Intel Core i5-3550S vs MediaTek Helio G36

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-3550S CPU1 vs CPU2 MediaTek Helio G36
Intel Core i5-3550S MediaTek Helio G36

CPU comparison

Intel Core i5-3550S or MediaTek Helio G36 - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i5-3550S has 4 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.70 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-3550S was released in Q2/2012.

The MediaTek Helio G36 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.20 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The MediaTek Helio G36 was released in Q1/2023.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Mediatek Helio (37)
Intel Core i 3000 (31) CPU group MediaTek Helio G20/G30 (4)
3 Generation 1
Ivy Bridge S Architecture Cortex-A53 / Cortex-A53
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-3550S is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (3.70 GHz). The MediaTek Helio G36 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.20 GHz.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic MediaTek Helio G36
4 Cores 8
4 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz (3.70 GHz) A-Core 2.20 GHz
4x Cortex-A53
-- B-Core 1.80 GHz
4x Cortex-A53

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic MediaTek Helio G36
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Intel HD Graphics 2500 GPU PowerVR GE8320
0.65 GHz GPU frequency 0.68 GHz
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
7 GPU Generation --
22 nm Technology 20 nm
3 Max. displays 1
6 Compute units 1
48 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
11.0 DirectX Version 10

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 2500 GPU PowerVR GE8320
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i5-3550S supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The MediaTek Helio G36 can connect up to 8 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic MediaTek Helio G36
DDR3-1600 Memory LPDDR4X-1600, LPDDR3-933
32 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 12.8 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
6.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i5-3550S has a TDP of 65 W, that of the MediaTek Helio G36 is --.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic MediaTek Helio G36
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-3550S has a 6.00 MB cache, while the MediaTek Helio G36 cache has a total of 0.00 MB.

Intel Core i5-3550S Characteristic MediaTek Helio G36
22 nm Technology 12 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions --
LGA 1155 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Android
Q2/2012 Release date Q1/2023
197 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-3550S to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the MediaTek Helio G36 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.7 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-3550S (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 (18%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-3550S (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 (20%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
781 (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G36
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
142 (18%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
2528 (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G36
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
514 (20%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
Intel HD Graphics 2500 @ 1.15 GHz
110 (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G36
PowerVR GE8320 @ 0.68 GHz
44 (39%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
722 (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G36
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
2082 (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G36
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550S
4C 4T @ 3.00 GHz
4512 (100%)
MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G36
8C 8T @ 2.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-3550S MediaTek Helio G36
Unknown Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. MediaTek Helio G85MediaTek Helio G36 MediaTek Helio G85 vs MediaTek Helio G36
2. MediaTek Helio G36UNISOC T606 MediaTek Helio G36 vs UNISOC T606
3. MediaTek Helio G36MediaTek Helio P35 MediaTek Helio G36 vs MediaTek Helio P35
4. MediaTek Helio G36Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G MediaTek Helio G36 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
5. Intel Celeron N4500Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Celeron N4500 vs Intel Core i5-3550S
6. Intel Core i5-3550Intel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i5-3550 vs Intel Core i5-3550S
7. MediaTek Helio G36MediaTek Helio G25 MediaTek Helio G36 vs MediaTek Helio G25
8. Intel Core i7-3770SIntel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i7-3770S vs Intel Core i5-3550S
9. MediaTek Helio G36MediaTek Helio G88 MediaTek Helio G36 vs MediaTek Helio G88
10. Intel Core i7-3770KIntel Core i5-3550S Intel Core i7-3770K vs Intel Core i5-3550S


back to index