Slower Meteor Lake Core Ultra 5 CPU, with Same Power Consumption, only 10% Behind Ryzen 7 7840HS, Yet Faster in Gaming

Processors are a crucial component in our PCs, responsible for performing all basic tasks. They are used for every activity we do on the PC, unlike the GPU which is not utilized in certain tasks. The amount of energy a processor consumes, particularly in laptops, determines the battery life. Intel aims to achieve maximum efficiency with Meteor Lake, and before its launch, the performance of the Core Ultra 5 125H has been leaked, compared to the previous-generation i5-13500H and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS.

When it comes to PCs, our main goal is to achieve the best possible performance, even if this means sacrificing temperature and consumption. Intel fits perfectly into this category with their latest Core 13 and Core 14 series, which offer excellent performance but consume more energy than many had hoped. On the other hand, AMD launches processors that consume less energy, with their latest Ryzen 7000X3D series being an efficient and great option for gaming.

Intel Core Ultra 5 125H vs. i5-13500H vs. Ryzen 7 7840HS with a 65W TDP were tested to make the comparison fair. Starting with the Cinebench R20, the Core Ultra 5 125H scored 5,690 points in multi-core, the i5-13500H scored 5,628 points, and the Ryzen 7 7840HS reached 6,309 points (11% more). In Cinebench R23 single-core, the Ultra 5 125H scored 1,689 points, the 13500H scored 1,805 points, and the 7840HS scored 1,800 points. These results reveal that the new Intel Meteor Lake offers little advantage.

Although the CPU performance is slightly behind, the GPU surpasses AMD’s 780M. The Ultra 5 125H scored 3,548 points in Time Spy, placing it above the 3,007 points achieved by the Ryzen 7840HS’s 780M, thus outperforming AMD’s most powerful integrated graphics. The new Meteor Lake processors also significantly outperform the iGPU of the i5-13500H, which scored only 1,530 points. In Fire Strike, the Ultra 5 125H’s graphics allowed it to score 9,095 points, while the Ryzen 7 7840HS scored 8,543 points, and the i5-13500H stood at 5,303 points.

In conclusion, the Meteor Lake CPU Core Ultra 5 is only 10% slower when consuming the same amount of power as the Ryzen 7 7840HS but is faster in gaming.