AMD Ryzen 5 7545U vs Intel Core i9-9900K Comparison

The Intel Core i9-9900K and AMD Ryzen 5 7545U occupy opposite ends of the hardware spectrum, yet their benchmark data reveals a surprisingly dominant performance profile for the mobile chip. The Ryzen 5 7545U wins 12 of the 17 head-to-head comparisons, including every Cinebench test and the PassMark multi-threaded suite, while the i9-9900K retains victories in only five tests, primarily integer-heavy and specialized workloads. This is not a close contest in aggregate; the Ryzen 5 7545U posts an average benchmark score of 26,849 against the i9-9900K’s 27,097, a difference of just 0.9%, but the distribution of wins shows a clear generational shift where the newer, more efficient architecture consistently outperforms the older desktop flagship in most measured tasks.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 7545U is the outright winner in rendering and general productivity. Across all three Cinebench versions—R15, R20, and R23—the Ryzen 5 7545U leads by a consistent margin of roughly 11% in both single-core and multi-core scores. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the Ryzen 5 7545U scores 17,253 versus the i9-9900K’s 15,333, a 12.5% advantage that reflects its superior per-core efficiency despite having two fewer cores and four fewer threads. The Ryzen 5 7545U also wins PassMark’s multithread test (20,298 vs 18,153, a 10.6% edge), the physics test (1,057 vs 934, an 11.6% edge), and the single-thread test (3,673 vs 2,919, a 20.5% edge). The encryption workload is a massive win for the Ryzen: it scores 14,202 against the i9’s 6,430, a 54.7% advantage that suggests hardware-accelerated cryptography. Prime number finding also favors the Ryzen (68 vs 47, a 30.9% lead).

The Intel Core i9-9900K wins where raw throughput on specific operations matters more than architectural efficiency. Its largest victory is in random string sorting, where it scores 36,238 against 30,358, a 19.4% lead. Data compression also favors Intel: 283,506 vs 238,345, an 18.9% advantage. Floating-point math goes to Intel (41,036 vs 36,754, an 11.7% lead), as does integer math (66,134 vs 60,206, a 9.8% lead). Extended instructions see Intel ahead by 6.2% (18,965 vs 17,865). These wins indicate that the i9-9900K’s eight full cores and larger L3 cache (16 MB shared) still provide an edge in workloads that scale with core count and cache capacity, even if the per-core architecture is older.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU has the higher single-core performance?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7545U dominates single-core tests. It scores 3,673 in PassMark single-thread, 245 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 1,022 in R20, and 2,435 in R23, while the Intel Core i9-9900K scores 2,919, 217, 908, and 2,164 respectively. The Ryzen leads by 20.5% in PassMark and roughly 11% in all Cinebench variants.

Q: Does the Intel Core i9-9900K win any multi-core benchmarks?

A: No. The Ryzen 5 7545U wins every multi-core test in the head-to-head data, including Cinebench R15 (1,739 vs 1,545), R20 (7,246 vs 6,439), R23 (17,253 vs 15,333), and PassMark multithread (20,298 vs 18,153). Intel’s wins are confined to specific PassMark sub-tests like compression, integer math, and floating-point math.

Q: How do the two CPUs compare in data encryption?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7545U is dramatically faster, scoring 14,202 in PassMark data encryption versus the Intel Core i9-9900K’s 6,430. This is a 54.7% difference, the largest single delta in the entire head-to-head set.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap in either direction?

A: The largest gap is AMD’s 54.7% lead in data encryption. The largest Intel win is 19.4% in random string sorting. No other test shows a margin greater than 30.9%, which is AMD’s lead in prime number finding.

Q: Are these CPUs in the same performance percentile?

A: Yes. Both the Intel Core i9-9900K and AMD Ryzen 5 7545U sit at the 79th percentile against all CPUs. Their average benchmark scores are also close: 27,097 for Intel and 26,849 for AMD.

Q: Which CPU has better memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7545U has a clear specification advantage, supporting DDR5 with a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, while the Intel Core i9-9900K uses DDR4 with a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Cinebench results are uniformly one-sided. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Ryzen 5 7545U scores 1,739 against 1,545, a delta of -11.2% for Intel. The single-core R15 test shows 245 vs 217, a -11.4% gap. Moving to R20, the Ryzen leads multi-core 7,246 vs 6,439 (-11.1%) and single-core 1,022 vs 908 (-11.2%). R23 follows the same pattern: multi-core 17,253 vs 15,333 (-11.1%) and single-core 2,435 vs 2,164 (-11.1%). These consistent margins across all three versions indicate a stable architectural advantage rather than a workload-specific anomaly.

PassMark results are more split. The Ryzen 5 7545U wins multithread (20,298 vs 18,153, -10.6%), physics (1,057 vs 934, -11.6%), single-thread (3,673 vs 2,919, -20.5%), data encryption (14,202 vs 6,430, -54.7%), and find prime numbers (68 vs 47, -30.9%). The Intel Core i9-9900K wins data compression (283,506 vs 238,345, +18.9%), extended instructions (18,965 vs 17,865, +6.2%), floating-point math (41,036 vs 36,754, +11.7%), integer math (66,134 vs 60,206, +9.8%), and random string sorting (36,238 vs 30,358, +19.4%). The encryption gap is the most striking single number in the dataset, dwarfing any Intel advantage. Conversely, Intel’s compression and sorting wins show that its older architecture still excels at memory-heavy, pattern-based operations.

Specification Differences

The core counts differ significantly: the Intel Core i9-9900K has 8 cores and 16 threads, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7545U has 6 cores and 12 threads. Clock speeds are closer: Intel boosts to 5.00 GHz from a 3.60 GHz base, while AMD boosts to 4.90 GHz from a 3.20 GHz base. The TDP gap is enormous—Intel is rated at 95W, AMD at 28W. Sockets differ (Intel Socket 1151 vs AMD Socket FP7), as do memory types: Intel uses DDR4 with dual-channel support at 42.7 GB/s, while AMD uses DDR5 at 89.6 GB/s. AMD supports ECC memory; Intel does not. PCIe generations differ (Intel Gen 3 with 16 lanes vs AMD Gen 4 with 14 lanes). The integrated graphics are different: Intel’s UHD Graphics 630 versus AMD’s Radeon 740M. Intel’s multiplier is unlocked; AMD’s is not. Intel has a launch MSRP of $488; AMD has no listed MSRP. Production status differs: Intel is end-of-life, AMD is active. Release dates are November 2018 for Intel and November 2023 for AMD.

Architecture Differences

The Intel Core i9-9900K is built on Intel’s 14 nm process with a die size of 180.3 mm², while the AMD Ryzen 5 7545U uses TSMC’s 4 nm process with a 137 mm² die. AMD’s transistor count is listed at 20,900 million; Intel’s is not provided. The Intel architecture is Coffee Lake-R, a refinement of the older Coffee Lake design, whereas AMD uses Zen 4 with the Phoenix2 codename. Cache layouts differ: both have 64 KB L1 per core, but Intel uses 256 KB L2 per core while AMD uses 1 MB per core. Both have 16 MB shared L3. AMD’s process node advantage (4 nm vs 14 nm) is the fundamental driver of its efficiency, allowing higher performance at a fraction of the power draw. The AMD chip’s smaller die and newer transistor technology explain why it wins most benchmarks despite having fewer cores. Intel’s larger die and older node require a 95W TDP to sustain performance, while AMD achieves better results at 28W.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Ryzen 5 7545U is the superior processor for nearly all workloads. It wins every rendering test, every single-core test, and the multithreaded PassMark suite, often by double-digit margins. The 54.7% encryption advantage and 20.5% single-thread lead are particularly decisive for modern productivity tasks. The Intel Core i9-9900K retains a narrow set of wins in compression, sorting, and math operations, but these are specific sub-tests that do not compensate for its overall losses. The i9-9900K’s only meaningful edge is in random string sorting (19.4%) and data compression (18.9%), which may matter for archival or database workloads, but its 95W TDP and end-of-life status make it difficult to recommend against a 28W mobile chip that outperforms it in the majority of benchmarks. Choose the Ryzen 5 7545U for general-purpose performance, rendering, encryption, and any single-threaded work; choose the i9-9900K only if your specific workload is dominated by compression, sorting, or pure integer/floating-point math where its 8-core layout provides a measurable advantage.