CES 2024 | Intel announces 14th-gen HX laptop chips with Thunderbolt 5.0 and Intel Application Optimization support

Intel's plans for a Raptor Lake refresh were laid bare by a plethora of Geekbench listings that gave us a glimpse into just about every SKU. Barring the Core i7-14700HX, every model keeps its predecessor's core/thread count. Intel has also consolidated the lineup by reducing the number of processors. They will power high-end gaming laptops from OEMs like Asus, Lenovo, Acer, MSI, Razer and others.

An important new addition is support for Thunderbolt 5.0 devices and Intel Application optimization. The latter was previously exclusive to the 14th-gen desktop platform, and it is nice to see it make its way to notebooks. One would do well to use it as it can result in remarkable performance boosts with supported applications, especially games.

Its flagship, the Core i9-14900HX, is a 24-core (8C + 16c), 32-thread processor with base/boost clocks of 4.1/5.8 GHz. Its Intel UHD iGPU can boost up to 1.65 GHz. Next up, the Core i7-14700HX packs 8 performance and 12 efficiency cores, making it the Core i7-13850HX's spiritual successor. Its base/boost clocks are set at 3.9/5.5 GHz. Similarly, the Core i7-14650HX succeeds the Core i7-13700HX with 8P/8E cores, 24 threads and a base/boost clock of 3.7/5.2 GHz. Both have Intel UHD iGPUs that can boost up to 1.6 GHz.

The Intel Core i5-14500HX (6P + 8E, 3.5/4.9 GHz base/boost clock, 1.55 GHZ iGPU) and Core i5-14450HX (6P + 4E, 3.5/4.8 GHz base/boost, 1.5 GHz iGPU) are the remaining 14th-generation Raptor Lake refresh chips. All five chips are configured for a base TDP of 55 Watts but can draw up to 157 Watts under load. If their last-gen counterparts are anything to go by, that figure could potentially cross 200 Watts.