The Core i5-13500 is one of the best CPUs, as per the early benchmarks. A BiliBili content creator uploaded a video showing an engineering sample of Intel’s upcoming mid-range Core i5-13500 Raptor Lake processor and the things it can do in Cinebench R23 and CPU-Z. The performance traits of the new CPU are really impressive, with the chip having a 56% multi-threaded performance benefit over its Core i5-12400 Alder Lake predecessor. 

As per the Bilibili video, the Core i5-13500 engineering sample features a single-core turbo frequency of about 4.8 GHz or 4.9 GHz depending on the monitoring software shown, and an all-core frequency of 4.4 GHz. The efficiency cores reach almost 3.4 GHz, with the cores declining to 3.3 GHz. 

The most important upgrade on the Core i5-13500 is its core count, which features the same 6 P-core and 8 E-core combinations as the higher-up Core i5-13600K. It is a huge upgrade from Intel’s Alder Lake predecessor, the Core i5-12500, lacking efficiency cores. However, compared to the Core i5-12600K, the Core i5-13500 has a core count advantage having two more E-cores. 

We see a huge boost in core count in Cinebench R23, where the chip hits a multi-threaded score of 19,891 points. It represents a 56% performance improvement for the Core i5-13500 in comparison to the Core i5-12500, which scores 12,678 points in a similar benchmark. 

In CPU-Z’s benchmark, the results are more impressive, with the Core i5-13500 pulling out a score of 8,222 points in the multi-threaded benchmark, and is 61% more rapid than the official Core i5-12500 multi-threaded CPU-Z score of around 5,108 points. 

The single-threaded results are not a burden, with the Core i5-13500 having a 9% lead over the Core i5-12500 in Cinebench R23, along with a score of 1,901 vs. Tech Notice’s score of 1,736 for the Core i5-12500. We could not get a CPU-Z single-threaded result since the image quality of the video was too hazy to provide any detail. 

A 9% lead is not bad for an engineering sample as these chips are lower clocked compared to the production models. We might get to see a higher single-threaded performance and clock speeds, on the full production models, than what we see today. 

But, the most impressive results from the Core i5-13500 come from the multi-core results. Intel’s decision to add a full eight E-cores to its budget-end Core i5-13500 is giving Intel’s mid-range offering a serious performance jump over its Alder Lake predecessor. However, whether the Core i5-13500 offers a great leap in gaming performance is to be seen.