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Intel Comet Lake-H Core i7-10875H performance comparison: Tangible single-core benefits get evened out by multi-core results from the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS

The Intel Core i7-10875H offers modest improvements over the 9th gen Core i9-9880H.
The Intel Core i7-10875H offers modest improvements over the 9th gen Core i9-9880H.
Our first benchmarks of the 10th gen Comet Lake-H Core i7-10875H powering the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB laptop indicate that Comet Lake-H is best suited for those aiming for maximum clocks possible for games or workflows that require short bursts of boost. For almost every other practical purpose, the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS looks to be a better bet.

Laptops powered by the new Intel 10th gen Comet Lake-H processors have now started to become available and we've been steadily receiving quite a few of them in our test labs. Previously, we have exclusively posted some first benchmarks of Comet Lake-H that we received from industry sources, which showed Intel continuing to have a small yet appreciable lead in single-core performance compared to AMD Ryzen 4000 H-series chips. 

Now, we have managed to do some in-house testing of the Core i7-10875H powering the new Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB laptop. A full review of the new Aero 17 HDR XB will follow soon, but here are our first thoughts on how the Core i7-10875H stacks up when compared to 9th gen CPUs and the competition from AMD Renoir Ryzen 4000.

Core i7-10875H — Cinebench R15 and R20

Let's start off with the ever-popular Cinebench R15 and R20 tests. Compared to the average scores posted by the Core i9-9980HK and the Core i9-9880H, the Core i7-10875H in the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB seems to have a 7% and 11% lead, respectively in the Cinebench R15 single-core benchmark. We see that the scores of the Aero 15 Studio XB and the Aero 17 HDR XB are nearly the same in the single-core bench and differ at best by 5% in multi-core indicating that the larger 17-inch chassis does not influence the performance much. We expect to do a Cinebench loop test in our full review of the laptop to see if the larger chassis can afford any benefits in sustained performance, so keep an eye out for that.

The AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS powering the Asus Zephyrus G14 trails by 9% in CB15 single when compared to the Core i7-10875H but is either on par or slightly faster than the Core i9-9880H. This is a strong comeback by AMD in single-core performance, and coupled with perceivable leads in multi-core, it is an indication that gaming laptop segment is no longer an Intel-only dominion. 

The Ryzen 9 4900HS leads the CB15 multi-core test next only to the Core i9-9900K. Here, we see that both the Ryzen 9 4900HS and the Ryzen 7 4800H show 11% and 10% leads, respectively over the Core i7-10875H. This is a fairly significant number and unless you really need that small extra burst in framerates or responsiveness, the Ryzen 9 4900HS looks to be the overall better contender in this benchmark.

The differences further reduce in Cinebench R20 with almost no benefit seen in the Core i7-10875H's single-core scores compared to the Ryzen 9 4900HS. There is a significant delta when it comes to multi-core with both the Ryzen 9 4900HS and the Ryzen 7 4800H leading by 25% and 22%, respectively when compared to the Core i7-10875H. 

Core i7-10875H vs the competition — Other CPU benchmarks

In tests such as Blender, we see that the Core i9-9880H in the Apple MacBook Pro 16 is still able to beat the newer Core i7-10875H by 7%, which in turn is as much faster compared to the Ryzen 9 4900HS. A healthy 17% gain is seen with the Core i7-10875H compared to the Ryzen 9 4900HS in 7-Zip single core, but the AMD offering regains lost ground in the multi-core benchmark. A similar pattern is seen in Geekbench 4 as well. WinRAR is Intel's show all the way while AMD manages to offer decent leads in all TrueCrypt tests. When it comes to 3DMark Fire Strike Physics, AMD seems to have the upper hand here though not by much. 

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Gigabyte Aero 15 Studio XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H
212 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
211 Points
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
207 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (190 - 220, n=37)
204 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 XA RP77
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9980HK, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8
201 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (181 - 215, n=13)
198.8 Points
HP Omen 17-cb0020ng
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
197 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
193 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
193 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (181 - 198, n=11)
190.1 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
184 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
184 Points
Asus Strix Scar III G531GW
GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i9-9880H, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
183 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
1944 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
1863 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
1863 Points
ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FX506IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, R7 4800H
1837 Points
Asus TUF Gaming A15 FA506UI
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, R7 4800H
1820 Points
Gigabyte Aero 15 Studio XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H
1748 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
1671 (1548.11min - 1671.4max) Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (1327 - 1930, n=14)
1656 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (1003 - 1833, n=38)
1554 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (1317 - 1721, n=11)
1506 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 XA RP77
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9980HK, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8
1481 Points
HP Omen 17-cb0020ng
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
1450 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
1435 (1401min - 1435max) Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
1362 (1268.87min - 1362.31max) Points
Asus Strix Scar III G531GW
GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i9-9880H, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
1401 Points
Cinebench R20
CPU (Single Core)
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
499 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
495 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
495 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 XA RP77
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9980HK, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8
487 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (430 - 524, n=32)
486 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (431 - 505, n=10)
471 Points
HP Omen 17-cb0020ng
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
467 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (441 - 474, n=7)
459 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
453 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
442 Points
CPU (Multi Core)
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
4288 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
4288 Points
Asus TUF Gaming A15 FA506UI
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, R7 4800H
4192 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (2974 - 4150, n=10)
3530 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (1986 - 4176, n=32)
3455 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
3431 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
3422 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
3057 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (2953 - 3712, n=7)
3271 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 XA RP77
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9980HK, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8
3104 Points
HP Omen 17-cb0020ng
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
2953 Points
Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (317 - 527, n=3)
398 Seconds *
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
343 Seconds *
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (293 - 384, n=4)
337 Seconds *
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (259 - 535, n=30)
327 Seconds *
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
317 Seconds *
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
297 Seconds *
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
297 Seconds *
7-Zip 18.03
7z b 4 -mmt1
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (5283 - 5642, n=4)
5426 MIPS
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
5413 MIPS
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (5071 - 5780, n=31)
5360 MIPS
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (4837 - 5068, n=3)
4943 MIPS
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
4837 MIPS
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
4634 MIPS
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
4634 MIPS
7z b 4
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
48577 MIPS
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
48577 MIPS
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
44829 MIPS
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (29844 - 49562, n=31)
43117 MIPS
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (39455 - 46591, n=3)
42728 MIPS
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (39566 - 44081, n=4)
41756 MIPS
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
39455 MIPS
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
5956 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (5617 - 5972, n=3)
5853 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (5616 - 6016, n=5)
5830 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
5605 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
5166 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (5166 - 5605, n=3)
5409 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
5372 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
5372 Points
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (28711 - 31934, n=5)
30765 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
30392 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
30230 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
30230 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (28625 - 30849, n=3)
29620 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
29077 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
28192 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (28192 - 29798, n=3)
29022 Points
WinRAR - Result
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
7473 KB/s
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  ()
7473 KB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (7266 - 7436, n=2)
7351 KB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  ()
6683 KB/s
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
4548 KB/s
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
4548 KB/s
TrueCrypt
Serpent Mean 100MB
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
1.2 GB/s
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
1.2 GB/s
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
1.1 GB/s
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  ()
1.1 GB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (1 - 1, n=2)
1 GB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  ()
0.682 GB/s
Twofish Mean 100MB
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
1.9 GB/s
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
1.9 GB/s
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
1.8 GB/s
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  ()
1.8 GB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (1.7 - 1.7, n=2)
1.7 GB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  ()
0.999 GB/s
AES Mean 100MB
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
11.2 GB/s
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
11.2 GB/s
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
10.3 GB/s
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  ()
10.3 GB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (10.1 - 10.3, n=2)
10.2 GB/s
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  ()
7.5 GB/s
3DMark - 1920x1080 Fire Strike Physics
SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Turing
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K, Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB
23981 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV
GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, R9 4900HS, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
21873 Points
Average AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
  ()
21873 Points
Asus TUF Gaming A15 FA506UI
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, R7 4800H
21660 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB
GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, i7-10875H, Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB512HBJQ
21426 Points
Average Intel Core i7-10875H
  (15535 - 22530, n=32)
20404 Points
Gigabyte Aero 17 XA RP77
GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, i9-9980HK, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8
20349 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9980HK
  (11758 - 22463, n=11)
19893 Points
HP Omen 17-cb0020ng
GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9880H, 2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
19431 Points
Average Intel Core i9-9880H
  (14940 - 20125, n=8)
18040 Points
Asus Strix Scar III G531GW
GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i9-9880H, Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
17729 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2019 i9 5500M
Radeon Pro 5500M, i9-9880H, Apple SSD AP1024 7171
14940 Points

* ... smaller is better

Going purely by the CPU benchmark results, we see that Intel and AMD are fairly balanced at this point and the choice of CPU for your next notebook depends solely on your workflow. Intel still seems to offer the best single-core performance there is and with sufficient cooling, the higher-end Comet Lake-H chips can boost very well, although the gen-to-gen uplift itself isn't that significant. How long will these processors be able to sustain that boost remains to be seen, however.

We would need to factor in power draws and energy efficiency as well. We will discuss more about these factors in our full review of the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB laptop very soon. Intel's 14nm process is now becoming archaic and the fact that the company could still milk the last drops of performance from what is essentially a Skylake chip is commendable but not in line with market expectations.

AMD, on the other hand, has come a long way with the Renoir Ryzen 4000 series and has managed to successfully bridge the single-core performance gap by a long shot. The Ryzen 9 4900HS leads the multi-core tests and will likely be the preferred choice of creative pros who also like to game. The Ryzen 9 4900HS's TDP is capped at 35W and combined with the benefits of the 7nm process and the purported improvements to battery life, AMD may just have clinched this generation.

Considering the impressive scores on show for AMD chips here, let's hope OEMs offer enough Ryzen 4000-powered laptops throughout the year so that consumers can enjoy a greater choice.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 04 > Intel Comet Lake-H Core i7-10875H performance comparison: Tangible single-core benefits get evened out by multi-core results from the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 2020-04-15 (Update: 2020-04-15)