Intel Core i7-10750H vs Intel Core i7-12650H

Intel Core i7-10750H

The Intel Core i7-10750H is a fast 45 W processor designed for use in larger, beefier laptops. The Comet Lake-H family CPU was launched in mid-2020. It features six cores (twelve threads) running at 2.6 GHz Boosting up to 5 GHz (single-core Boost). The likely all-core Boost frequency is 4.3 GHz. Most of the specs are the same as the 10750H’s direct predecessor, the i7-9750H. The newer model has two advantages over its predecessor in that its Boost frequency is higher and the memory controller can now officially host memory clocked at 2,933 MHz, an upgrade over the 2,666 MHz limitation of the outgoing model.

Architecture

Comet Lake is a yet another revision of the dated Skylake architecture (not unlike the previous Coffee Lake, Whiskey Lake, Kaby Lake families) for similar feature set and performance-per-MHz figures. Core i7-10750H is manufactured on the third-gen 14 nm Intel process that is undeniably inferior to TSMC's 7 nm process, the one AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series laptop-grade processors are manufactured on.

The hexa-core CPU is compatible with up to 128 GB of dual-channel DDR4-2933 RAM and has support for PCI-Express 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3 but not the professional features (vPro, TXT, SIPP) as found in the case of Core i7-10850H.

Both the CPU cores and the iGPU have access to 12 MB of L3 cache. Four PCI-Express 3.0 lanes allow for read/write rates of up to 3.9 GB/s provided a suitably fast NVMe SSD is used.

The 10750H gets soldered permanently on to the motherboard (BGA1440 socket interface) and is thus pretty much impossible to replace.

Performance

Multi-thread performance is most similar to the Core i5-10500H, the Core i5-11400H and also the Ryzen 7 4700U. While perhaps not the best bang for the buck, the i7 is fast enough for any task, gaming included, as of late 2021.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 75 W, the ThinkPad P15 Gen 1-20ST000DGE is among the fastest laptops built around the 10750H that we know of. It can be about 80% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Graphics

We've known the Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU for a while. This is the same iGPU the Core i7-9750H and Core i7-8750H processors had. In this i7, the 24 EU iGPU is clocked at 350 MHz to 1,150 MHz.

Intel UHD Graphics 630 will let you connect up to 3 monitors with resolutions of up to 4096x2304@60. The built-in video decoder will happily handle AVC, HEVC, VP9 and other popular video codecs (AV1 is not supported though). This is not a gaming GPU as it is not fast enough to handle most AAA titles released in 2020. At 720p, Escape from Tarkov runs at just 17 fps (low quality preset), to give you an example. As the iGPU has no VRAM of its own, it is paramount that it is mated to fast system RAM.

Power consumption

This Core i7 series chip is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes leading to subpar, as of early 2022, energy efficiency.

The Core i7-10750H has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 45 W; laptop makers are free to reduce the value somewhat, 35 W being the lower limit, allowing for leaner designs at the cost of performance. Either way, a quality cooling solution is a must.

Intel Core i7-12650H

The Intel Core i7-12650H is a high-end mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 of the 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 2.3 to 4.7 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.7 to 3.5 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 24 MB L3 cache. Compared to the 12700H, the 12650H offers only 4 instead of 8 E-cores, a slower iGPU and no vPro features (for remote management).

Performance

The average 12650H in our database is in the same league as the Core i9-11950H, Ryzen 5 7640HS, Ryzen 9 5900HS, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very good result, as of early 2023.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 80 W, the TUF Dash F15 FX517ZR is among the fastest laptops built around the 12650H that we know of. It can be more than 25% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

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 64 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.4 GHz.

Power consumption

This Core i7 has a "minimum assured" power consumption of 35 W, with 45 W being its Base power consumption. The processor's maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption sits at 115 W. It would take at least two fans to cool such a beast.

Last but not the least, Intel Core i7-12650H is built with Intel's fourth-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for OK, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.