Thoughts on AMD Ryzen 5 versus core i5

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chez

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Master Geek

#302897 2-Jan-2023 09:35

Does anyone know about AMD Ryzen 5 versus Intel core i5? I'm gonna buy a new student laptop for my teenager. The school recommends core i5 but more laptops (preferably 13-14 inch lightweight) wth AMD Ryzen 5 processor are on a lower price range. I google search and AMD Zen 5 has a good recommendation for students https://spacehop.com/ryzen-5-vs-i5-processor/

Anyone with personal experience or expert knowledge?

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#3016009 2-Jan-2023 10:04

post the laptop you are looking at.vs the equivalent i5

Ryzen has been great in the last few years

Andib

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#3016027 2-Jan-2023 10:49

Generally speaking, Intel based models will have better battery life when compared to their AMD equivalent (e.g. HP Elitebook G9 840 vs 845).
Current generation Intel CPUs have a mix of both 'Performance-cores' & 'Efficient-cores' (Low Power cores) whereas AMD just has 'Performance-cores'.

If you're after the best performance for your money or are happy to compromise a bit on battery life a bit to save $$ go AMD, If battery life is going to be of concern, then go with an Intel model.

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Jase2985

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#3016032 2-Jan-2023 11:02

Andib:

Generally speaking, Intel based models will have better battery life when compared to their AMD equivalent (e.g. HP Elitebook G9 840 vs 845).
Current generation Intel CPUs have a mix of both 'Performance-cores' & 'Efficient-cores' (Low Power cores) whereas AMD just has 'Performance-cores'.

If you're after the best performance for your money or are happy to compromise a bit on battery life a bit to save $$ go AMD, If battery life is going to be of concern, then go with an Intel model.

that is true but without knowing what I5 or Ryzen 5 model they are looking at its hard to say for sure.

previous gen ryzen was still pretty good in comparison.

chez

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Master Geek

#3016044 2-Jan-2023 11:29

Here are the laptops I am looking at. Preferred lightweight, 13 to 14 inch display.

MSI Modern 14 B10MW Ultrabook 14" FHD Intel i5-10210U 8GB 500GB SSD Win10Pro 1yr warranty - Backlit Keyboard.

I don't know about MSI but it's got a good review. I'd appreciate anyone who's got an idea/personal experience with it. PB Tech is the only one I know selling it.

Lenovo Yoga 13W Flip Laptop 13.3" FHD Touch AMD Ryzen5 5625U 8GB 256GB SSD Win11Home 1yr warranty - WiFi6 + BT5.1, Webcam, USB-C (with Power Delivery & DP), HDMI2.0

Lenovo V14-ARE Laptop 14" HD AMD Ryzen5 4500U (with Radeon Graphics) 8GB 256GB NVMe SSD Win10Home 1yr warranty - WiFiAC + BT5, 4in1 Card Reader, TPM2.0

Acer Swift 3 14" Laptop - Intel Core i5 8GB-RAM 512GB-SSD (SF314-511-53PF)

gzt

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#3016045 2-Jan-2023 11:32

Battery life and screen brightness/viewability might be bigger concerns than CPU.

chez

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Master Geek

#3016049 2-Jan-2023 11:41

You're right on that too. It looks like MSI has bad user reviews on battery life. That's out now.

Jase2985

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#3016050 2-Jan-2023 11:48

what is your budget?

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networkn

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#3016051 2-Jan-2023 11:49

Get 16GB of memory. Make sure you get NVME Storage. Both of these will make massive difference day to day over the processor.

PANiCnz

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Ultimate Geek

#3016053 2-Jan-2023 11:53

The Ryzen5 4500U and i5-10210U are older chips, nothing wrong with them, but if you can get something newer at the same price point do it.

My son uses a Lenovo Ideapad with a 5625U for school and it's been fine. Sometimes Lenovo have sales on their website and the prices can be better than PBTech etc. If you decide to get a Lenovo, maybe check their web store first.

Jase2985

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#3016055 2-Jan-2023 11:55

networkn:

Get 16GB of memory. Make sure you get NVME Storage. Both of these will make massive difference day to day over the processor.

as long as its not a spinning disc you wont notice the difference.

chez

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Master Geek

#3016056 2-Jan-2023 11:58

I'm willing to spend up to 1.2K if needed but of course I'm looking for lesser than that if it's reasonably good in battery life, lightweight and with core i5 processor as recommended by the school.

cddt

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#3016094 2-Jan-2023 13:55

"Core i5" has been sold since 2009 - they are now on their 13th generation.

"Ryzen 5" has been sold since 2017 - they are now on their 5th generation.

The difference between generations is generally larger than the difference between AMD and Intel. The term "core i5" is just a marketing name, like if someone says "toyota corolla" for a car, it doesn't tell you whether it's a 1987 or a 2022 model.

Ask a geek whether he would rather have an i3-13100 (low end 13th gen) or an i7-920 (high end 1st gen) - the answer will be that the newer chip is far better.

The CPUs you are comparing range from 2019 through to 2022. You don't mention the specific i5 in the Acer Swift 14, but I looked it up and it is the i5-1135G7.

Here's a comparison of all the CPUs you mentioned: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/3542vs4760vs3702vs3830/Intel-i5-10210U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5625U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-4500U-vs-Intel-i5-1135G7

Of those that you mentioned I would be most inclined towards the 5625U (newest, highest benchmarks, best iGPU, most cores) but note that that laptop has a slightly smaller screen than the others and is a touchscreen (yuck).

As others have mentioned, form factor, screen resolution, build quality, etc. are also big considerations.

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#3016161 2-Jan-2023 15:16

@chez might be worth a look?

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=77&topicid=302901

networkn

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#3016164 2-Jan-2023 15:36

That's a great option with warranty remaining. I'd jump on that if I were you.

dpf81nz

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Master Geek

#3016936 4-Jan-2023 17:49

I have a Thinkpad P14 (similar to the one someone else linked) but mines a AMD Ryzen 7 5850U with 32gb RAM (it came with 16 but i put another 16 in) and with a 512gb NVME drive and it runs like a dream. I imagine a Ryzen 5 would be fairly similar for most day to day tasks

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