AMD Ryzen 5 6600H vs Intel Core i7-11800H vs AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U

AMD Ryzen 5 6600H

The AMD Ryzen 5 6600H is a processor for big (gaming) laptops based of the Rembrandt generation. The R5 6600H integrates six of the eight cores based on the Zen 3+ microarchitecture. They are clocked at 3.3 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.5 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (12 threads). The chip is manufactured on the modern 6 nm TSMC process. 

The new Zen 3+ is a refresh of the Zen 3 architecture and should not offer a lot of changes. The chip itself however, offers a lot of new features, like support for USB 4 (40 Gbps), PCI-E Gen 4, DDR5-4800MT/s or LPDDR5-6400MT/s, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth LE 5.2, DisplayPort 2, and AV1 decode.

In the 6000 series, AMD finally switched to the current RDNA 2 graphics architecture for the iGPU. The 6600H only offers the slower Radeon 660M with 6 of the 12 CUs enabled and 1.9 GHz max. clock speed.

Performance

The average 6600H in our database is in the same league as the R7 5825U, the R7 6800U and also the Core i5-1340P, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very decent result, as of late 2022.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are, and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 5 series APU has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 45 W. A high-performance cooling solution is a must for a system built around such a chip.

The R5 6600H is built with TSMC's 6 nm process for great, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i7-11800H

The Intel Core i7-11800H is a high-end octa-core SoC for gaming laptops and mobile workstations. It is belongs to the Tiger Lake H45 family and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates eight Willow Cove processor cores (16 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and is 2.3 GHz at 45 W. The single core Boost can be as high as 4.6 GHz while all cores can run at up to 4.2 GHz. The CPU offers 24 MB of Level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory.

The SoC also has the improved UHD Graphics iGPU with 32 EUs which is similar to the Iris Xe iGPUs.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (20 lanes in the H45 series), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6E in the chip.

All articles on Tiger Lake can be found in our Tiger Lake architecture hub.

Performance

The average 11800H in our database is a powerhouse, as of mid 2022. Its multi-thread performance is most comparable to that of the octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 5800H.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 165 W, the Alienware x17 R1 is among the fastest laptops powered by the 11800H that we know of. It can be almost 50% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Core i7 series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 45 W that laptop makers are allowed to reduce slightly, 35 W being the lowest Intel-recommended value. Doing so will result in lower clock speeds and lower performance. Either way, a proper cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this.

The Core i7-11800H is built with Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U

The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U is a processor for thin and light laptops based of the Rembrandt generation. The R7 6850U integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 3+ microarchitecture. They are clocked at 2.7 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.7 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (16 threads). The chip is manufactured on the modern 6 nm TSMC process. The Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U is the professional version of the consumer R7 6800U with additional management features and the Microsoft Pluton Security processor. Compared to the similar R7 6850H, the 6850U offers a lower base clock speed and a lower TDP.

The new Zen 3+ is a refresh of the Zen 3 architecture and should not offer a lot of changes. The chip itself however, offers a lot of new features, like support for USB 4 (40 Gbps), PCI-E Gen 4, DDR5-4800MT/s or LPDDR5-6400MT/s, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth LE 5.2, DisplayPort 2, and AV1 decode.

A big novelty is the integrated GPU Radeon 680M, that is now based on the RDNA2 architecture and offers 12 CUs at up to 2.2 GHz.

Performance

The average 6850U in our database is in the same league as the Core i5-1340P, the Core i7-1360P and also the Ryzen 7 5825U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a really fast chip, as far as 2023 consumer laptops go.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 7 has a default TDP of 15 W to 28 W, the expectation being that laptop manufacturers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance. Either way, this is a little too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

The APU is built with TSMC's 6 nm process for great, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.