Core i5-14500 vs Core Ultra 5 225

The Core i5-14500 packs 14 cores / 20 threads, while the Core Ultra 5 225 offers 10 cores / 10 threads — the Core i5-14500 has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Core i5-14500 versus 4.9 GHz on the Core Ultra 5 225 — a 2% clock advantage for the Core i5-14500 (base: 2.6 GHz vs 3.3 GHz). The Core i5-14500 uses the Raptor Lake-R (2023−2025) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Core Ultra 5 225 uses Arrow Lake-S (2024−2025) (3 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-14500 scores 31,205 against the Core Ultra 5 225's 31,137 — a 0.2% lead for the Core i5-14500. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 2,700 vs 2,653, a 1.8% lead for the Core i5-14500 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 15,000 vs 13,028 (14.1% advantage for the Core i5-14500). L3 cache: 24 MB (total) on the Core i5-14500 vs 20 MB (total) on the Core Ultra 5 225.

The Core i5-14500 uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Core Ultra 5 225 uses LGA1851 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR5-4800 memory speed. The Core Ultra 5 225 supports up to 256 GB of RAM compared to 192 GB — 28.6% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i5-14500) vs 24 (Core Ultra 5 225) — the Core Ultra 5 225 offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: B760,Z790 (Core i5-14500) and Z890,B860,H810 (Core Ultra 5 225).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i5-14500) vs VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core Ultra 5 225). Both include integrated graphics — Intel UHD Graphics 770 (Core i5-14500) and Intel Arc Graphics (2 Xe-cores) (Core Ultra 5 225) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-14500 targets Mainstream Desktop, Core Ultra 5 225 targets Mainstream Desktop / Efficiency. Direct competitor: Core Ultra 5 225 rivals Ryzen 5 8600G.

The Core i5-14500 launched at $239 MSRP, while the Core Ultra 5 225 debuted at $240. At current prices ($251 vs $200), the Core Ultra 5 225 is $51 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i5-14500 delivers 124.3 pts/$ vs 155.7 pts/$ for the Core Ultra 5 225 — making the Core Ultra 5 225 the 22.4% better value option.