Intel Core i5-9500 vs MediaTek Helio X20

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-9500 CPU1 vs CPU2 MediaTek Helio X20
Intel Core i5-9500 MediaTek Helio X20

CPU comparison

Intel Core i5-9500 or MediaTek Helio X20 - 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 i5-9500 has 6 cores with 6 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.40 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-9500 was released in Q2/2019.

The MediaTek Helio X20 has 10 cores with 10 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.10 GHz. The CPU supports up to 4 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The MediaTek Helio X20 was released in Q4/2015.
Intel Core i5 (331) Family Mediatek Helio (37)
Intel Core i 9000 (34) CPU group MediaTek Helio X20 (4)
9 Generation 2
Coffee Lake S Refresh Architecture Cortex-A72 / Cortex-A53
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
Intel Core i5-8500 Predecessor --
Intel Core i5-10500 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-9500 is a 6 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (4.40 GHz). The MediaTek Helio X20 has 10 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.10 GHz.

Intel Core i5-9500 Characteristic MediaTek Helio X20
6 Cores 10
6 Threads 10
normal Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz (4.40 GHz) A-Core 2.10 GHz
2x Cortex-A72
-- B-Core 1.40 GHz
4x Cortex-A53
-- C-Core --
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 i5-9500 Characteristic MediaTek Helio X20
-- 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 UHD Graphics 630 GPU ARM Mali-T880 MP4
0.35 GHz GPU frequency 0.78 GHz
1.10 GHz GPU (Turbo) 0.78 GHz
9.5 GPU Generation Midgard 4
14 nm Technology 16 nm
3 Max. displays 2
24 Compute units 4
192 Shader 64
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version 11

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 UHD Graphics 630 GPU ARM Mali-T880 MP4
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i5-9500 supports a maximum of 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The MediaTek Helio X20 can connect up to 4 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Intel Core i5-9500 Characteristic MediaTek Helio X20
DDR4-2666 Memory LPDDR3-800
128 GB Max. Memory 4 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
42.7 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 6.4 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
9.00 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 i5-9500 has a TDP of 65 W, that of the MediaTek Helio X20 is --.

Intel Core i5-9500 Characteristic MediaTek Helio X20
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-9500 has a 9.00 MB cache, while the MediaTek Helio X20 cache has a total of 0.00 MB.

Intel Core i5-9500 Characteristic MediaTek Helio X20
14 nm Technology 20 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions --
LGA 1151-2 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Android
Q2/2019 Release date Q4/2015
260 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i5-9500 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.7 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the MediaTek Helio X20 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 1.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-9500 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 (17%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i5-9500 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 (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 i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.40 GHz
1168 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
203 (17%)

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 i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.00 GHz
4736 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
1153 (24%)

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 i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.40 GHz
1427 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
240 (17%)

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 i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.00 GHz
5424 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
958 (18%)

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 i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
Intel UHD Graphics 630 @ 1.10 GHz
422 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
ARM Mali-T880 MP4 @ 0.78 GHz
106 (25%)

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 i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.00 GHz
9791 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
1729 (18%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
Intel Core i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
84536 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz
2692 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.40 GHz
182 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i5-9500 Intel Core i5-9500
6C 6T @ 4.00 GHz
1016 (100%)
MediaTek Helio X20 MediaTek Helio X20
10C 10T @ 2.10 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-9500 MediaTek Helio X20
Unknown Unknown

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