AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 vs Intel Core 5 120U Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data shows a comprehensive sweep: the AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 wins all 15 shared benchmark comparisons, with the Intel Core 5 120U failing to claim a single victory. The scale of the advantage varies sharply by workload, ranging from a modest 3.4% single-core edge to a 74.2% blowout in extended instruction throughput.

The largest gap appears in PassMark's extended instructions test, where the AMD part scores 16,197 against Intel's 9,299, a delta of 74.2%. This measures SIMD and specialized instruction execution, and the result indicates the Zen 5 architecture handles these workloads far more efficiently. Cinebench R23 multicore shows the second-largest margin: AMD scores 11,333 versus 6,659, a 70.2% advantage. That result is particularly notable because the Intel chip carries more physical cores (10 versus 6), yet still trails by a wide margin in a heavily threaded render workload.

Cinebench R15 multicore follows a similar pattern, with AMD at 1,686 and Intel at 1,150.5, a 46.5% lead. PassMark data compression shows AMD at 225,374 versus 166,432, a 35.4% edge, while random string sorting goes to AMD by 30.6% (24,891 versus 19,060). PassMark multithread delivers a 26.3% win for AMD (19,000 versus 15,042). Integer math favors AMD by 16.7% (61,026 versus 52,280), and physics simulation by 14.7% (1,075 versus 937). Floating point math sees AMD at 40,627 against Intel's 36,026, a 12.8% margin.

The single-threaded results are closer but still favor AMD. PassMark single thread shows 3,734 versus 3,479, a 7.3% lead. Cinebench R23 single core is 1,816 versus 1,756.5, a 3.4% edge. Cinebench R15 single core gives AMD 260 against 245, a 6.1% gain. PassMark find prime numbers is a narrow 9.4% win (58 versus 53), and data encryption is 6.3% (11,110 versus 10,453). The Intel part's higher boost clock, 5.00 GHz versus 4.50 GHz, does not translate into single-thread supremacy in these measurements.

The overall average benchmark scores in the database reinforce the gap. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 averages 28,128, while the Intel Core 5 120U averages 17,898. The AMD chip sits at the 80th percentile of all CPUs, versus the 72nd percentile for Intel. The nearest-rival data places the AMD part alongside the Intel Core i5-13490F (average score 28,185, a 0.2% gap) and the Intel Core i5-14500T (28,065, a 0.2% gap), meaning the Ryzen AI 5 435 competes at a substantially higher performance tier than the Core 5 120U. The Intel chip's nearest rivals, by contrast, include the AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT (17,891, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (17,994, a 0.5% gap), both older desktop parts.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has the higher multicore score in Cinebench R23?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 scores 11,333, which is 70.2% higher than the Intel Core 5 120U's 6,659.

Q: Does the Intel Core 5 120U win any of the recorded head-to-head benchmarks?

A: No. Across all 15 shared tests, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 wins every comparison. The Intel part records zero wins.

Q: How much faster is the AMD part in the PassMark extended instructions test?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 scores 16,197 versus 9,299 for the Intel Core 5 120U, a 74.2% advantage, which is the largest single delta in the head-to-head set.

Q: What is the difference in average benchmark scores between the two chips?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 averages 28,128 across all recorded benchmarks, while the Intel Core 5 120U averages 17,898.

Q: How do their single-thread scores compare in Cinebench R23?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 scores 1,816, a 3.4% edge over the Intel Core 5 120U's 1,756.5. This is the smallest margin in the shared tests.

Q: Which chip has the higher CPU percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 is at the 80th percentile of all CPUs, while the Intel Core 5 120U is at the 72nd percentile.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from fundamentally different design schools. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 uses the Zen 5 architecture under the Gorgon Point codename, part of the Ryzen AI 400 generation that mixes Zen 5 and Zen 5c cores. It is built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. The Intel Core 5 120U uses the Raptor Lake architecture, specifically Raptor Lake-U, and is fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process at Intel's own foundry.

Core counts differ in an interesting way. The Intel part has 10 cores and 12 threads, while the AMD part has 6 cores and 12 threads. Both support 12 threads, but the Intel chip achieves that with a hybrid core arrangement typical of Raptor Lake, whereas AMD relies on fewer cores with simultaneous multithreading. The benchmark data suggests AMD's larger per-core efficiency outweighs Intel's core-count advantage in threaded workloads.

Cache hierarchies also diverge. Both chips list 80 KB of L1 per core. The L2 cache differs: AMD uses 1 MB per core, while Intel uses 1.25 MB per core. The L3 cache shows a major difference. The AMD part has 4 MB of L3, while the Intel part has 12 MB of shared L3. Despite having three times the L3 capacity, the Intel chip still trails in the memory-sensitive workloads recorded, such as data compression and random string sorting.

Memory support is a point of differentiation. AMD supports DDR5 and LPDDR5X with a dual-channel bus and a recorded memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. Intel supports DDR4 and DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, with no bandwidth figure recorded in the database. ECC memory is supported on the AMD part but not on the Intel part.

PCIe connectivity also differs. The AMD chip provides Gen 4 with 14 CPU-only lanes, while the Intel chip provides Gen 4 with 8 CPU-only lanes. Integrated graphics use different brands: AMD pairs with the Radeon 840M, while Intel uses Iris Xe Graphics 80EU.

The release timeline shows the Intel part came first, with a release date in January 2024, while the AMD part followed in January 2026. Both are listed as active production parts and both are mobile-segment chips with locked multipliers. The AMD part uses AMD Socket FP8, the Intel part uses Intel BGA 1744.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 | Intel Core 5 120U |

|----------------|-------------------|-------------------|

| Cores | 6 | 10 |

| Base clock | 2.00 GHz | 1.40 GHz |

| Boost clock | 4.50 GHz | 5.00 GHz |

| TDP | 28 W | 15 W |

| Socket | AMD Socket FP8 | Intel BGA 1744 |

| Architecture | Zen 5 | Raptor Lake |

| Process node | 4 nm | 10 nm |

| Foundry | TSMC | Intel |

| L2 cache | 1 MB per core | 1.25 MB per core |

| L3 cache | 4 MB | 12 MB shared |

| Memory support | DDR5, LPDDR5X | DDR4, DDR5 |

| Memory bandwidth | 89.6 GB/s | Not recorded |

| ECC support | Yes | No |

| PCIe lanes | 14 (Gen 4) | 8 (Gen 4) |

| Integrated graphics | Radeon 840M | Iris Xe Graphics 80EU |

| Release date | January 2026 | January 2024 |

| Part number | 100-000001337 | SRM7P |

Thread count is identical at 12, which removes thread count as a differentiator. The boost clock favors Intel by 0.50 GHz, yet the AMD part wins every recorded single-thread test. The TDP figures show the AMD chip is rated for 28 W versus 15 W for Intel, and the power envelope difference likely contributes to the AMD chip's performance lead. The Intel part supports older DDR4 memory in addition to DDR5, while AMD is DDR5 and LPDDR5X only.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 wins every recorded benchmark in the head-to-head set, so the question of where each one wins is largely about the degree of AMD's advantage and the few areas where the Intel part comes closest.

The AMD chip's largest wins come in throughput-oriented and instruction-heavy workloads. Extended instructions show a 74.2% lead, making this the clearest case for AMD's architectural superiority in specialized compute. Cinebench R23 multicore, at 70.2%, and Cinebench R15 multicore, at 46.5%, demonstrate that content-creation and render workloads strongly favor the AMD part. Data compression, at 35.4%, and random string sorting, at 30.6%, show AMD's advantage in data manipulation tasks. PassMark multithread at 26.3% reinforces the pattern.

The Intel Core 5 120U's best showings, relatively speaking, come in the narrowest margins. Cinebench R23 single core sees only a 3.4% gap, meaning in lightly threaded, single-core-bound applications the Intel chip is nearly competitive. Data encryption, at 6.3%, and find prime numbers, at 9.4%, are also close calls. The Intel part's higher 5.00 GHz boost clock partially offsets its architectural deficit in these tests, though it never fully closes the gap.

The Intel chip also holds the advantage in core count, 10 versus 6, and in L3 cache capacity, 12 MB versus 4 MB. However, the recorded benchmarks show no workload where those advantages translate into a win. The TDP difference is notable: the Intel part is rated at 15 W versus 28 W for AMD, which suggests the Intel chip may fit into lower-power system designs. The Intel part also supports DDR4 memory, which can matter for platforms that reuse older memory modules, though this is not reflected in any benchmark score.

For use-case planning, the data supports the following split. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 435 is the choice for threaded productivity, rendering, compression, and any workload that exercises extended instructions or floating-point math. The Intel Core 5 120U is closer in single-threaded tasks, where the margin narrows to 3.4% to 7.3%, and it presents a lower TDP that may suit compact, passively cooled or battery-constrained designs. But in absolute performance terms, the database shows no benchmark category where the Intel part takes the lead.