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Intel Core i5-10505

Intel Core i5-10505: Review and Build Recommendations for 2025

April 2025

Key Specifications: Architecture, Process Technology, and Performance

The Intel Core i5-10505, released in 2020, belongs to the Comet Lake generation and remains a popular choice for budget PCs. Its key parameters include:

- 6 cores / 12 threads — provides multitasking capabilities.

- Base frequency of 3.2 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz — suitable for light gaming and work tasks.

- 14 nm process technology — outdated technology but with optimized power consumption (TDP of 65W).

- Integrated graphics: UHD Graphics 630 — adequate for basic tasks and 4K video, but a discrete graphics card is required for gaming.

- Geekbench 6 scores: 1532 (Single-Core) / 5235 (Multi-Core) — comparable to the Ryzen 5 3600 but falls short against modern alternatives.

Key Features: Support for Hyper-Threading, Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology, hardware acceleration for encryption (AES-NI).

Compatible Motherboards: Sockets and Chipsets

The processor uses the LGA 1200 socket. Suitable chipsets include:

- H410 / B460 / H470 — budget options without overclocking (e.g., ASUS Prime B460-Plus, ~$80).

- Z490 — supports overclocking and PCIe 3.0 x16 (MSI Z490-A Pro, ~$150).

- 500-series chipsets (e.g., B560) — require a BIOS update to work with Comet Lake.

Advice: For most users, B460 boards are sufficient. If overclocking is desired, choose Z490, but note that the multiplier for the i5-10505 is locked.

Supported Memory: DDR4 and Its Features

The processor works only with DDR4. Limitations depend on the chipset:

- H410 / B460: Maximum frequency of 2933 MHz.

- Z490 / B560: Up to 3200 MHz (with XMP profiles).

Example Configuration: 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR4-2666 is optimal for office tasks. For gaming, 32 GB DDR4-3200 is better, but overclocking is only possible on Z490/B560.

Important: DDR5 and PCIe 4.0 are not supported.

Power Supply Recommendations

With a TDP of 65W and using a discrete graphics card:

- Integrated graphics: A PSU of 300–400W (e.g., be quiet! Pure Power 11 400W, ~$60).

- Graphics card level NVIDIA RTX 3060 / AMD RX 6600: A PSU of 500–600W (e.g., Corsair CX650M, ~$80).

Advice: Do not skimp on the PSU. For systems with RTX 4070 and above, a minimum of 750W is required, but the i5-10505 can be a "bottleneck."

Pros and Cons of the Processor

Pros:

- Low price (~$120 in 2025).

- Energy efficiency (suitable for compact builds).

- Good multi-threaded performance for rendering and streaming.

Cons:

- Outdated 14 nm process technology.

- No support for PCIe 4.0 or DDR5.

- Integrated graphics are weak for modern gaming.

Usage Scenarios

1. Office Tasks and Multimedia:

- Working with documents, browsing, 4K video.

- Example build: i5-10505 + 16 GB DDR4 + 512 GB SSD.

2. Light Gaming:

- Games at Full HD on medium settings with a graphics card (GTX 1660 Super or similar).

3. Home Server or Media Center:

- Low power consumption and support for virtualization.

Limitations: Not suitable for 3D modeling in Blender or 4K gaming.

Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Ryzen 5 5600G (~$180):

- 6 cores / 12 threads, 7 nm process technology, Vega 7 graphics.

- Better in multitasking and gaming without a discrete card.

- Intel Core i5-11400 (~$150):

- Newer Rocket Lake architecture, PCIe 4.0.

- Higher performance in single-threaded tasks.

Conclusion: The i5-10505 only wins in price. For performance, consider the Ryzen 5 5600G.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Motherboard: Choose B460 for savings or B560 for upgrades.

2. Cooling: Stock cooler is sufficient, but for reduced noise — Arctic Freezer 34 (~$35).

3. Storage: Ensure an NVMe SSD (e.g., Kingston NV2 1TB, ~$50).

4. Graphics Card: For gaming — RTX 3060 or RX 6600 (~$250–$300).

Example Budget Build (~$500):

- CPU: i5-10505 ($120)

- Motherboard: ASRock B460M-HDV ($75)

- Memory: 16 GB DDR4-2666 ($45)

- Storage: 512 GB SSD ($40)

- PSU: EVGA 500W ($55)

- Case: Deepcool MATREXX 30 ($35)

Final Conclusion: Who is the i5-10505 Suitable For?

This processor is a choice for:

- Budget Users: Building a PC for $500–$600.

- Office Systems: Reliability and low power consumption.

- Upgrading Older PCs: Replacing 8th/9th generation processors without motherboard changes.

Why Not to Choose in 2025: If support for DDR5, PCIe 4.0, or high gaming performance is required — better consider the Ryzen 5 7600 or Intel Core i5-13400.

Conclusion

The Intel Core i5-10505 remains relevant for specific tasks, but against modern processors, it appears outdated. Its main advantages are price and energy efficiency. If the budget is tight and PC requirements are minimal — this is your option. For future upgrades, it’s better to choose a platform that supports DDR5 and PCIe 4.0.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

January 2021

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i5-10505

Code Name

Comet Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

3.20 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

4.60 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

4.60 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1200

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

14 nm

TDP

65 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

128 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

41.6 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.20 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2160@30Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

12 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1532

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

5235

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1207

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

4417

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2816

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

12198

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

EPYC 7663

1648 +7.6%

Xeon E-2276G

1582 +3.3%

Core i5-10505

1532

Xeon Gold 5418Y

1478 -3.5%

Core i3-7350K

1425 -7%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon D-2187NT

5853 +11.8%

Core i3-1215UE

5531 +5.7%

Core i5-10505

5235

Xeon D-2752TER

4895 -6.5%

Xeon E7-8890 v4

4604 -12.1%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i5-1140G7

1290 +6.9%

Core i9-10900

1250 +3.6%

Core i5-10505

1207

Xeon W-3275M

1174 -2.7%

Core i9-10940X

1144 -5.2%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon D-1541

4908 +11.1%

Core i5-9500

4661 +5.5%

Core i5-10505

4417

Xeon E-2286G

4207 -4.8%

Xeon E3-1278L v4

3963 -10.3%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen 5 5600H

2954 +4.9%

Core i7-10700F

2895 +2.8%

Core i5-10505

2816

Core i5-9600K

2754 -2.2%

Xeon W-3275

2717 -3.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E5-2690 v2

13466 +10.4%

Xeon W-10855M

12873 +5.5%

Core i5-10505

12198

Xeon Silver 4208

11384 -6.7%

Xeon E5-2618L v3

10881 -10.8%