Intel Core i5-8260U vs AMD Ryzen 3 5300U

Processor comparisons 03-04-2021

   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision by looking at the Intel Core i5-8260U vs AMD Ryzen 3 5300U tests and understand which is better for games or simple use for video editing, streaming, machine learning, rendering, programming. Here is useful information from real streaming and video editing tests or many benchmarks. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests such as Prime95, MATLAB, SuperPi, WPrime, Blender, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, RealBench, PassMark, Furmark, AIDA64, Blender, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 3DMark, Dolphin Emulator, UserBenchmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which processor is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen 3 5300U or Intel Core i5-8260U.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i5-8260U

52%

Ryzen 3 5300U

52%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i5-8260U

52%

Ryzen 3 5300U

51%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	92.3	91.0
Valorant	104.9	103.4
Cyberpunk 2077	58.7	57.9
Apex Legends	98.6	97.2
Call of Duty Warzone	78.7	77.6
Overwatch	85.0	83.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	72.4	71.3
DOOM Eternal	52.4	51.7
Warzone	81.8	80.7
Assassin's Creed	88.1	86.9
Valheim	87.1	85.8

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 video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. Therefore, 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

Core i5-8260U

221%

Ryzen 3 5300U

196%

To make a final resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i5-8260U is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 3 5300U since it has less power consumption: 15W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you need to 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

If you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video editing or video rendering, streaming, machine learning, programming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to reach maximum performance, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.

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

	Intel Core i5-8260U	AMD Ryzen 3 5300U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	157	177
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	596	613
Cinbench 20 Single-core	409	451
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	2046	1593
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1029	772
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	4033	3788

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

	Intel Core i5-8260U	AMD Ryzen 3 5300U
Single-Core	2385	2503
Multi-Core	7652	8231

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

	Intel Core i5-8260U	AMD Ryzen 3 5300U
Single-Core	997	886
Multi-Core	4222	2937

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in new games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i5-8260U	AMD Ryzen 3 5300U
Announcement date	April 01, 2020	January 12, 2021
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	FCBGA1528	FP6
Core name	Coffee Lake	Lucienne
Architecture	x86	Zen 2
Generation	8	3
Turbo Frequency	3.9 MHz	3.8 MHz
Frequency	1.6 MHz	2.6 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	8
Bus rate	4 GT/s OPI
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	1900 millions	4200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	15 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133	DDR4 - Up to 3200MHz
Max. Memory	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache		2MB
L3 cache	6 MB	4MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number		100-000000376

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 3 5300U is 38% better than Core i5-8260U 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 Intel Core i5-8260U is better: 22
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 3 5300U is better: 10
Although it should be understood that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple comparison of these figures. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i5-8260U and AMD Ryzen 3 5300U before making a choice which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Intel Core i5-8260U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i5-8260U specs and review.

AMD Ryzen 3 5300U - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• AMD Ryzen 3 5300U specs and review.