Intel Core i5-12600H vs Intel Core i7-7700T vs Intel Core i5-7300HQ

Intel Core i5-12600H

The Intel Core i5-12600H 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 all 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 16 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.7 to 4.5 GHz on the performance cluster and 2 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 18 MB L3 cache. Compared to the 12650H, the 12600H offers less P-cores but more E-cores, a faster iGPU and "Enterprise" vPro features (for remote management).

Performance

Thanks to the 12 cores, the multi-threaded performance should be clearly faster than the older Tiger Lake-H CPUs with similar clock speeds (especially like the Core i5-11500H with only 6 cores). Due to the architectural improvements, single-core performance is also better than similar or higher clocked Tiger Lake CPUs.

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 card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 80 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.4 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 i7-7700T

The Intel Core i7-7700T is a fast quad-core processor for desktops based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It is the top model of the 35 Watt models and significantly slower than the similar named Core i7-7700K. The four Skylake based CPU cores are clocked from 2.9 - 3.8 GHz and support HyperThreading / SMT (8 threads).

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

The performance of the i7-7700T is slightly faster than the Core i5-7600K with sufficient cooling and TDP settings. Therefore, the CPU is fine to handle even demanding tasks and apps.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1150 MHz. The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors, which were announced in January, should also support HDCP 2.2.

Intel Core i5-7300HQ

The Intel Core i5-7300HQ is a quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. Compared to the faster Core i7 models, the Core i5 does not support Hyper Threading and has lower clocks. The CPU cores run at 2.5 - 3.5 GHz (4 cores up to 3.1, 2 cores up to 3.3 GHz). The processor is also equipped with the HD Graphics 630 GPU as well as a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L-1600/DDR4-2400). It is manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

The performance should be quite similar to the old Core i5-6440HQ (2.6 - 3.5 GHz, Skylake) that offers the same per-MHz performance and only 100 MHz higher core speed. The performance is therefore sufficient even for demanding tasks.

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1000 MHz (i7 models up to 1100). The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors, which were announced in January, should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel still specifies the TDP with 45 Watts, but it can also be reduced to 35 Watts by the notebook manufacturers (cTDP down). This will obviously affect the performance, because the Turbo Boost cannot be maintained for longer periods.