendering, and software compilation.

The Intel Core i5-8500T, despite having more physical cores, cannot match the AMD chip's performance due to its older architecture and lower clock speeds. The Intel part does offer more PCIe lanes (16 versus 4) and a larger L3 cache (9 MB versus 4 MB), but these advantages do not translate into better Cinebench scores. The Intel chip is also marked as end-of-life, while the AMD chip is still active in production.

For a user choosing between these two processors, the data strongly favors the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C for raw compute performance. The only scenario where the Intel chip might be preferable is if the workload specifically benefits from more physical cores rather than threads, or if the additional PCIe lanes for expansion are a hard requirement. However, based on the benchmark results, the AMD chip is the superior choice for general and multi-threaded performance.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ across almost every major specification category. The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C is a 4-core, 8-thread mobile processor from the 7000 series with a base clock of 2.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The Intel Core i5-8500T is a 6-core, 6-thread desktop processor with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 3.50 GHz. The TDP values are 15W for the AMD chip and 35W for the Intel chip, reflecting their different market segments.

The process node is a major point of differentiation: the AMD chip uses a 6 nm process from TSMC, while the Intel chip uses a 14 nm process from Intel. The die size is 100 mm² for the AMD chip, with no die size listed for the Intel part. Cache configurations differ significantly, with the AMD chip having 512 KB of L2 per core and 4 MB of shared L3, while the Intel chip has 256 KB of L2 per core and 9 MB of shared L3.

Memory support is another key difference: the AMD chip supports LPDDR5 with 88.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the Intel chip supports DDR4 with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth. The PCIe capabilities also differ, with the AMD chip offering Gen 3 with 4 lanes and the Intel chip offering Gen 3 with 16 lanes. The integrated graphics are the Radeon 610M on the AMD side and UHD 630 on the Intel side.

The sockets are completely different, with the AMD chip using AMD Socket FT6 and the Intel chip using Intel Socket 1151. The release dates are also far apart, with the AMD chip released in May 2023 and the Intel chip in April 2018. Neither processor has a launch MSRP listed, and neither has an unlocked multiplier. The part numbers are 100-000000773 for AMD and SR3XD for Intel, and the AMD chip is active while the Intel chip is end-of-life.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 7520C wins in all six head-to-head benchmark comparisons, making it the clear winner in Cinebench R15, R20, and R23 tests, both single-core and multi-core. The data shows its advantage is consistent across all versions of the Cinebench suite, indicating that its performance lead is not an artifact of a specific benchmark version but a general property of the processor architecture and clock speeds. This makes the AMD chip the better choice for any workload that relies on CPU compute power, whether single-threaded tasks like web browsing and office applications, or multi-threaded tasks like video rendering and 3D modeling.

The Intel Core i5-8500T, while losing all head-to-head tests, does have some theoretical advantages based on its specifications. It has more physical cores (6 versus 4), which could be beneficial for certain types of highly parallel workloads that are not well-represented by the Cinebench tests. It also has a larger L3 cache (9 MB versus 4 MB), which might help with data-heavy applications that repeatedly access large datasets. The Intel chip also offers significantly more PCIe lanes (16 versus 4), making it a better choice for systems that need to connect multiple expansion cards or high-bandwidth devices like discrete GPUs.

The Intel chip's desktop form factor and Socket 1151 compatibility might also be an advantage in scenarios where the user is building or upgrading a desktop system, as opposed to the AMD chip's mobile Socket FT6. However, from a pure performance standpoint based on the benchmark data, the AMD Ryzen 5 7520C is the superior processor in every measured category. The Intel chip's only wins would come from its specification advantages in cache size, PCIe lanes, and physical core count, but these do not translate into benchmark wins in the data provided.