Core i5-11500 vs Core Ultra 5 228V

The Core i5-11500 packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Core Ultra 5 228V offers 8 cores / 8 threads — the Core Ultra 5 228V has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.6 GHz on the Core i5-11500 versus 4.5 GHz on the Core Ultra 5 228V — a 2.2% clock advantage for the Core i5-11500 (base: 2.7 GHz vs 2.1 GHz). The Core i5-11500 uses the Rocket Lake (2021) architecture (14 nm), while the Core Ultra 5 228V uses Lunar Lake (2024) (3 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-11500 scores 17,096 against the Core Ultra 5 228V's 16,955 — a 0.8% lead for the Core i5-11500. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 9,883 vs 9,932 (0.5% advantage for the Core Ultra 5 228V). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,064 vs 2,585, a 22.4% lead for the Core Ultra 5 228V that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 8,564 vs 10,053 (16% advantage for the Core Ultra 5 228V). L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i5-11500 vs 8 MB (total) on the Core Ultra 5 228V.

The Core i5-11500 uses the LGA1200 socket (PCIe 4.0), while the Core Ultra 5 228V uses FCBGA2833 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR4-3200 on the Core i5-11500 versus LPDDR5X-8533 on the Core Ultra 5 228V — the Core Ultra 5 228V supports 22.2% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Core i5-11500 supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 32 GB — 120% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-11500) vs 8 (Core Ultra 5 228V) — the Core i5-11500 offers 12 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: H510,B560,Z590,H470,Z490 (Core i5-11500) and SoC (Core Ultra 5 228V).

Only the Core i5-11500 supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-11500) vs Yes (Core Ultra 5 228V). Both include integrated graphics — UHD 750 (Core i5-11500) and Arc 130V (Core Ultra 5 228V) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-11500 targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i5-11500 rivals Ryzen 5 5600X.

The Core i5-11500 launched at $192 MSRP, while the Core Ultra 5 228V debuted at $295. At current prices ($110 vs $295), the Core i5-11500 is $185 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-11500 delivers 155.4 pts/$ vs 57.5 pts/$ for the Core Ultra 5 228V — making the Core i5-11500 the 92% better value option.