AMD Ryzen 5 4500U
AMD Ryzen 5 4500U: A Balance of Performance and Battery Life in 2025 Ultrabooks
Introduction
The AMD Ryzen 5 4500U processor, released in 2020, has maintained its relevance in budget and mid-range laptops as of 2025. Despite the arrival of newer Ryzen 7000 and 8000 series processors, this model remains popular due to its combination of six cores, low power consumption, and affordable price. In this article, we will explore who would benefit from this CPU in 2025, what tasks it can handle, and what to consider when choosing a device.
Architecture and Process Technology: Zen 2 on 7 nm
Cores, Threads, and Cache
The Ryzen 5 4500U is based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture and is manufactured using TSMC's 7-nanometer FinFET process. This design incorporates 6 physical cores without support for simultaneous multithreading (SMT), resulting in a total of 6 threads. The L3 cache size is 8 MB, which is modest by 2025 standards (newer models have up to 16 MB), but sufficient for office and multimedia tasks.
Clock Frequencies:
- Base: 2.3 GHz.
- Maximum in turbo mode (Precision Boost 2): up to 4.0 GHz.
Integrated Radeon Graphics
The integrated GPU is Radeon Graphics with 6 compute units (384 stream processors) and a clock speed of up to 1500 MHz. This solution is weaker than the contemporary RDNA 2/3 architectures, but it suffices for less demanding games and graphic work. It supports 4K@60 Hz output and H.265 encoding.
Power Consumption and TDP: 15 Watts for Thin Laptops
The processor's TDP is rated at 15 watts, which is typical for ultrabooks. However, actual power consumption varies by workload:
- Idle mode: 3–5 watts.
- Maximum load (rendering, gaming): up to 25 watts (considering short bursts of turbo boost).
Optimization Technologies:
- Precision Boost 2 — automatic core boosting based on temperature and load.
- C-States — shutting down unused cores to save energy.
- Adaptive Voltage Scaling — dynamic voltage adjustment.
Thanks to these features, the Ryzen 5 4500U operates efficiently both on AC power and battery.
Performance: From Office Tasks to Light Gaming
Office Tasks and Multitasking
- Google Chrome with 20+ tabs + Zoom + Office: The processor handles these tasks smoothly, but there may be a delay of 1–2 seconds when actively working with Excel spreadsheets containing 50,000 rows.
- PDF Rendering in Adobe Acrobat: A 300-page document is processed in 8–10 seconds.
Multimedia
- 4K Video in VLC/PotPlayer: Playback is smooth (CPU load at 15–20%).
- Photo Editing in Lightroom: Applying filters to 24 MP images takes 2–3 seconds. For professional photo retouching, it is better to choose a CPU with 8 cores.
Gaming
Settings at 1080p, low/medium graphics:
- CS:GO — 60–75 FPS.
- Dota 2 — 45–55 FPS.
- Genshin Impact — 30–40 FPS (with drops during battles).
For comfortable gaming in 2025, an external graphics card (e.g., RTX 3050 Mobile) would be necessary, but such cards are typically absent in ultrabooks.
Turbo Mode: When Performance is More Important than Silence
When plugged in and adequately cooled, the processor maintains 3.8–4.0 GHz for up to 3 minutes before lowering the frequency to 3.2 GHz. In compact laptops (e.g., Lenovo IdeaPad 5), this can lead to temperatures reaching 85–90°C and noticeable fan noise.
Use Cases: Who is the Ryzen 5 4500U For?
1. Students — working with texts, presentations, and streaming services.
2. Office Workers — email, video conferencing, accounting software like 1C.
3. Travelers — long battery life (up to 10 hours in Dell Inspiron 14).
4. Casual Gamers — indie games and online projects.
Not Suitable For:
- 4K video editing (lags in Premiere Pro).
- Machine learning (limited threads and no AI accelerators).
- Streaming (puts a load on both iGPU and CPU at the same time).
Battery Life: Up to 10 Hours in Reading Mode
In laptops with a 50–60 Wh battery (e.g., HP Envy x360 13), the runtime is:
- Web surfing: 8–10 hours.
- Video (local): 10–12 hours.
- Gaming: 1.5–2 hours.
Tip: Disable Turbo Boost in Windows power settings to extend battery life by 15–20%.
Comparison with Competitors
AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (Zen 3)
- Pros: +18% in single-threaded performance, supports SMT (6/12 threads).
- Cons: Laptops priced $100-$150 higher.
Intel Core i5-1235U (Alder Lake)
- Pros: Better performance in Office tasks (thanks to P-cores), Thunderbolt 4 support.
- Cons: 10-core hybrid design complicates optimization.
Apple M1
- Pros: +40% in energy efficiency, runs cool.
- Cons: Only available with macOS, limited software choices for ARM.
Pros and Cons of the Ryzen 5 4500U
Strengths:
- Low price: laptops starting at $450 (Acer Swift 3).
- Quiet operation in everyday tasks.
- Support for modern interfaces: USB-C, Wi-Fi 6.
Weaknesses:
- Only 6 threads (multitasking lags behind Ryzen 5 5500U).
- Graphics performance is weaker than Intel Iris Xe.
- No PCIe 4.0 support (only PCIe 3.0).
Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop
1. Device Type: Ultrabook or 2-in-1 (e.g., ASUS ZenBook 14).
2. RAM: At least 16 GB (8 GB is insufficient in 2025).
3. Storage: 512 GB NVMe SSD (slow SATA drives are outdated).
4. Display: IPS matrix with a resolution of 1920×1080. Avoid TN!
5. Cooling: Two fans and copper heat pipes (check reviews for noise level).
Examples of 2025 Models:
- Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro ($550): 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 14" 90 Hz display.
- HP Pavilion Aero 13 ($600): weighs 1 kg, features an AMOLED display.
Final Conclusion
The Ryzen 5 4500U in 2025 is a great choice for those seeking an affordable laptop for work and entertainment without overpaying for "excess" performance. It is suitable for:
- Home: Surfing the web, online courses, Netflix.
- Office: Document work, Zoom, accounting programs.
- Study: Writing reports, programming in Python.
Key Benefits:
- Price below $600.
- Reliability and a well-established platform.
- Sufficient performance for 80% of users.
If your budget allows, consider the Ryzen 5 7530U (Zen 3+) or Intel Core i5-1335U for future-proofing. However, for present tasks, the 4500U remains a cost-effective option.