Core i5-8305G vs Ryzen 5 3500U

CPU

GPU

Core i5-8305G

4 Cores8 Thrd65 WWMax: 3.8 GHz2018

Popular choices:

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Ryzen 5 3500U

4 Cores8 Thrd15 WWMax: 3.7 GHz2019

Popular choices:

•••••••••

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i5-8305G

4 / 8

6,801

0.0%

6,836

+0.5%

Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7965WX

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Core i5-8305G

2018

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +35.2% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+50% larger total L3 cache (6 MB vs 4 MB).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (6,801 vs 6,836).
❌Launch MSRP is still $350 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 3500U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌333.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 15W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 3500U can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 5 3500U

2019

Why buy it

✅+0.5% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 15W instead of 65W, a 50W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (12 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Vega 8, while Core i5-8305G needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-8305G across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 6 MB).

Core i5-8305G

2018

Ryzen 5 3500U

2019

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +35.2% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+50% larger total L3 cache (6 MB vs 4 MB).

Why buy it

✅+0.5% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 15W instead of 65W, a 50W reduction.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (12 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon Vega 8, while Core i5-8305G needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (6,801 vs 6,836).
❌Launch MSRP is still $350 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 3500U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌333.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 15W.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 5 3500U can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-8305G across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (4 MB vs 6 MB).

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 3500U better than Core i5-8305G?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Core i5-8305G is ahead with a 35.2% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 3500U pulls ahead with 0.5% better PassMark. Core i5-8305G also has the bigger cache pool with 50% larger total L3 cache (6 MB vs 4 MB).

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 3500U is the better fit. You are getting 0.5% better PassMark, backed by 4 cores and 8 threads.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 5 3500U is the smarter buy by a wide margin for any fresh desktop build. Ryzen 5 3500U is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $350 MSRP, and it gives you 0.5% better PassMark. Core i5-8305G only looks good on raw value math because it is a cheap legacy laptop CPU, not because it is a serious desktop gaming option. It simply cannot keep up with modern games.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 5 3500U is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2019 vs 2018) and more multi-core headroom with 4 cores / 8 threads instead of 4/8. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i5-8305G Benchmark Check

Ryzen 5 3500U Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-8305G	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	169 FPS
medium	146 FPS	149 FPS
high	117 FPS	120 FPS
ultra	92 FPS	98 FPS
1440p
low	150 FPS	142 FPS
medium	117 FPS	121 FPS
high	93 FPS	95 FPS
ultra	73 FPS	76 FPS
4K
low	70 FPS	67 FPS
medium	59 FPS	61 FPS
high	47 FPS	48 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	37 FPS

Open Core i5-8305G Open Ryzen 5 3500U

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-8305G	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	120 FPS
medium	170 FPS	105 FPS
high	170 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	146 FPS	78 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	103 FPS
medium	170 FPS	90 FPS
high	161 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	131 FPS	70 FPS
4K
low	169 FPS	77 FPS
medium	146 FPS	69 FPS
high	118 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	42 FPS

Open Core i5-8305G Open Ryzen 5 3500U

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-8305G	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS

Open Core i5-8305G Open Ryzen 5 3500U

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-8305G	Ryzen 5 3500U
1080p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	171 FPS
medium	170 FPS	171 FPS
high	170 FPS	171 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	171 FPS

Open Core i5-8305G Open Ryzen 5 3500U

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-8305G and Ryzen 5 3500U

Core i5-8305G

The Core i5-8305G is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 February 2018 (7 years ago). It is based on the Kaby Lake G (2018) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2.8 GHz, with boost up to 3.8 GHz. L3 cache: 6 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: FCBGA2270. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 6,801 points. Launch price was $149.

Ryzen 5 3500U

The Ryzen 5 3500U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 January 2019 (6 years ago). It is based on the Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2.1 GHz, with boost up to 3.7 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 12 nm process technology. Socket: FP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 6,836 points. Launch price was $149.

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Processing Power

Both the Core i5-8305G and Ryzen 5 3500U share an identical 4-core/8-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 3.8 GHz on the Core i5-8305G versus 3.7 GHz on the Ryzen 5 3500U — a 2.7% clock advantage for the Core i5-8305G (base: 2.8 GHz vs 2.1 GHz). The Core i5-8305G uses the Kaby Lake G (2018) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 5 3500U uses Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020) (12 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-8305G scores 6,801 against the Ryzen 5 3500U's 6,836 — a 0.5% lead for the Ryzen 5 3500U. L3 cache: 6 MB (total) on the Core i5-8305G vs 4 MB (total) on the Ryzen 5 3500U.

Feature	Core i5-8305G	Ryzen 5 3500U
Cores / Threads	4 / 8	4 / 8
Boost Clock	3.8 GHz+3%	3.7 GHz
Base Clock	2.8 GHz+33%	2.1 GHz
L3 Cache	6 MB (total)+50%	4 MB (total)
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512K (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	12 nm-14%
Architecture	Kaby Lake G (2018)	Picasso-U (Zen+) (2019−2020)
PassMark	6,801	6,836
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	3,545
Geekbench 6 Single	—	876
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	1,898

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-8305G uses the FCBGA2270 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 5 3500U uses FP5 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-8305G	Ryzen 5 3500U
Socket	FCBGA2270	FP5
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR4-2400
Max RAM Capacity	—	64 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	No
PCIe Lanes	—	12

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Core i5-8305G) / AMD-V (Ryzen 5 3500U). The Ryzen 5 3500U includes integrated graphics (Radeon Vega 8), while the Core i5-8305G requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Ryzen 5 3500U targets Budget. Direct competitor: Ryzen 5 3500U rivals Core i5-10210U.