Intel Core i5-11260H vs AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U vs Intel Xeon W-11955M

Intel Core i5-11260H

The Intel Core i5-11260H is a mid range hexa core SoC for gaming laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates six Willow Cove processor cores (12 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.6 GHz. The single and dual core boost speed can reach up to 4.4 GHz, all cores can reach up to 4 GHz. The CPU offers 12 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory.

Thanks to the new Tiger Lake architecture, the i5-11260H should be able to reach the level of the high clocked Intel Core i7-10850H (Comet Lake-H, 6 cores, 2.7 - 5.1 GHz, 16 MB L3) in single and multi threaded performance. Compared, to current AMD offerings, the 11260H should perform similar to a Ryzen 5 5600H (6 cores, 2.4 - 3.3. GHz, 16 MB L3 cache) or the 5600HS when the TDP is set to 35W.

The SoC also features a much improved UHD Graphics (16 EUs) iGPU based on the Xe architecture.

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.

The chip is produced in the improved 10nm process (called 10nm SuperFin) at Intel, which should be comparable to the 7nm process at TSMC (e.g. Ryzen 4000 series). The default TDP is rated at 45 W at 2.6 GHz base speed, at 35 Watt the base clock speed decreases to 2.1 GHz (cTDP down).

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

AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U

The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U is a mobile SoC that was announced in October 2017. Compared to the consumer Ryzen 7 2700U, the PRO versions offer additional security features. It combines four Zen cores (8 threads) clocked at 2.2 - 3.8 GHz with a Radeon RX Vega 10 graphics card with 10 CUs (640 Shaders) clocked at up to 1300 MHz. The TDP can be configured by the laptop manufacturer between 12 to 25 Watt (15 Watt nominal) and therefore the APU is also suited for thin and light laptops. The integrated dual-channel memory controller supports up to DDR4-2400 memory. More information on Raven Ridge can be found in our launch article.

The performance of the Zen CPU cores should be better than a high end Kaby-Lake-Refresh Quad-Core CPU (e.g. the Core i7-8650U) according to AMD. Therefore, the Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U is suited for all applications.

Intel Xeon W-11955M

The Intel Xeon W-11955M is a high end octa core SoC for laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates eight Willow Cove processor cores (16 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.6 GHz. The single core boost speed can reach up to 5 GHz (ITBM 3.0, also two cores), all cores can reach up to 4.5 GHz. The CPU offers 24 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory. Similar to the Core i9-11950H, the Xeon W-11955M supports SIPP, vPro and TXT. In addition to this, the Xeon line supports ECC memory.

Performance

The average W-11955M in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 7 4800H, Core i7-11850H, Core i7-1360P, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a fairly fast chip, as of early 2023.

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

The SoC also included the improved Xe graphics card called UHD graphics with all 32 EUs.

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.

Power consumption

This Xeon series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 35 W to 45 W, the expectation being that laptop makers will go for a higher value to get better performance.

The W-11955M is built with Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.