CPU Comparison
Intel Core i5-5200U vs Intel Core i5-4350U
A side-by-side comparison of specs, performance and value. The Intel Core i5-5200U is a dual-core, four-thread mobile processor from the Broadwell-U family, built on Intel's 14nm process for thin-and-light ultrabooks requiring balanced performance and power efficiency.
The Bottom Line
Overview & Launch
Specifications Compared
Performance Compared
Productivity
Sufficient for basic document editing and email but struggles with heavy spreadsheet workloads or multitasking.
The 1.4 GHz base clock limits performance under sustained load, though turbo boost helps for short bursts.
Gaming
The HD 5500 integrated graphics can barely manage older or lightweight titles at low resolution and settings.
Struggles with most modern games; can only handle very old 2D or lightweight 3D indie titles.
Virtualization
Not suitable for virtualization due to limited cores and memory bandwidth.
Not recommended for virtualization due to dual-core limits and low base clock.
Efficiency
The 14nm process was efficient for its era, though modern 10nm and 7nm chips far surpass it.
Excellent efficiency for its era, designed specifically to maximize laptop battery life.
Specialized Performance
AI / ML
- No dedicated AI acceleration hardware
- Dual-core design makes AI inference impractical
- Not suitable for any machine learning workloads
- No AI hardware support
- Dual-core design makes AI inference extremely slow
Content Creation
Gaming
- HD 5500 with 24 EUs is insufficient for modern gaming
- Older titles like CS:GO and Minecraft run at playable frame rates at 720p low
- No support for modern graphics APIs beyond DirectX 11.2
- Shared memory architecture reduces GPU performance
- HD 5000 is better than HD 4400 but still weak for 3D
- Low base clock can throttle gaming performance
- Suitable only for retro or extremely lightweight games
Industry Impact
Best CPU by Use Case
Target Audience
Strengths & Weaknesses
Pros
- Low 15W TDP ideal for thin laptops
- Configurable TDP down to 7.5W for fanless designs
- First 14nm consumer processor generation
- Intel HD 5500 better than Haswell's HD 4400
- Hyper-Threading provides 4 logical threads
Cons
- Only 2 physical cores limit multi-threaded performance
- DDR3 memory support is outdated
- PCIe Gen 2 lanes are slow by modern standards
- No dedicated AI or hardware security features
- End-of-life with no security updates or support
- Integrated graphics inadequate for modern workloads
Pros
- Excellent power efficiency for battery life
- Good turbo boost frequency for short tasks
- HD 5000 graphics are capable for media playback
- Low heat output
Cons
- Very low 1.4 GHz base clock limits sustained performance
- Only 2 physical cores
- End-of-life and outdated
- Soldered to the motherboard
- Lacks modern security and instruction set support
Competitors & Alternatives
Intel Core i5-5200U
- AMD A8-7410Rival
Mobile Budget
- AMD A10-8700PRival
Mobile Budget
- Intel Core i3-5010URival
Mobile Ultrabook
- Intel Pentium 3805URival
Mobile Budget
- AMD FX-7500Rival
Mobile Mainstream
- Intel Core i5-6200UAlt
Skylake successor with DDR4 support, better GPU, and improved architecture.
- Intel Core i5-7200UAlt
Kaby Lake refresh with higher clocks and better efficiency.
- AMD Ryzen 3 3200UAlt
Modern dual-core with much better integrated graphics and DDR4 support.
10nm Ice Lake with significantly better GPU and modern features.
Compare head-to-head- AMD Ryzen 5 3500UAlt
Four real cores with Vega graphics offering vastly superior performance.
Intel Core i5-4350U
- AMD A4-5000Rival
Mobile APU
- Intel Core i3-4010URival
Mobile
- AMD A6-5200Rival
Mobile APU
- Compare head-to-headIntel Core i5-4200URival
Mobile
- AMD E2-3800Rival
Mobile APU
- Intel Core i5-8250UAlt
A massive leap in performance with 4 cores, found in cheap used laptops.
- AMD Ryzen 3 2200UAlt
A budget dual-core with better Vega graphics and modern architecture.
- Intel Core i3-8130UAlt
A modern dual-core with much higher clock speeds and efficiency.
- Alt
If looking at older MacBooks, the M1 offers a massive leap in battery and speed.
Compare head-to-head - AMD Ryzen 5 3500UAlt
A budget quad-core mobile chip that vastly outperforms this i5.
Our Verdict on Each
The i5-5200U was a solid ultrabook chip in 2015 but is now thoroughly outdated for modern workloads, offering only basic computing capability by today's standards.
Best for: Purchasing a used ultrabook under $100 for basic web browsing and document editing
Read the full reviewA reliable processor for its time that brought excellent battery life to ultrabooks, though its dual-core performance is severely outdated today.
Best for: Buying a heavily used, extremely cheap laptop for basic offline typing.
Read the full reviewFrequently Asked Questions
Which is faster for gaming, Intel Core i5-5200U or Intel Core i5-4350U?
For gaming, the Intel Core i5-4350U leads with a gaming performance score of 35/100 among Intel Core i5-5200U and Intel Core i5-4350U.
Do Intel Core i5-5200U and Intel Core i5-4350U use the same socket?
Yes — all of these CPUs use the Intel BGA 1168 socket, so they share compatible motherboards.
Which is faster in multi-core benchmarks?
The Intel Core i5-5200U posts the highest multi-core benchmark score. Multi-core results: Intel Core i5-5200U (2,550). Benchmark figures are approximate and workload-dependent.