Intel Core i5-13600HX vs Intel Core Ultra 5 225F Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data reveals a genuinely split personality between these two Intel processors. The Intel Core i5-13600HX and Intel Core Ultra 5 225F trade blows across the test suite, with the Ultra 5 taking 12 wins out of 17 head-to-head comparisons. But the i5-13600HX secures the more dramatic victories, particularly in the Cinebench R23 tests where the margins are enormous.

Starting with the most striking result, the i5-13600HX crushes the Ultra 5 225F in Cinebench R23 single-core by 74.6 percent, scoring 3306 against 1893. That is the largest single delta in the entire comparison. The multi-core R23 test also favors the i5-13600HX by 42.2 percent, with scores of 23422 versus 16467. These are not small differences; they represent a fundamental performance gap in this particular workload.

However, the Ultra 5 225F fights back in the older Cinebench versions. In R15 multi-core, the Ultra 5 wins 2660 to 2360, an 11.3 percent advantage. The R20 multi-core test shows a similar pattern, with the Ultra 5 scoring 11059 against 9837, an 11 percent lead. Even in R20 single-core, the Ultra 5 takes the win at 1561 versus 1388, an 11.1 percent margin. But then the R23 results flip the script completely, which suggests the two processors respond very differently to the workload scaling between these benchmark versions.

The PassMark suite adds more nuance. The i5-13600HX wins integer math by a massive 46.2 percent, posting 97126 against 66417. Data compression also favors the i5-13600HX by 5.7 percent, with 328686 versus 310843. The Ultra 5 225F, meanwhile, dominates in several other PassMark tests. Its extended instructions score of 28027 beats the i5-13600HX's 19720 by 29.6 percent. Find prime numbers shows a staggering 69 percent advantage for the Ultra 5, scoring 352 versus just 109. Floating point math goes to the Ultra 5 by 23.7 percent, 92554 versus 70618. Physics simulation favors the Ultra 5 by 25.5 percent, 2430 versus 1810. Data encryption goes to the Ultra 5 by 14.8 percent, 22648 versus 19289. Single-thread performance in PassMark also belongs to the Ultra 5, which scores 4397 against 3684, a 16.2 percent lead. Multithread performance narrowly favors the Ultra 5 at 31004 versus 28280, an 8.8 percent margin. Random string sorting is nearly even, with the Ultra 5 winning by just 1.5 percent, 37325 versus 36783.

The overall average benchmark scores tell a similar story. The i5-13600HX averages 38261 across all tests, while the Ultra 5 225F averages 37313. That puts the i5-13600HX in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, with the Ultra 5 close behind at the 85th percentile. The nearest rivals for the i5-13600HX include the AMD Ryzen 7 250 at 38221, which trails by only 0.1 percent, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H at 38312, which leads by 0.1 percent. The Ultra 5 225F's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-13900HK at 37425, which leads by 0.3 percent, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7735H at 37161, which trails by 0.4 percent.

Where Each One Wins

Looking at the win distribution, the i5-13600HX takes five victories, and the Ultra 5 225F takes twelve. But the nature of those wins matters more than the count. The i5-13600HX's wins are concentrated in areas that suggest raw throughput with many threads. Its 42.2 percent advantage in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 46.2 percent lead in integer math point to workloads that scale well with its 14 cores and 20 threads. Data compression also favors the i5-13600HX, which aligns with that multi-threaded strength. The R23 single-core win, at 74.6 percent, is an outlier that deserves attention. It suggests that in this specific benchmark, the i5-13600HX's architecture delivers exceptional per-thread performance despite its lower base clock of 2.60 GHz compared to the Ultra 5's 3.30 GHz.

The Ultra 5 225F, by contrast, wins across a broader range of tests. Its advantages in extended instructions, floating point math, and physics indicate strong SIMD and vector processing capabilities. The 69 percent lead in find prime numbers is particularly telling, as that workload often rewards efficient integer arithmetic pipelines. Data encryption also favors the Ultra 5, as does single-thread performance in PassMark. The Ultra 5's multithread win, even with only 10 cores and 10 threads, shows that its per-core efficiency can overcome the i5-13600HX's thread count advantage in some workloads.

For real-world use, the pattern suggests the i5-13600HX handles heavily threaded productivity tasks better, especially when the workload resembles Cinebench R23 or integer-heavy calculations. The Ultra 5 225F excels in mixed workloads that include encryption, floating point, and extended instruction sets. The nearly tied random string sorting result, with the Ultra 5 winning by just 1.5 percent, indicates that neither processor has a decisive edge in memory-bound sorting tasks.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split recommendation. For users running long multi-threaded render jobs, particularly those using Cinebench R23 as a reference, the i5-13600HX is the stronger choice. Its 42.2 percent multi-core lead in that benchmark and its 46.2 percent integer math advantage make it the pick for CPU-intensive compute. The 74.6 percent R23 single-core win also means that lightly threaded tasks in that benchmark family will run substantially faster on the i5-13600HX.

For users who need balanced performance across a wider variety of tasks, the Ultra 5 225F is the better all-rounder. It wins 12 of the 17 benchmarks, including all of the PassMark tests except integer math, data compression, and the Cinebench R23 pair. Its advantages in encryption, extended instructions, floating point, physics, and single-thread PassMark performance make it more versatile for mixed desktop workloads. The fact that it also wins PassMark multithread, despite having only 10 threads to the i5-13600HX's 20, speaks to its efficiency.

The overall average benchmark scores are nearly identical, with the i5-13600HX at 38261 and the Ultra 5 at 37313, a gap of less than 2.5 percent. That means neither processor is a clear overall winner. The choice comes down to workload specificity. The i5-13600HX is a specialist for heavily threaded compute. The Ultra 5 225F is a generalist that wins more tests but with smaller margins. The i5-13600HX's five wins include three with deltas above 40 percent, while the Ultra 5's twelve wins include only two above 30 percent, the 69 percent prime number result and the 29.6 percent extended instructions result.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has the higher single-core Cinebench R23 score?

A: The Intel Core i5-13600HX scores 3306 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is 74.6 percent higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 225F's score of 1893.

Q: How do the two processors compare in PassMark multithread performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225F wins PassMark multithread with a score of 31004, beating the Intel Core i5-13600HX's 28280 by 8.8 percent.

Q: What is the core and thread count difference?

A: The Intel Core i5-13600HX has 14 cores and 20 threads, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 225F has 10 cores and 10 threads.

Q: Which processor has a higher base clock speed?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225F has a base clock of 3.30 GHz, which is higher than the Intel Core i5-13600HX's base clock of 2.60 GHz.

Q: How do the overall average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Intel Core i5-13600HX has an average benchmark score of 38261, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 225F has an average score of 37313. The i5-13600HX sits in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, and the Ultra 5 sits in the 85th percentile.

Q: Which processor wins the most head-to-head benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225F wins 12 of the 17 head-to-head benchmarks, while the Intel Core i5-13600HX wins 5.

Architecture Differences

The architecture gap between these two processors is significant. The Intel Core i5-13600HX uses the Raptor Lake architecture, specifically the Raptor Lake-HX variant, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It is a mobile processor with an integrated GPU, the UHD Graphics 770, and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The die size is 257 mm², and it uses the Intel BGA 1964 socket.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225F uses the Arrow Lake architecture, specifically Arrow Lake-S, built on TSMC's 3 nm process node. It is a desktop processor with no integrated graphics, as indicated by the "F" suffix. It supports only DDR5 memory. Its cache includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The die size is 243 mm², and it uses the Intel Socket 1851. The Ultra 5 has 17,800 million transistors, while the i5-13600HX has no transistor count listed in the data.

Both processors support PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU. The i5-13600HX supports ECC memory, while the Ultra 5 225F does not. The i5-13600HX has an unlocked multiplier, while the Ultra 5 225F does not. The i5-13600HX was released in January 2023, and the Ultra 5 225F was released in January 2025.

Specification Differences

The specification differences between the two processors are substantial. The Intel Core i5-13600HX has 14 cores and 20 threads, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 225F has 10 cores and 10 threads. The base clock speeds differ at 2.60 GHz for the i5-13600HX and 3.30 GHz for the Ultra 5. Boost clocks are close, with the i5-13600HX at 4.80 GHz and the Ultra 5 at 4.90 GHz. The TDP is 55 watts for the i5-13600HX and 65 watts for the Ultra 5.

The sockets differ completely, with the i5-13600HX using Intel BGA 1964 and the Ultra 5 using Intel Socket 1851. The process nodes are different as well, with the i5-13600HX on 10 nm and the Ultra 5 on 3 nm. The foundries are different, with Intel producing the i5-13600HX and TSMC producing the Ultra 5. The i5-13600HX has a die size of 257 mm², while the Ultra 5 has a die size of 243 mm².

Memory support differs, with the i5-13600HX supporting both DDR4 and DDR5, while the Ultra 5 supports only DDR5. The memory bandwidth is listed as 102.4 GB/s for the Ultra 5, but no bandwidth figure is given for the i5-13600HX. ECC support is present on the i5-13600HX but absent on the Ultra 5. The integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 770 on the i5-13600HX, while the Ultra 5 has no integrated graphics. The i5-13600HX has an unlocked multiplier, and the Ultra 5 does not. The market segments differ, with the i5-13600HX being mobile and the Ultra 5 being desktop. The launch MSRP for the i5-13600HX is $284, and the launch MSRP for the Ultra 5 225F is $231.