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Details of the Intel 9th gen H-series CPUs emerge, Core i9-9980HK to be the flagship SKU

Intel 9th gen H-series CPUs are expected to launch in Q2 2019. (Source: Gameaxis)
Intel 9th gen H-series CPUs are expected to launch in Q2 2019. (Source: Gameaxis)
An Intel export compliance metrics document has listed the new 9th gen H-series processors for laptops. These CPUs include the Core i5-9300H all the way to the Core i9-9980HK. The 9th gen H-series CPUs are not official yet and Intel has not provided many details apart from the boost clocks, L3 cache, and CTP values aimed at authorities and regulators to determine the capabilities of each chip. The 9th gen H-series processors are expected to be officially announced in Q2 this year and will feature in many gaming notebooks.

Intel announced their 9th generation CPUs late last year and new additions to the 9th gen family at CES 2019. What we haven't known so far is about the 9th gen H-series for laptops. While the 9th gen H-series processors aren't official yet, we are getting to see the SKUs that will be available when they eventually launch. These include the Core i5-9300H at the base level upto the flagship Core i9-9980HK.

This information comes from an official Intel document (linked below) that details export compliance metrics for authorities and regulators. This particular document lists the composite theoretical performance (CTP) measured in millions of theoretical operations per second (MTOPS) for the new 9th generation chips alongside the previous generations.

Among the various CPUs listed, the 9th gen H-series ones include the following. Note that we do not have information on the base clocks and TDP values yet. 

 CPUCores/Threads
Turbo Boost (GHz)
L3 Cache (MB)
Core i9-9980HK 8/16 5.0 16
Core i9-9880H8/16 4.8 16
Core i7-9850H 8/84.6 12
Core i7-9750H8/8 4.5 12
Core i5-9400H4/8 4.3 8
Core i5-9300H4/8 4.1 8

The Core i9-9980HK will be the only unlocked part with 8 cores, 16 threads and a turbo clock up to 5 GHz. As with the desktop versions, the Core i7 H-series will not feature hyperthreading. While the TDPs for these processors are not mentioned, a look at the CTP values between the desktop Core i9 and the notebook Core i9 indicate likelihood of lower base clocks to allow for a 45 W TDP. Similar trends can be observed in the case of the Core i7 series as well.

An interesting observation here is that the notebook Core i5 H-series will offer 4 cores and 8 threads unlike the 6-core, 6-thread desktop Core i5 versions. Based on the published CTP values, we can deduce that the Core i5-9300H will show speed improvements over the Core i5-8300H. On the other hand, the Core i5-9400H is expected to sport the same base clock as the Core i5-8400H as both seem to have the same CTP values. We also see an entry-level Core i3-9100 quad-core CPU that sports a 6 MB L3 cache and a boost clock up to 4.2 GHz. However, this SKU is more likely to be targeted at desktops. 

Of course, information apart from the SKU names, boost clocks, L3 cache, and CTP numbers isn't official yet so take it with a grain of salt for the time being. However, we should be seeing more info trickle down as we near the launch of the 9th gen H-series CPUs for notebooks sometime in Q2 this year.

Intel 9th gen H-series CPUs as mentioned in the CTP Metrics document. (Source: Intel)
Intel 9th gen H-series CPUs as mentioned in the CTP Metrics document. (Source: Intel)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2019 02 > Details of the Intel 9th gen H-series CPUs emerge, Core i9-9980HK to be the flagship SKU
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 2019-02-18 (Update: 2019-02-19)