Intel Core i7-10850H vs Apple M2 vs Intel Core i9-10980HK

Intel Core i7-10850H

The Intel Core i7-10850H is a high-end processor for laptops with six cores based on the Comet Lake architecture (CML-H, 4th generation of Skylake). The processor clocks at between 2.7 and 5.1 GHz (with Thermal Velocity Boost and Turbo Boost 3.0). Using only Turbo Boost 3.0 (when the temperatures don't allow the the Thermal Velocity Boost) a single core can reach 4.9 GHz. All six cores can reach 4.4 GHz. The processor is still manufactured on the old 14nm (14nm++) process. 

The Comet Lake architecture is similar to Coffee Lake and offers the same features and is produced on the same 14nm process. Other than the improved clock rates, the memory controller now also supports faster DDR4-2933 RAM. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

The Core i7-10850H supports the management features vPro, TXT and SIPP.

Performance

The average 10850H in our database proves to be a somewhat disappointing CPU, only matching the Core i5-10500H and the Ryzen 5 5500U in multi-thread performance. While the Core i7 will have no issue running any app or any game you can install in 2021, there are better options out there both in terms of sheer power and in terms of power efficiency.

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

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a similar performance as the UHD 630 in the Core i7-9750H. As a low-end solution it will only run current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power consumption

This Core i7 series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 45 W, a value that laptop makers are free to reduce somewhat (with 35 W being the minimum Intel-recommended value) resulting in lower clock speeds and lower performance. Either way, the CPU is way too power-hungry to be the heart of a passively cooled mini-PC, laptop, tablet.

The i7-10850H is manufactured on one of the old 14 nm Intel processes leading to subpar, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Apple M2

The Apple M2 is a System on a Chip (SoC) from Apple that is found in the late 2022 MacBook Air and, MacBook Pro 13. It offers 8 cores divided in four performance cores and four power-efficiency cores. The big cores offer 192 KB instruction cache, 128 KB data cache, and 16 MB shared L2 cache (up from 12 MB). The four efficiency cores are a lot smaller and offer only 128 KB instruction cache, 64 KB data cache, and 4 MB shared cache. The efficiency cores (E cluster) clock with  up to 2,4 GHz, the performance cores (P cluster) with up to 3,5 GHz and therefore higher than the M1 cores. The architecture should be similar to the A15 (iPhone 13) with Avalanche and Blizzard cores.

The chip features a unified memory architecture for the CPU and GPU cores and supports up to 24 GB LPDDR5-6400 for a bandwidth of up to 100GB/s.

According to Apple, the M2 offers a 18% higher CPU performance at the same power consumption level compared to the Apple M1. In our tests, the MacBook Pro 13 with active cooling was able to reach the 18% in Geekbench Multi. In other benchmarks we measured 12 to 15% gains compared to the M1. Therefore, the performance is now near the M1 Pro with 8 cores. The passively cooled MacBook Air may however suffer from throttling in longer load scenarios.

The integrated graphics card in the M2 offers 8 or 10 cores and a peak performance of 3.6 TFLOPs.

Furthermore, the SoC integrates a fast 16 core neural engine with a peak performance of 16 TOPS (for AI hardware acceleration), a secure enclave (e.g., for encryption), Thunderbolt / USB 4 controller, an ISP, and media de- and encoders.

The Apple M2 includes 20 billion transistors (up from the 16 billion of the M1) and is manufactured in the second generation 5nm process at TSMC (most likely N5P). The power consumption is rated at 20W what we also measured under CPU load.

Intel Core i9-10980HK

The Intel Core i9-10980HK is a high-end processor for laptops with eight cores based on the Comet Lake architecture (CML-H, 4th generation of Skylake). The processor clocks at between 2.4 and 5.3 GHz (all 8 cores up to 4.4 GHz) and can execute up to sixteen threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. The 5.3 GHz can be only achieved below 65°C core temperature (Thermal Velocity Boost), between 65 and 85°C, 5.2 GHz are the maximum and above that 5.1 with restrictions (Turbo Boost 3.0).

The processor is still manufactured in the old 14nm (14nm++) process. Compared to the predecessor, the Core i9-9980HK, the 10980HK probably offers only increased base clock rates (and maybe multi core turbo clocks). Thanks to the free multiplicator, the CPU can also be easily overclocked (but may not have much headroom).

The Comet Lake architecture is similar to Coffee Lake and offers the same features and is produced in the same 14nm process. Other than the improved clock rates, the memory controller now also supports faster DDR4-2933 RAM. More information on Comet Lake and all the models and articles on it can be found here.

The Core i7-10750H supports no vPro, TXT or SIPP. These business features are available in the similar (and later released) Core i9-10885H (2.4 - 5.3 GHz).

Performance

The performance of the Core i9-10980HK should be higher than the old Core i9-9980HK (2.4 - 5 GHz) thanks to the increased turbo clock speeds. Thanks to the 8 cores and high Turbo speeds, even demanding applications should run very good on the CPU. However, long term performance is always depending on the laptop cooling system and system configuration. At the time of announcement, the i9-10980HK is the fastest Comet Lake-H CPU and fastest laptop CPU on the market. 

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a similar performance as the UHD630 in the Core i7-9980HK. As a  low-end solution it will only run 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. Using cTDP-down, the CPU can also be configured to 35 Watt resulting in a reduced performance.

Beware, the CPU was not yet released at the time of writing and the information is based on leaks and early information.