Intel Core i5-13500 CPU benchmark, faster than i5-12600K at a lower price

Benchmarks of the Intel Core i5-13500 CPU keep leaking out as the chip is already available for purchase at various retail outlets around the world.

Intel Core i5-13500 CPU may be the best budget CPU at launch as early benchmarks show

There has been no shortage of Intel Core i5-13500 CPU benchmarks over the past two weeks. We’ve seen benchmarks here and here but the latest one comes from a well-known overclocking geek and also a tech enthusiast, Alpha Jonathan aka Lucky_n00b. The CPU is already available for sale in the Indonesian PC market, so it wasn’t difficult for Alva to get the chip. The CPU has undergone various tests and the results are very interesting.

Intel’s Core i5-13500 CPU will be part of the 13th Gen Non-K CPU lineup, but it will use an Alder Lake C0 die because its cache architecture is more like that rather than the Raptor Lake chipset. The Core i5-13500 comes with 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores for a total of 14 cores and 20 threads. This is the same thread count as the Intel Core i7-12700K but this has more performance cores. There is also 24MB of L3 cache and 11.5MB of L2 cache onboard the chip.

Intel Core i5-13500 CPU has been tested on MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 motherboard and comes with a maximum single core clock speed of 4.8GHz (P-Core) and a fixed speed of all cores ranging from 2.8- 2.9GHz for P-Cores and 2.9 GHz for E-Core under 65W PL1 mode. With PL1 mode maxed out, that frequency jumps to 4.5GHz across all P-Cores and 3.5GHz on E-Cores.

Intel Core i5-13500 CPU clock frequencies and power limits (Image credits: Alva Jonathan):

In stock, the Intel Core i5-13500 CPU has a 65W PL1 rating and a maximum PL2 rating of 154W. During the tests, the CPU can hit up to 130W of power bursts for the multi-core package while 65W is maintained in the majority of the multi-core tests. Users can also define unlimited power mode on certain motherboards which will allow the CPU to use up to 150W+ power on all-around workloads, but doing so will generate a lot of heat so you’ll need a better cooler. Alva has been using a stock air cooler, so a high-end heatsink or liquid cooling is recommended if you want to push the chip hard.

When it comes to benchmarks, the Intel Core i5-13500 scored 1,834 points (PL1 – 65W) and 1,885 points (PL1 – Unlimited) in the Cinebench R23 single-thread test. In multi-threading, the Core i5-13500 scored 17104 points (PL1 – 65W) and 21103 points (PL1 – Unlimited). While the single-core score does not get a huge performance boost, the multi-threaded score gets a 23% boost with the Unlimited Power Profile. Even at the stock 65W profile the CPU is on par with the Core i5-12600K but with the unlimited power profile the CPU finishes close to the Core i7-12700K which is pretty impressive for a chip that will cost just over $200 we .

Intel Core i5-13500 CPU Cinebench R23 Benchmarks (Image credits: Alva Jonathan):

Alva also offers some feedback on his experience with the Intel Core i5-13500 CPU:

Quick Pretest Core i5-13500 Notes:
– Running MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 (1.90 BIOS) and GSkill TridentZ RGB DDR4-3600 2x16GB
– Judging from the L2 Cache, it looks like Alder Lake C0 dies with 2 fewer P-Cores?

– The default power configuration detected is 65W PL1 / 154W PL2
– Increasing the PL1 from the default 65W mode to Max / Unlimited mode will give a huge boost to the clock

– Max Clock 1-Core 4.8GHz (P-Core)
– Fixed clock for all cores in default 65W 2.9-3GHz P-Core, 2.9GHz E-Core
– Full core clock on max/unlimited PL1 4.5GHz P-Core, 3.5GHz E-Core

– 65W default may be possible for stock heatsink
(Temperature may be higher just for the initial burst to 130W-ish)
– Unlimited/Maximum Power PL1 not recommended for stock heatsinks (will easily run into TjMax)

– 65W multi-core performance nearly identical to i5-12600K on Cinebench R23
– Max / Unlimited Power Multi-Core Performance just under i7-12700K!
– Single core close to the i5-12600K processor.

Quick summary:
Very decent overall performance
– It can run on a cheap/high value H610 board, but please make sure the power is 65W, not the max
– Recommended to be paired with the B660 mid-range and a decent 120mm HSF tower (such as the Thermalright TA120 EX or ID-Cooling SE-224XT), maxing out on-board power for optimal multi-core performance

Now I’m not sure if the i5-13600K is my best cpu of the year this i5-13500 cpu may have better multi-core performance per dollar 😀

*Note: The CPU is purchased from a retail store, not an engineering sample, all running using a publicly available BIOS 😉

Also, I need to sleep

We previously mentioned in our exclusive report that Intel B760 motherboards and 13th Gen Non-K CPUs will be launching at CES 2023 on January 3rd, so stay tuned for more info. Intel’s 13th Gen Non-K processors will be compatible with B760 motherboards and the cheaper B660 motherboards that are widely available in the new market and end users as well as being available in DDR5 and DDR4 flavors, giving Intel a huge advantage over AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Non-X CPUs. To launch in January as well.

News sources: Videocardz, Alva Jonathan aka Lucky_n00b