Core Ultra 5 225 vs Core i5-14500

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

The Core Ultra 5 225 uses the LGA1851 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Core i5-14500 uses LGA1700 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR5-6400 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: 24 (Core Ultra 5 225) vs 20 (Core i5-14500) — the Core Ultra 5 225 offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Z890,B860,H810 (Core Ultra 5 225) and B760,Z790 (Core i5-14500).

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

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