AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE vs Intel Core 5 221TE Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive sweep in favor of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE across all 17 benchmark comparisons, with zero wins recorded for the Intel Core 5 221TE. The magnitude of these victories varies substantially by workload, from a relatively narrow 23.9% lead in floating point math to a dominant 125.4% advantage in single-thread performance.

The Cinebench suite reveals consistent multi-core and single-core advantages for the AMD part. In Cinebench R23, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE scores 18,395 in multi-core versus 11,305 for the Intel Core 5 221TE, a 62.7% delta. The single-core R23 result shows the same 62.7% gap, with 2,597 against 1,596. This pattern repeats in Cinebench R20, where the AMD chip posts 7,725 multi-core and 1,090 single-core, compared to 4,748 and 670 for the Intel processor, again a 62.7% difference in both tests. Cinebench R15 shows 1,854 versus 1,139 multi-core (62.8% delta) and 261 versus 160 single-core (63.1% delta). The near-identical percentage deltas across all three Cinebench generations indicate that the performance advantage scales uniformly with the rendering workload rather than favoring a specific thread count or cache configuration.

PassMark workloads tell a more varied story. The largest single-thread margin appears in PassMark single-thread and singlethread tests, where the AMD part scores 3,909 versus 1,734 for Intel, a 125.4% advantage. This is the standout result in the entire comparison and points to a significant per-core efficiency gap. Extended instructions show an 86.4% lead for AMD (17,999 versus 9,655), and random string sorting shows an 84.5% lead (31,240 versus 16,929). Data compression favors AMD by 58.7% (248,675 versus 156,682), data encryption by 58% (14,163 versus 8,963), and multithread performance by 61.7% (21,502 versus 13,301). Integer math delivers a 49% advantage (63,045 versus 42,303), while find prime numbers shows a 40.7% gap (83 versus 59). The narrower margins appear in floating point math at 23.9% (39,233 versus 31,661) and physics at 26.6% (1,237 versus 977). These smaller deltas suggest that the Intel part's higher core count partially offsets AMD's per-core superiority in floating-point-heavy tasks, though not enough to flip any result.

The average benchmark score reinforces the overall picture: the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE averages 28,054, placing it in the 80th percentile of all CPUs in the database. The Intel Core 5 221TE averages 17,860, which lands in the 71st percentile. The nearest rivals for the AMD part include the Intel Core i5-14500T at 28,065 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 5655G at 28,032 (0.1% delta), showing the 8500GE sits in a tight cluster at that performance level. The Intel Core 5 221TE's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT at 17,891 (-0.2% delta) and the Intel Core 5 120U at 17,898 (-0.2% delta).

Architecture Differences

The two processors diverge substantially in their underlying designs. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE uses the Zen 4 architecture with the Phoenix2 codename, built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 20,900 million transistors on a 137 mm² die. The Intel Core 5 221TE uses the Bartlett Lake codename on Intel's 10 nm process with a 215 mm² die size, though the database has no transistor count recorded for it. The AMD chip belongs to the 8000 series and is marketed as a mobile segment part, while the Intel chip is classified as a desktop segment part.

Core configurations differ notably. The AMD part has 6 cores and 12 threads, while the Intel part has 10 cores and 16 threads. Despite having 4 fewer cores and 4 fewer threads, the AMD processor wins every benchmark, which indicates the Zen 4 cores deliver substantially more work per thread. The Intel processor's base clock is 1.80 GHz versus 3.40 GHz for AMD, though both boost to 5.00 GHz. The higher base clock gives the AMD part a baseline advantage in lightly threaded and burst workloads, while the boost clock parity suggests the Intel part's ceiling matches AMD's, just with more cores underneath it.

Cache hierarchies differ as well. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE carries 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3. The Intel Core 5 221TE carries 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3. The Intel part has more cache per core and more total L3, yet the benchmark data shows AMD still leads in cache-sensitive workloads like random string sorting by 84.5%, which suggests the Zen 4 memory subsystem and prefetch behavior overcome the raw cache capacity deficit.

Memory support and platform connectivity also differ. The AMD part supports DDR5 only with dual-channel memory and a recorded memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The Intel part supports both DDR4 and DDR5 with dual-channel memory and 76.8 GB/s bandwidth. Both support ECC memory. PCIe capabilities favor Intel: the Core 5 221TE provides Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU, while the AMD part provides Gen 4 with 14 lanes. Integrated graphics also differ, with the AMD part using Radeon 740M and the Intel part using UHD Graphics 730. The AMD part uses AMD Socket AM5, while the Intel part uses Intel Socket 1700. Neither processor has an unlocked multiplier. The AMD part was released on 2024-04-15, and the Intel part on 2025-01-12. The Intel part has a recorded launch MSRP of $232.

The Verdict

The benchmark data indicates that the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE is the faster processor in every recorded test, often by a wide margin. Its 62.7% lead in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 125.4% lead in PassMark single-thread are the clearest signals of overall superiority. The Intel Core 5 221TE offers more cores, more threads, more L3 cache, newer PCIe generation, and support for both DDR4 and DDR5, but none of those advantages translate into a benchmark win in the recorded data. The AMD part achieves its results while drawing a 35 W TDP, compared to 45 W for the Intel part, which makes its performance lead particularly notable on a per-watt basis. The Intel part's closest comparable results come in floating point math and physics, where the 10-core configuration narrows the gap to 23.9% and 26.6% respectively, but those remain clear AMD victories. The average benchmark scores, 28,054 versus 17,860, place the AMD part in the 80th percentile and the Intel part in the 71st percentile, a meaningful separation in the database's overall ranking distribution. Any selection between these two should follow the benchmark evidence: the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE delivers higher performance across every measured workload category.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE in multi-core rendering?

A: In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the AMD part scores 18,395 versus 11,305 for the Intel Core 5 221TE, a 62.7% advantage. The same 62.7% delta appears in Cinebench R20 and R15 multi-core tests.

Q: Does the Intel Core 5 221TE win any benchmark in the database?

A: No. Across all 17 head-to-head benchmark comparisons, the Intel Core 5 221TE records zero wins. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE wins all 17.

Q: Which processor has more cores and threads?

A: The Intel Core 5 221TE has 10 cores and 16 threads, while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE has 6 cores and 12 threads. Despite the core count disadvantage, the AMD part wins every benchmark.

Q: What is the single-thread performance difference?

A: In the PassMark single-thread test, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE scores 3,909 versus 1,734 for the Intel Core 5 221TE, a 125.4% advantage. The Cinebench R23 single-core test shows a 62.7% gap (2,597 versus 1,596).

Q: How do the thermal design power ratings compare?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE has a 35 W TDP, while the Intel Core 5 221TE has a 45 W TDP. The AMD part delivers higher performance at a lower power envelope.

Q: What memory types does each processor support?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE supports DDR5 only, with dual-channel memory and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. The Intel Core 5 221TE supports both DDR4 and DDR5, with dual-channel memory and 76.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE wins in every recorded benchmark, so the use-case split is defined by the degree of its advantage rather than by any Intel victory. The largest margins appear in single-threaded and instruction-intensive workloads: PassMark single-thread shows a 125.4% lead, extended instructions show 86.4%, and random string sorting shows 84.5%. These results indicate the AMD part is particularly well suited for applications that depend on per-core throughput, such as lightly threaded productivity tools, scripting, and workloads with heavy branching or string manipulation. The 62.7% Cinebench leads across all three versions indicate strong rendering performance in suites like Blender or video encoding that scale with cores, even though the AMD part has fewer cores than the Intel part. Data compression (58.7% lead), encryption (58% lead), and multithread (61.7% lead) round out a broad content-creation profile.

The Intel Core 5 221TE's best relative showings come in floating point math and physics, where the gaps shrink to 23.9% and 26.6% respectively. These are still losses, but the narrower margins suggest the Intel part's 10-core configuration provides meaningful throughput in floating-point-heavy simulation or scientific workloads, narrowing the deficit to less than a third of the single-thread gap. The Intel part's higher core count, larger L3 cache, and DDR4 compatibility also make it a more flexible platform choice for systems with existing DDR4 memory or workloads that benefit from Gen 5 PCIe lanes, even though the recorded benchmarks do not reflect any performance advantage from those features. For any measured metric in the database, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 8500GE is the stronger performer; the Intel Core 5 221TE only closes the gap in specific floating-point scenarios without ever overtaking it.