AMD Ryzen 5 5500U

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500U is a mobile processor built on TSMC's 7 nm process, combining six Zen 2 cores with twelve threads in a 15-watt envelope. It targets the mainstream laptop segment, pairing its CPU cores with Radeon Graphics 448SP integrated silicon. With an average benchmark score of 13770, it sits near the top of the 73rd percentile of all CPUs in the database, indicating solid mid-range positioning for thin-and-light machines.

How It Compares

Against the Intel Core i7-8750H, the Ryzen 5 5500U trails by a razor-thin margin of -0.6%. The data shows these chips are effectively tied in overall performance, despite the Intel part being a higher-tier H-series processor from an older generation. The 5500U achieves this parity while operating within a much lower power envelope, which suggests that its efficiency-oriented design delivers comparable throughput in real-world scenarios.

The Intel Core i5-8400 sits just ahead, with the 5500U showing a -0.8% delta. This desktop-class processor edges out the mobile Ryzen by a negligible amount, reinforcing that the 5500U punches above its weight class. Benchmark results indicate that users migrating from a mainstream desktop i5 to a modern ultraportable with this chip would experience no meaningful regression in raw compute performance.

The AMD EPYC 7443, a server-grade part, posts a -1.2% lead over the 5500U. While the EPYC is designed for enterprise workloads with vastly more cores, the average score here reflects a specific test suite where the Ryzen 5 manages to stay within striking distance. This is not a typical comparison for a mobile chip, but the data shows that the 5500U's aggregate throughput is surprisingly competitive even against far more expensive hardware.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX is the only rival the 5500U beats, with a +1.7% advantage. This is a statistical curiosity, as the Threadripper is a high-end desktop part with massive multi-threading resources. The delta suggests that the benchmark suite's weighting favors the 5500U's balanced single-thread and moderate multi-thread scores over the Threadripper's extreme core counts in certain tests, though this does not reflect typical workload scaling.

Single-Thread vs Multi-Thread Behavior

The 5500U demonstrates a clear split between its single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 1539 single-core and 10901 multi-core, a ratio of roughly 7:1 favoring multi-threaded performance. This indicates that the chip scales well across its six physical cores, with the multi-core score representing a substantial uplift from the single-core baseline.

Geekbench results show a narrower gap: 1299 single-core versus 4538 multi-core, a 3.5x improvement. This discrepancy between test suites reflects different workload characteristics—Cinebench's render task is highly parallel, while Geekbench includes more latency-sensitive operations. For real-world use, this means the 5500U handles lightly-threaded tasks like web browsing or office documents with modest efficiency, but truly shines when applications can leverage all twelve threads.

The 3DMark thread scaling data reinforces this pattern. Scores climb from 684 single-thread to 1354 at 2 threads, 2446 at 4, 3259 at 8, and peak at 3643 at max threads. The scaling efficiency is imperfect—going from 8 to max threads only yields an 11.8% gain—indicating diminishing returns beyond eight threads. This suggests that the chip's 6-core/12-thread configuration is optimally utilized by workloads that use up to eight threads, with the remaining threads providing incremental benefits.

PassMark single-thread performance is 2419, while the multithread score reaches 12831, a 5.3x multiplier. This aligns with the expectation for a 6-core part with simultaneous multithreading. The data indicates that the 5500U is better suited for productivity tasks like video editing or compilation, where multi-thread scaling is pronounced, rather than pure single-thread-sensitive applications.

Who Should Consider It

For gaming, the 5500U's integrated Radeon Graphics 448SP limits heavy 3D titles, but its CPU scores are adequate for esports and older games. The 3DMark max-thread score of 3643 suggests the processor will not bottleneck a modest discrete GPU in most scenarios. Gamers pairing this chip with a dedicated graphics card for 1080p play would find sufficient processing headroom, though the 15-watt TDP may constrain sustained performance in demanding titles.

Content creators working with video or 3D rendering will see strong returns from the multi-thread capabilities. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10901 places it in a range suitable for moderate render tasks, while the R20 score of 4578 confirms consistent multi-thread throughput. The PassMark integer math score of 45258 and floating-point math score of 26029 indicate robust arithmetic performance for encoding and simulation workloads.

Office and productivity users represent the sweet spot for this chip. The Geekbench multi-core score of 4538 handles spreadsheet calculations, database queries, and document processing with ease. The PassMark data compression score of 174584 and encryption score of 10405 demonstrate strong performance for file archiving and secure communications. For users who spend most of their time in browsers, office suites, and communication tools, the 5500U delivers responsive performance without the need for a discrete GPU.

The 73rd percentile ranking suggests this processor is a solid choice for mainstream laptops. It outperforms a significant majority of CPUs in the database while maintaining the efficiency expected from a 15-watt mobile part. Users who prioritize battery life and portability without sacrificing compute capability should consider systems built around this chip.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500U compare to the Intel Core i7-8750H?

A: The 5500U is effectively tied with the i7-8750H, trailing by only -0.6% in average benchmark score. This means a modern 15-watt mobile chip matches an older 45-watt H-series processor in overall performance.

Q: What is the multi-threaded performance of this processor?

A: The chip scores 10901 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 12831 in PassMark multithread. These results indicate strong scaling across its 6 cores and 12 threads, with the multi-core scores being roughly 5-7 times higher than single-thread scores.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500U suitable for gaming?

A: The CPU component is capable, with a 3DMark max-thread score of 3643, but the integrated Radeon Graphics 448SP limits gaming to less demanding titles. For heavier gaming, a discrete GPU would be necessary, and the processor would not significantly bottleneck it.

Q: What memory does this processor support?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500U supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. It does not support ECC memory.

Q: What is the manufacturing process for this chip?

A: The processor is built on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with 9,800 million transistors on a 156 mm² die. This process node contributes to its efficiency within the 15-watt TDP.

Q: How does the single-thread performance compare to multi-thread?

A: Single-thread scores are 1539 in Cinebench R23 and 2419 in PassMark, while multi-core reaches 10901 and 12831 respectively. The multi-thread advantage is substantial, indicating the chip favors parallel workloads over single-thread responsiveness.

Benchmark Performance

The Ryzen 5 5500U's average benchmark score of 13770 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals, all within a 2.9% spread. The data shows that the Intel Core i7-8750H leads by just -0.6%, while the Core i5-8400 is -0.8% ahead. The AMD EPYC 7443 sits -1.2% ahead, and the Threadripper PRO 3975WX trails at +1.7% behind the 5500U.

In Cinebench R15, the multicore score of 1098 and single-core score of 155 reveal a 7.1x ratio, which is typical for a 6-core processor with SMT. The R20 results show 4578 multi-core and 646 single-core, a 7.1x ratio that remains consistent across versions. This consistency indicates the processor's thread scaling is stable across different render workloads.

The Geekbench scores tell a slightly different story, with 4538 multi-core and 1299 single-core representing a 3.5x ratio. This lower ratio suggests that Geekbench's workload is less parallelizable than Cinebench's, making it a better indicator of everyday application performance. The 3DMark results show a progression from 684 single-thread to 1354 at 2 threads, 2446 at 4, 3259 at 8, and 3643 at max threads, with the 8-to-max-thread gain of 11.8% indicating less efficient scaling at higher thread counts.

The PassMark suite provides a broader view of performance. The multithread score of 12831 is 5.3x the single-thread score of 2419, aligning with the expected SMT scaling. The integer math score of 45258 and floating-point score of 26029 show a 1.7x advantage for integer operations, which is common for x86 processors. The data encryption score of 10405 and compression score of 174584 indicate strong throughput for these specific workloads, while the extended instructions score of 10838 and random string sorting score of 19035 round out the picture of a well-balanced mobile processor.

The prime number finding score of 26 is notably low relative to other PassMark tests, likely due to the workload's sensitivity to single-thread performance and cache latency. The physics score of 533 is similarly modest, reflecting the chip's mobile orientation rather than a weakness in raw compute. Overall, the benchmark data positions the 5500U as a competent mainstream processor that matches or exceeds several desktop and server parts from previous generations, making it a compelling option for efficient mobile computing.