Intel Core i5-12450H vs Intel Core i9-9980HK

Intel Core i5-12450H

The Intel Core i5-12450H is a high-end mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 4 of the 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 of the 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture) leading to 8 cores in total (octa core CPU). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 12 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2 to 4.4 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.5 to 3.3 GHz on the efficient cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 12 MB L3 cache. Compared to the 12500H, the 12450H offers less E-cores, lower clock rates, a slower iGPU and no vPro support.

Performance

The average 12450H in our extensive database is a bit of a disappointment, its multi-thread benchmark scores only just matching those of the Ryzen 7 5700U and the Core i7-10750H, both fairly old chips as of Q2 2023.

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

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 48 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.2 GHz.

The CPU is rated at 45 W base power (95 W PL2) but most laptops will use a PL1 of around 60 Watt. The SoC is manufactured in a 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.

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.