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Exclusive first benchmarks of 10th gen Comet Lake-H demonstrate Intel's leads in single-core but not too far ahead of AMD Ryzen 4000

The Intel Core i9-10880H continues to show good leads in single-core performance. (Image Source: Intel)
The Intel Core i9-10880H continues to show good leads in single-core performance. (Image Source: Intel)
We got exclusive access to first benchmarks of the Intel Comet Lake-H Core i9-10880H, Core i7-10750H, and the Core i5-10300H. We compared single-core and multi-core performance of these chips with contemporary offerings from AMD viz. the Ryzen 9 4900HS and the Ryzen 7 4800H, and also 9th gen Coffee Lake-H Refresh CPUs. Although the scores further re-iterate Intel's lead in single-core performance, we see that AMD has successfully managed to narrow the gap significantly while maintaining good leads in multi-core tests.

Now that the Intel 10th generation Comet Lake-H processors are officially here, we got first dibs on some of their early benchmarks that give us an idea as to how they fare in comparison not only with their 9th gen counterparts but also with the AMD Renoir Ryzen 4000-H series.

For this comparison, we consider the following processors: Core i9-10880H (released later as i7-10875H) from two laptops, Core i7-10750H from two laptops, and the Core i5-10300H all paired with 16 GB (dual-channel) of DDR4-2666 RAM. The scores were compared against average scores of all corresponding tests performed on the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, Core i9-9880H, Core i7-9750H, and the Core i5-9300H

Intel has focused a lot on single-core performance this generation so let's dive in and have a look whether that approach has really made any difference. 

Single-core benchmarks

We had access to single-core scores from Cinebench R15 and R20. As you can see below, the Core i9 and Core i7 SKUs manage a nearly 10% improvement over the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS in Cinebench R15 single-core. The Core i9-10880H is about 8% faster than the Core i9-9980HK, 13% faster than the Core i9-9880H, and 11% faster than the Ryzen 9 4900HS. What we see here is that compared to the Core i9-9880H, all 10th gen Comet Lake-H processors including the Core i5-10300H show gains in single-core performance. The Ryzen 9 4900HS is on par with the Core i5-10300H in this test.

The differences reduce in Cinebench R20 single-core with the Core i9-10880H only being 3% faster than the Ryzen 9 4900HS and about 8% faster than the Core i9-9980HK. The gains for the Core i9-10880H rise to 11% when compared with the average Core i9-9880H scores. We also see that the Core i9-10880H and the Core i7-10750H are on par with each other when it comes to single-core performance. Therefore, gamers who don't really need an 8-core system should be able to do just fine even with the 6-core Core i7-10750H. 

Overall, we see that Intel continues to retain the single-core performance crown with the 10th generation. However, AMD has significantly closed the gap with even more tighter numbers possible depending on the chassis and thermals. 

Cinebench R20 - CPU (Single Core)
Intel Core i7-10875H
508 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
504 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
500 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
500 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
495 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS
482 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (462 - 491, n=17)
482 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK (431 - 505, n=10)
471 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
470 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H (441 - 474, n=7)
459 Points
Average Intel Core i7-9750H (416 - 486, n=55)
443 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9300H (398 - 427, n=9)
415 Points
Cinebench R15 - CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i7-10875H
214 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
213 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
212 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
210 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK (181 - 215, n=13)
198.8 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
194 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
193 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H (181 - 198, n=11)
190.1 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (186 - 191, n=15)
188 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS (186 - 187, n=2)
186.5 Points
Average Intel Core i7-9750H (170 - 194, n=82)
183.7 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9300H (169 - 176, n=11)
172.6 Points

Multi-core benchmarks

For multi-core, we compared the results from Cinebench R15 and R20 and Passmark. We also factored-in 3DMark Time Spy CPU and Fire Strike Physics scores to get an idea of CPU performance in GPU-intensive applications.

As expected, AMD has the lead here. In Cinebench R15 multi, the Ryzen 9 4900HS had only a 4% lead over the Core i9-10880H. Appreciable gains are seen with the Core i9-10880H in comparison with the average Core i9-9980HK scores, but the Ryzen 9 4900HS and Ryzen 7 4800H still top the chart.  

The difference in multi-core performance becomes even more apparent in Cinebench R20 with both the Ryzens leading by at least 24% when compared to the Core i9-10880H. Even the Core i9-9980HK seems to have a 5% lead over the Core i9-10880H. The gap widens dramatically as we move down to the Core i7-10750H and Core i5-10300H parts.

In 3DMark Time Spy CPU, the Core i9-10880H and the Ryzen 9 4900HS seem to be evenly poised. That being said, we do see a 25% improvement compared to the average Core i9-9880H results. A similar result is seen in the Fire Strike Physics test as well; both the Core i9-10800H and the Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 show appreciable improvements over the Core i9-9980HK. In PassMark, the two additional cores in the Core i9-10800H seem to afford a moderate 16% performance increase over one of the Core i7-10750H laptops.

We do notice some anomalies in the scores, especially with regard to the Core i7-10750H from different devices in PassMark, 3DMark Time Spy CPU, and Fire Strike Physics. There could be many reasons for this, but we think it has to do with the pre-production laptop samples the scores stem from. We do not see this disparity in a purely CPU-only test such as Cinebench. 

Cinebench R20 - CPU (Multi Core)
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
4288 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (3692 - 4663, n=18)
4275 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS
3869 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK (2974 - 4150, n=10)
3530 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
3380 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
3366 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H (2953 - 3712, n=7)
3271 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
2968 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
2943 Points
Average Intel Core i7-9750H (2017 - 3133, n=55)
2564 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
2154 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9300H (1530 - 1877, n=9)
1727 Points
Cinebench R15 - CPU Multi 64Bit
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
1863 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (1652 - 1995, n=21)
1859 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
1797 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
1785 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS (1634 - 1767, n=2)
1701 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK (1327 - 1930, n=14)
1656 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H (1317 - 1721, n=11)
1506 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
1418 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
1404 Points
Average Intel Core i7-9750H (952 - 1306, n=85)
1182 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
921 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9400H
823 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9300H (717 - 850, n=11)
784 Points
PassMark PerformanceTest 9 - CPU Mark
Intel Core i7-10875H
19093 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
19061 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
16503 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
13808 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
12111 Points
3DMark
2560x1440 Time Spy CPU
Intel Core i7-10875H
9015 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
8966 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (6255 - 9631, n=18)
8706 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
8680 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK (5540 - 10162, n=12)
8487 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS (8264 - 8617, n=2)
8441 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H (6412 - 9138, n=7)
7482 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
7419 Points
Average Intel Core i7-9750H (4620 - 7171, n=70)
6334 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
5474 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
5043 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9300H (3165 - 4861, n=10)
4074 Points
1920x1080 Fire Strike Physics
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
21873 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
21658 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (19980 - 22687, n=16)
21647 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS
21217 Points
Intel Core i7-10875H
21113 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK (11758 - 22463, n=11)
19893 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
18769 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H (14940 - 20125, n=8)
18040 Points
Intel Core i7-10750H
17703 Points
Average Intel Core i7-9750H (12438 - 17788, n=76)
16332 Points
Intel Core i5-10300H
12998 Points
Average Intel Core i5-9300H (9387 - 12349, n=12)
11376 Points

Taking into consideration the available single-core and multi-core tests, it seems as if Comet Lake-H may not have too much of an incentive to upgrade if you already have a 9th generation Coffee Lake-H Refresh-powered laptop. Single-core performance has always been Intel's stronghold and Thermal Velocity Boost and Turbo Boost 3.0 further help by allowing boosts up to 5.3 GHz.

That being said, AMD is right on Intel's heels and has managed to largely close the performance deficit. Multi-core performance is still AMD's forte and the Ryzen 4000 H-series CPUs hold their ground well against the Core i9-10880H these tests. While these scores gives a fair idea of the performance that can be expected from Intel's latest offerings, do remember that these are still preliminary scores. We will get an even more clearer picture once Comet Lake-H-powered laptops become more broadly available.

Update: Changed the i9-10880H to i7-10875H in the benchmarks as the 10880H was not released but split into i7-10875H and the faster i9-10885H.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 04 > Exclusive first benchmarks of 10th gen Comet Lake-H demonstrate Intel's leads in single-core but not too far ahead of AMD Ryzen 4000
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 2020-04- 2 (Update: 2020-04-14)