AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX vs Intel Core i5-8400H vs Intel Core i9-9980HK

AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX is a processor for big (gaming) laptops based on the Cezanne generation. The R9 5900H integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 3 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 3.3 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.6 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT for a total of 16 threads. The chip is manufactured on the modern 7 nm TSMC process. The "X" in the name indicates the overclocking capabilities of the CPU.

The new Zen 3 microarchitecture offers a significantly higher IPC (instructions per clock) compared to Zen 2. For desktop processors AMD claims 19 percent on average and in applications reviews showed around 12% gains at the same clock speed.

In addition to the eight CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics adapter with 8 CUs and up to 2100 MHz. The dual channel memory controller supports DDR4-3200 and energy efficient LPDDR4-4266 RAM. Furthermore, 16 MB level 3 cache can be found on the chip.

Performance

The average 5900HX in our database trades blows with Intel's Core i9-11980HK, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While not much faster than the less power-hungry Ryzen 9 5900HS, this is still a great CPU for quality gaming laptops as well as DTRs and high-performance mini-PCs, as of mid 2022.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 80 W, the Strix Scar 17 G733QSA-XS99 is among the fastest laptops powered by the 5900HX that we know of. It can be roughly 15% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 9 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 45 W, a value that laptop makers are allowed to change to anything between 35 W and 54 W with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly as a result. Either way, a high-performance cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this.

The R9 5900HX is built with the 7 nm TSMC manufacturing process resulting in decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i5-8400H

The Intel Core i5-8400H is a high-end processor for laptops with four cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture and will be announced early 2018. The processor clocks at between 2.5 and 4.2 GHz (4.1 with 4 cores) and can execute up to eight threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process.

The Coffee Lake architecture is similar to Kaby Lake and differs only in the amount of cores (now six cores for the high end versions) and the improved 14nm process (14nm++ according to Intel).

Performance

The Intel Core i5-8400H should perform similar as the older Core i7-7920HQ (3.1 - 4.1 GHz). The faster Coffee Lake CPUs, like the Core i7-8750H offers two additional cores and is therefore up to 50% faster in multithreaded benchmarks. Still, the performance of the i5-8400H should be sufficient for even demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a slightly higher performance as its clock rate has been increased by 50 MHz (rumored). The architecture is identical to that of the Intel HD Graphics 630. We do expect a performance improvement, but as a low-end solution it will probably only display current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 45 watts and therefore the i5 is only suited for big laptops with good cooling solutions. Using cTDP-down, the CPU can also be configured to 35 Watt resulting in a reduced performance.

Intel Core i9-9980HK

The Intel Core i9-9980HK is a high-end processor for laptops with eight cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture (2019 refresh, CFL-HR). The processor clocks at between 2.4 - 5 GHz and can execute up to sixteen threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. The 5 GHz can only be reached using the "Thermal Velocity Boost" which allows one core to boost to 5 GHz (+100 MHz) as long as the CPU temperature is below 50°C. Multiple cores can be boosted +100 MHz? below 50°C (not verified). Compared to the predecessor, the Core i9-8950HK, the 9980H is based on the same architecture but offers 2 more cores and higher clock speeds (boost).

According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process. The i9-9980HK is the fastest model of the Coffee-Lake-H (refresh) series at the time of announcement and offers an unlocked multiplier for overclocking of the CPU.

The Coffee Lake architecture is similar to Kaby Lake and differs only in the amount of cores (now max. eight cores for the high end versions) and the improved 14nm process (14nm++ according to Intel).

Performance

Due to the two additional cores, performance has increased by almost 33% compared to a similar clocked 6-core processor. According to first benchmarks, the mobile variant can reach the performance of the Core i9-9900K if the cooling is sufficient.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a slightly higher performance as its clock rate has been increased by 50 MHz. The architecture is identical to that of the Intel HD Graphics 630. We do expect a performance improvement, but as a low-end solution it will probably only display current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 45 watts and therefore the i9 is only suited for big laptops with good cooling solutions.