Intel Core i5-5675C vs Intel Core i5-8269U Comparison

The Intel Core i5-5675C and Intel Core i5-8269U represent two distinct philosophies in CPU design: a desktop-focused, unlocked Broadwell part with a 65 W TDP versus a mobile-oriented Kaby Lake-R chip with a 28 W TDP. While both sit at the 41st percentile of all CPUs, the benchmark data reveals a clear performance hierarchy, with the mobile i5-8269U winning all six head-to-head tests. However, the selection between these two processors depends heavily on platform constraints and specific use cases, as the desktop i5-5675C offers an unlocked multiplier and a 25.6 GB/s memory bus, which may be more relevant for certain workloads than raw compute speed.

The Verdict

The benchmark results are unambiguous: the Intel Core i5-8269U is the superior performer across every measured workload. In the six head-to-head comparisons, the i5-8269U wins all of them, with deltas ranging from -18.7% to -18.8% in favor of the mobile chip. This means that in Cinebench R15, R20, and R23, both single-core and multi-core, the i5-8269U consistently outperforms the i5-5675C by margins that are nearly uniform at roughly 18.7% to 18.8%. For users who prioritize maximum benchmark scores in a compact mobile form factor, the i5-8269U is the clear choice.

However, the i5-5675C is not without merit. It is the only one of the two with an unlocked multiplier, making it the better option for enthusiasts who intend to overclock. Its 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1150 compatibility also make it a straightforward drop-in upgrade for existing desktop systems, whereas the i5-8269U is soldered to a BGA 1356 package, effectively locking it into a specific laptop or mini-PC design. The i5-5675C also carries a launch MSRP of $276, a figure that can be stated once, but the absence of a launch MSRP for the i5-8269U makes direct pricing comparison impossible. Ultimately, the data says: buy the i5-8269U for out-of-the-box performance, but choose the i5-5675C if you need an unlocked desktop processor for overclocking and platform flexibility.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two CPUs is significant, despite both being built on Intel's 14 nm process node. The i5-5675C is based on the Broadwell architecture, released in May 2015, while the i5-8269U uses the Kaby Lake-R architecture, which launched in April 2018. This three-year generational difference explains several key specification disparities. The i5-5675C has 4 cores and 4 threads, while the i5-8269U also has 4 cores but doubles the thread count to 8 via Hyper-Threading. This thread advantage alone explains a substantial portion of the multi-core performance delta.

Cache configurations also differ. The i5-5675C has a 4 MB shared L3 cache, while the i5-8269U offers 6 MB of shared L3 cache, a 50% increase. Both have identical 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 caches per core. The i5-5675C uses a 182 mm² die size, notably larger than the 123 mm² die of the i5-8269U, which likely reflects the integration of the Iris Pro Graphics 6200 on the desktop part. The mobile chip features Iris Pro Plus graphics, but the benchmark data does not include iGPU tests, so no direct comparison can be made on that front.

Memory support represents a major divergence. The i5-5675C supports DDR3 memory on a dual-channel bus with a peak bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s. The i5-8269U supports DDR4, but the FACT PACK lists no memory bus or bandwidth figures for it. This makes the i5-5675C the only one of the two with a documented memory bandwidth advantage, which could matter for memory-sensitive tasks. Clock speeds also differ: the i5-5675C has a 3.10 GHz base clock and a 3.60 GHz boost clock, while the i5-8269U starts at 2.60 GHz but boosts much higher to 4.20 GHz. The higher boost clock on the i5-8269U is likely the primary driver of its single-core dominance.

Where Each One Wins

The i5-8269U wins every benchmark in the FACT PACK, making it the default choice for compute-heavy applications. Its victory is most pronounced in single-core workloads, where it scores 85 in Cinebench R15, 358 in R20, and 853 in R23, compared to the i5-5675C's 69, 291, and 693, respectively. These single-core advantages range from roughly 18.8% to 23% depending on the test version, which translates to snappier responsiveness in lightly-threaded applications like web browsers, office suites, and legacy software that cannot utilize multiple cores.

In multi-core workloads, the i5-8269U's 8 threads versus 4 threads provide a structural advantage. It scores 609 in Cinebench R15, 2538 in R20, and 6044 in R23, while the i5-5675C manages 495, 2063, and 4912. The delta is consistently -18.7% in the i5-8269U's favor. This makes the mobile chip better suited for video encoding, 3D rendering, and compilation tasks that scale with thread count. The i5-5675C's only potential wins are unquantified in the data: its unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking that could close the gap, and its 25.6 GB/s memory bandwidth might benefit certain data-heavy workloads, but no benchmarks in the FACT PACK measure this.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The Intel Core i5-8269U has a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, which is higher than the i5-5675C's 3.60 GHz boost clock.

Q: Do both processors have the same number of cores?

A: Yes, both have 4 physical cores. However, the i5-8269U has 8 threads while the i5-5675C has only 4 threads.

Q: How much larger is the L3 cache on the i5-8269U?

A: The i5-8269U has a 6 MB shared L3 cache, while the i5-5675C has a 4 MB shared L3 cache, a difference of 2 MB.

Q: Which processor supports overclocking?

A: The i5-5675C has an unlocked multiplier and supports overclocking. The i5-8269U does not have an unlocked multiplier.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two?

A: The i5-5675C has a TDP of 65 W, while the i5-8269U has a lower TDP of 28 W, reflecting its mobile design.

Q: Are both processors on the same manufacturing process?

A: Yes, both are built on Intel's 14 nm process node, but they use different architectures: Broadwell for the i5-5675C and Kaby Lake-R for the i5-8269U.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data paints a stark picture of consistent superiority for the i5-8269U. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the i5-8269U scores 609 against the i5-5675C's 495, yielding a -18.7% delta that favors the mobile chip by 114 points. The single-core R15 test shows a similar -18.8% gap, with scores of 85 and 69. This pattern holds across all Cinebench versions, suggesting a systematic advantage rather than a workload-specific anomaly.

Moving to Cinebench R20, the i5-8269U again wins by -18.7% in multi-core (2538 vs 2063) and -18.7% in single-core (358 vs 291). The absolute point gaps are 475 and 67, respectively. The i5-8269U's advantage scales proportionally with the workload, which is characteristic of a CPU with a higher boost clock and more threads.

In Cinebench R23, the newest test in the FACT PACK, the i5-8269U scores 6044 multi-core and 853 single-core, while the i5-5675C scores 4912 and 693. The delta remains at -18.7% for multi-core and -18.8% for single-core. The i5-8269U leads by 1132 points in multi-core and 160 points in single-core. Notably, the i5-8269U's multi-core score in R23 is more than double its R15 score (6044 vs 609), but the i5-5675C shows a similar scaling pattern (4912 vs 495), indicating that both CPUs scale consistently across test versions, just with the i5-8269U maintaining a constant relative lead.

The Geekbench tests, which are only provided for the i5-5675C (4159 multi-core, 1388 single-core), are notably absent for the i5-8269U in the head-to-head data. No comparison is possible there, but the i5-8269U's perfect 6-0 record in the Cinebench suite is unambiguous. The i5-8269U's average benchmark score of 1748 is slightly lower than the i5-5675C's 1759, but this aggregate metric includes the Geekbench results that only the desktop chip has. When looking strictly at shared tests, the mobile part wins every time. The i5-8269U's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 3200GE (delta -0.1%) and Intel Core i7-980X (delta 0.1%), while the i5-5675C sits near the Intel Xeon E3-1241 v3 (delta 0.2%) and AMD Ryzen 5 2400GE (delta -0.4%). This places both CPUs in a similar performance tier, yet the head-to-head data shows the i5-8269U is the stronger of the two by a significant margin.