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 i5-12500

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +9.0% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 770, while Ryzen 5 PRO 220 needs a discrete GPU.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 5 PRO 220.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,739 vs 19,889).
❌Launch MSRP is still $212 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 PRO 220 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌983.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 6W.

Ryzen 5 PRO 220

2025

Why buy it

✅+0.8% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 6W instead of 65W, a 59W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12500 across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i5-12500 can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12500.

Core i5-12500

2022

Ryzen 5 PRO 220

2025

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +9.0% higher average FPS across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with UHD Graphics 770, while Ryzen 5 PRO 220 needs a discrete GPU.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 5 PRO 220.

Why buy it

✅+0.8% higher PassMark.
✅Draws 6W instead of 65W, a 59W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (19,739 vs 19,889).
❌Launch MSRP is still $212 MSRP, while Ryzen 5 PRO 220 mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌983.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 6W.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i5-12500 across 2 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌No integrated graphics, while Core i5-12500 can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-12500.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 5 PRO 220 better than Core i5-12500?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Core i5-12500 is ahead with a 9.0% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 PRO 220 pulls ahead with 0.8% better PassMark.

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

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 5 PRO 220 is the better fit. You are getting 0.8% better PassMark, backed by 6 cores and 12 threads.

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

Ryzen 5 PRO 220 is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i5-12500 makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 5 PRO 220 is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $212 MSRP, and it gives you 0.8% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Core i5-12500 is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 9.0% average FPS lead across 2 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i5-12500 is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (93.1 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

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

Ryzen 5 PRO 220 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2025 vs 2022) and more multi-core headroom with 6 cores / 12 threads instead of 6/12. That should give you a better long-term upgrade path for motherboard, RAM, and future CPU swaps.

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 i5-12500 Benchmark Check

Ryzen 5 PRO 220 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-12500	Ryzen 5 PRO 220
1080p
low	186 FPS	259 FPS
medium	170 FPS	237 FPS
high	142 FPS	199 FPS
ultra	120 FPS	171 FPS
1440p
low	156 FPS	229 FPS
medium	133 FPS	191 FPS
high	107 FPS	155 FPS
ultra	90 FPS	137 FPS
4K
low	88 FPS	159 FPS
medium	81 FPS	134 FPS
high	65 FPS	104 FPS
ultra	50 FPS	92 FPS

Open Core i5-12500 Open Ryzen 5 PRO 220

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-12500	Ryzen 5 PRO 220
1080p
low	493 FPS	386 FPS
medium	428 FPS	320 FPS
high	362 FPS	284 FPS
ultra	319 FPS	248 FPS
1440p
low	433 FPS	324 FPS
medium	373 FPS	280 FPS
high	324 FPS	255 FPS
ultra	278 FPS	218 FPS
4K
low	289 FPS	243 FPS
medium	254 FPS	214 FPS
high	234 FPS	201 FPS
ultra	201 FPS	169 FPS

Open Core i5-12500 Open Ryzen 5 PRO 220

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-12500	Ryzen 5 PRO 220
1080p
low	493 FPS	497 FPS
medium	493 FPS	497 FPS
high	493 FPS	497 FPS
ultra	493 FPS	497 FPS
1440p
low	493 FPS	497 FPS
medium	493 FPS	497 FPS
high	491 FPS	497 FPS
ultra	440 FPS	430 FPS
4K
low	456 FPS	484 FPS
medium	401 FPS	425 FPS
high	345 FPS	362 FPS
ultra	281 FPS	299 FPS

Open Core i5-12500 Open Ryzen 5 PRO 220

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-12500	Ryzen 5 PRO 220
1080p
low	493 FPS	497 FPS
medium	493 FPS	497 FPS
high	493 FPS	497 FPS
ultra	493 FPS	497 FPS
1440p
low	493 FPS	497 FPS
medium	493 FPS	497 FPS
high	493 FPS	497 FPS
ultra	493 FPS	497 FPS
4K
low	493 FPS	497 FPS
medium	482 FPS	497 FPS
high	422 FPS	441 FPS
ultra	355 FPS	377 FPS

Open Core i5-12500 Open Ryzen 5 PRO 220

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-12500 and Ryzen 5 PRO 220

Core i5-12500

The Core i5-12500 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3 GHz, with boost up to 4.6 GHz. L3 cache: 18 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 19,739 points. Launch price was $299.

Ryzen 5 PRO 220

The Ryzen 5 PRO 220 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 6 January 2025 (less than a year ago). It is based on the Hawk Point-U (Zen 4 + Zen 4c) (2023−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 3.2 GHz, with boost up to 4.9 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB. L2 cache: 6 MB. Built on 4 nm process technology. Socket: FP7/FP7r2. Thermal design power (TDP): 6 MB + 16 MB. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 19,889 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

Both the Core i5-12500 and Ryzen 5 PRO 220 share an identical 6-core/12-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 4.6 GHz on the Core i5-12500 versus 4.9 GHz on the Ryzen 5 PRO 220 — a 6.3% clock advantage for the Ryzen 5 PRO 220 (base: 3 GHz vs 3.2 GHz). The Core i5-12500 uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Ryzen 5 PRO 220 uses Hawk Point-U (Zen 4 + Zen 4c) (2023−2025) (4 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-12500 scores 19,739 against the Ryzen 5 PRO 220's 19,889 — a 0.8% lead for the Ryzen 5 PRO 220. L3 cache: 18 MB (total) on the Core i5-12500 vs 16 MB on the Ryzen 5 PRO 220.

Feature	Core i5-12500	Ryzen 5 PRO 220
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	6 / 12
Boost Clock	4.6 GHz	4.9 GHz+7%
Base Clock	3 GHz	3.2 GHz+7%
L3 Cache	18 MB (total)+13%	16 MB
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)	6 MB+380%
Process	Intel 7 nm	4 nm-43%
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Hawk Point-U (Zen 4 + Zen 4c) (2023−2025)
PassMark	19,739	19,889
Cinebench R23 Multi	12,978	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,319	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	9,003	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-12500 uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Ryzen 5 PRO 220 uses FP7/FP7r2 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-12500	Ryzen 5 PRO 220
Socket	LGA1700	FP7/FP7r2
PCIe Generation	PCIe 4.0+33%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	Yes	—
PCIe Lanes	20	—

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i5-12500) / not specified (Ryzen 5 PRO 220). The Core i5-12500 includes integrated graphics (UHD Graphics 770), while the Ryzen 5 PRO 220 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-12500 targets Productivity. Direct competitor: Core i5-12500 rivals Ryzen 5 5500.