Juice-guzzling Intel Core i9-12950HX becomes the latest Alder Lake laptop CPU to head PassMark's single-thread performance chart

The Intel Core i9-12950HX has been flexing its processing muscles on the PassMark benchmark site. A single sample (thus a high margin for error at the moment) has made a terrific first impression by immediately slotting into first place in the single-thread performance table, pushing the former chart-topper Intel Core i9-12900H into the runner-up spot. The i9-12950HX secured its place with a benchmark score of 4,092, which is based on millions of operations per second (MOps/Sec). This places the Alder Lake-HX part just +2.76% ahead of the i9-12900H that has a single-thread rating of 3,982 based on 118 samples.

It should almost be a dead certainty that the top-end Alder Lake-HX processor should also be the current fastest laptop chip on PassMark. The 16-core (8P/8E), 24-thread Intel Core i9-12950HX can rely on power advantages over its rivals, with the base TDP starting at a hefty 55 W. The i9-12900H may match the i9-12950HX in terms of the clock speed and turbo speeds recorded on the benchmark (2.5 GHz and up to 5.0 GHz, respectively) but has to make do with a 45 W TDP.

Delving a little deeper into the power reserves both chips can call upon, it’s clear to see just how thirsty the i9-12950HX can be. With a short-term boost capability of 157 W PL2, the Alder Lake-HX chip can guzzle more juice for performance peaks than the i9-12900H (115 W TDP up). Obviously, this also produces a higher yearly running cost, which PassMark estimates at US$10.04 vs. US$8.21. But for those who want one of the fastest laptops on the market, it won’t do any harm to make sure there’s an Intel Core i9-12950HX inside it.

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