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The Intel Core i7-12700H dispatches the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX in performance and efficiency benchmarks

The Core i7-12700H offers significantly better performance than the outgoing Core i7-11800H. (Image source: Intel)
The Core i7-12700H offers significantly better performance than the outgoing Core i7-11800H. (Image source: Intel)
The Intel Core i7-12700H is showing itself as not only a powerful processor, but also a comparatively efficient one. Surprisingly, the Alder Lake processor matches the Apple M1 Pro's performance per watt at 40 W in benchmark suites like Cinebench R23. The Core i7-12700H sees off representatives from the Ryzen 5000 series too, such as the Ryzen 7 5800H and the Ryzen 9 5900HX.

While we have already reviewed the Intel Core i9-12900HK in the MSI GE76 Raider, we are yet to put the Core i7-12700H through its paces. The Core i9-12900HK's first-class performance implied that Intel was onto a winner with the Core i7-12700H though, which Hardware Unboxed has demonstrated in its latest video.

To recap, the Core i7-12700H has the same 6 energy-efficient cores than the Core i9-12900HK, along with its 8 performance cores. As such, the 14-core processor has 20 threads, with Intel Hyper-Threading only active on the Core i7-12700H's performance cores. Additionally, the Core i7-12700H has a 45 W TDP, which increases to 115 W under PL2.

(Image source: Hardware Unboxed)

Nonetheless, the Core i7-12700H delivers greater performance per watt than the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HXRyzen 7 5800HCore i7-11800H and Core i7-10870H. Also, the Core i7-12700H basically matches the M1 Pro's performance per watt at 40 W. Moreover, Hardware Unboxed shows that the Core i7-12700H scales significantly better than its AMD Ryzen 5000 counterparts at higher power limits, where the Ryzen 9 5900HX and Ryzen 7 5800H trail off.

Correspondingly, the Core i7-12700H needs a decent cooling system to get the best from it. Hardware Unboxed notes that it is comparing the Alder Lake processor against last-generation competitors, M1 Pro excluded. Presumably, the Ryzen 6000 series will close the gap between the Core i7-12700H and the Ryzen 7 5800H. Still, the YouTube channel expects Intel to maintain a lead over AMD for this generation of processors.

Incidentally, the M1 Pro operates more efficiently than the Core i7-12700H in specific workloads, such as 7zip extractions. In fact, the M1 Pro matches the Core i7-12700H's performance in this regard, but while consuming half the power that the Core i7-12700H does. Hardware Unboxed also covers Alder Lake's gaming performance, although it is worth noting that none of the other benchmarked devices contain an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU. 

Purchase the Intel Core i7-12700K on Amazon

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2022 02 > The Intel Core i7-12700H dispatches the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX in performance and efficiency benchmarks
Alex Alderson, 2022-02- 4 (Update: 2022-02- 4)