Ultra 5 125U vs Ultra 9 185H

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core Ultra 9 185H
2023
16 cores / 22 threads, 45 Watt
18.50
+68%
Core Ultra 5 125U
2023
12 cores / 14 threads, 15 Watt
11.01

Core Ultra 9 185H outperforms Core Ultra 5 125U by an impressive 68% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking324710
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Meteor Lake-HIntel Meteor Lake-U
Power efficiency38.9169.46
Architecture codenameMeteor Lake-H (2023)Meteor Lake-P (2023)
Release date14 December 2023 (1 year ago)14 December 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$640$363

Detailed specifications

Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores16 (Hexadeca-Core)12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads2214
Base clock speed3.9 GHz1.3 GHz
Boost clock speed5.1 GHz4.3 GHz
L1 cache112 KB (per core)112 KB (per core)
L2 cache2 MB (per core)2 MB (per core)
L3 cache24 MB (shared)12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography7 nmIntel 4 nm
Maximum core temperature110 °C110 °C
64 bit support++

Compatibility

Information on Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketIntel BGA 2049FCBGA2049
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX++
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
Deep Learning Boost-+
Supported AI Software Frameworks-OpenVINO™, WindowsML, ONNX RT

Security technologies

Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR5DDR5
Maximum memory sizeno data96 GB
Max memory channelsno data2

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel Arc 8-Cores iGPU ( - 2350 MHz)Intel® Graphics
Quick Sync Video-+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.85 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz (HDMI 2.1 TMDS) 7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz (HDMI2.1 FRL)
Max resolution over eDPno data3840x2400 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12.2
OpenGLno data4.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U.

PCIe version5.04.0
PCI Express lanes812
PCI supportno data4.0

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Ultra 9 185H 18.50
+68%
Ultra 5 125U 11.01

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Ultra 9 185H 29390
+68%
Ultra 5 125U 17489

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Ultra 9 185H 2809
+69.5%
Ultra 5 125U 1657

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Ultra 9 185H 268
+19.1%
Ultra 5 125U 225

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

Ultra 9 185H 13531
+62.8%
Ultra 5 125U 8311

Blender(-)

Ultra 9 185H 177
Ultra 5 125U 350
+97.7%

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

Ultra 9 185H 1858
+18.4%
Ultra 5 125U 1569

7-Zip Single

Ultra 9 185H 5540
+20.5%
Ultra 5 125U 4598

7-Zip

Ultra 9 185H 71843
+83.8%
Ultra 5 125U 39087

WebXPRT 3

Ultra 9 185H 289
+18.2%
Ultra 5 125U 245

CrossMark Overall

Ultra 9 185H 1770
+26.4%
Ultra 5 125U 1401

WebXPRT 4 Overall

Ultra 9 185H 261
+14.7%
Ultra 5 125U 228

Blender v3.3 Classroom CPU(-)

Ultra 9 185H 309
Ultra 5 125U 657
+112%

Geekbench 6.3 Multi-Core

Ultra 9 185H 13973
+49%
Ultra 5 125U 9378

Geekbench 6.3 Single-Core

Ultra 9 185H 2498
+16%
Ultra 5 125U 2153

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 18.50 11.01
Physical cores 16 12
Threads 22 14
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 15 Watt

Ultra 9 185H has a 68% higher aggregate performance score, and 33.3% more physical cores and 57.1% more threads.

Ultra 5 125U, on the other hand, has 200% lower power consumption.

The Core Ultra 9 185H is our recommended choice as it beats the Core Ultra 5 125U in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core Ultra 9 185H and Core Ultra 5 125U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
Core Ultra 9 185H
Intel Core Ultra 5 125U
Core Ultra 5 125U

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Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.8 425 votes

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core Ultra 9 185H or Core Ultra 5 125U, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.