Core i7-10700K vs Core i5-13500H

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Core i7-10700K and the Core i5-13500H are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Core i7-10700K has 8 cores and 16 threads, and the Core i5-13500H has 12 cores and 16 threads. The extra cores of the Core i5-13500H help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 5.1 GHz and 4.7 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i7-10700K uses the LGA1200 socket and the Core i5-13500H uses BGA, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 125 W for the first and 45 W for the second. That difference changes the cooler you need, and it shows up in heat and noise.

We do not have launch prices for both chips, so we cannot compare value.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Core i7-10700K can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 6800 XT before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i5-13500H reaches the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i7-10700K if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the Core i5-13500H if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.