AMD Ryzen 5 3450U vs Intel Core i5-6500

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   For example you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a decision by looking at the AMD Ryzen 5 3450U vs Intel Core i5-6500 tests and understand which is better for games or normal use for video editing, machine learning, rendering, streaming, programming. Here you can find useful information from different benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in special test applications like 7zip, Dolphin Emulator, Handbrake, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), RealBench, 3DMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, MATLAB, Furmark, UserBenchmark, SuperPi, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, AIDA64, Prime95, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Gears 5, PassMark, VeraCrypt, WPrime, Blender, Blender, PCMark 10.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

Watch Dogs Legion
Apex Legends
Rainbow Six Siege
Fortnite
Grand Theft Auto V
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Halo Infinite
DOOM: Eternal
Overwatch
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Death Stranding
Cyberpunk 2077
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Fallout 76
Valorant
Red Dead Redemption 2
Valheim
Last Man Standing
Borderlands 3

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-6500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3450U.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Ryzen 5 3450U

52%

Core i5-6500

51%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 5 3450U is 1% better than Core i5-6500. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 5 3450U

51%

Core i5-6500

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Ghostrunner, DOTA 2A, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Control, Half-Life: Alyx, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Horizon Zero Dawn, NBA 2K20, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter World, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Metro Exodus, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Hitman 3, League of Legends (LOL), Battlefield V.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.9	91.4
Valorant	103.3	103.9
Cyberpunk 2077	57.9	58.2
Apex Legends	97.1	97.6
Call of Duty Warzone	77.5	77.9
Overwatch	83.7	84.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.3	71.7
DOOM Eternal	51.7	51.9
Warzone	80.6	81.0
Assassin's Creed	86.8	87.3
Valheim	85.7	86.2

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 5 3450U

176%

Core i5-6500

51%

To make a finishing decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen 5 3450U is more energy efficient than the Core i5-6500 as it consumes less power: 15W vs. 65W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, streaming, programming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that can use only one core to work, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6500
Cinbench 15 Single-core	128	153
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	675	565
Cinbench 20 Single-core	328	354
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1511	1299
Cinbench 23 Single-core	860	842
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	4042	2928

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6500
Single-Core	2008	2149
Multi-Core	7359	5644

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6500
Single-Core	796	1004
Multi-Core	2857	3346

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	AMD Ryzen 5 3450U	Intel Core i5-6500
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	April 01, 2015
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FP5	LGA 1151
Core name	Matisse	Skylake
Architecture	Zen 2	x86
Generation	2	6
Turbo Frequency	3.5 MHz	3.6 MHz
Frequency	2.1 MHz	3.2 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	4
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	4200 millions	1760 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	65 W
Memory type		DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory		64 Gb
Memory Frequency	2400
Memory bandwidth		34.1 GB/s
L1 cache	384KB
L2 cache	2MB
L3 cache	4MB	6 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	YM3450C4T4MFG

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-6500 is 34% better than Ryzen 5 3450U in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 5 3450U is better: 13
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6500 is better: 24
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 5 3450U and Intel Core i5-6500 before making a selection which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• AMD Ryzen 5 3450U specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-6500 specs and review.