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Intel Core i7-1270P vs Intel Core i9-12900H

Intel Core i7-1270P

► remove from comparison Intel i7-1270P

The Intel Core i7-1270P is a higher-end Alder Lake-P family CPU, an expensive 28 W part meant for use in ultra-light, ultra-thin (yet actively cooled) laptops. This CPU was announced in early 2022 and it has 4 performance cores as opposed to the 6 cores of the top-of-the-line 1280P (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) mated to 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores are Hyper-Threading-enabled for a total of 16 threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock speeds range from 2.2 GHz to 4.8 GHz for the performance cluster and 1.6 GHz to 3.5 GHz for the efficient cluster. Full vPro feature set is supported by this Core i7 ("Enterprise" tier, allowing for remote device management). Its shortcomings as compared with the mighty i7-1280P include the smaller L3 cache, lower core count, lower clock speeds; the performance is slated to be significantly lower as a result.

A brief look at the specifications instantly reveals this i7 series chip to be very similar to the Core i5-12600H, a more power-hungry processor targeted at gaming laptops.

Architecture

The i7 is a continuation of Intel's efforts to use the ARM-developed big.LITTLE technology for its own benefit. A single "little" Alder Lake core is supposed to be as fast as a Skylake core (as found in the venerable Core i7-6700HQ among other options) which is six years old at this point. All of an Intel Core i7-1270P's CPU cores enjoy access to 18 MB of L3 cache. The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to LPDDR5-5200, DDR5-4800, LPDDR4x-4267 or DDR4-3200. Intel suggests using no more than 64 GB, for reference. Just like the other 12th Gen Intel Core processors, Core i7-1270P comes with Thread Director which is a new functionality designed to help Windows 11 decide which cores to use for what workload for best performance and efficiency possible. Hardware acceleration of AI algorithms is supported via GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). PCI-Express 5.0 support has not found its way into Alder Lake P processors, so users will have to be content with PCI-Express 4.0 for the time being. Four PCI-Express 4 lanes allow for a read/write rate of up to 7.9 GB/s, provided a suitably fast NVMe SSD is used.

Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. It gets soldered permanently on to the motherboard (BGA1744 socket interface).

Performance

The 12 CPU cores are not just able to outshine any outgoing quad-core Tiger Lake part, the i7-1195G7 included. The average 1270P in our database directly competes with the Ryzen 7 5825U, the Ryzen 7 7730U and the Ryzen 7 7735U, meaning this little Core i7 is fast enough to make most consumers happy as of mid 2023.

The fairly high processing power comes at a cost. A single Golden Cove core can consume more than 20 W when under heavy load. Your mileage may thus vary depending on how high the Power Limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your laptop is.

Graphics

The built-in graphics adapter in the form of the 96 EU Iris Xe running at up to 1.40 GHz has seen no change from what was built into the 11th Gen Tiger Lake-UP3 processors, like an i7-1165G7, which is hardly a downside as this iGPU is loaded with modern features such as AV1 video decoding capability and SUHD 4320p monitor support. Up to 4 monitors can be used simultaneously with this iGPU. We expect the gaming performance to be reasonably close to that of NVIDIA's MX350.

In other words, the Xe is good enough for most games at 1080p resolution / Medium settings, provided the Power Limits are high enough and the cooling solution is competent enough. Fast RAM is a prerequisite for decent performance as well (the Xe has to make do with no dedicated video memory).

Last but not the least, we discovered that the GPU utilization when playing YouTube UHD 2160p60 videos is higher than it was with Tiger Lake chips.

Power consumption

The i7's base power consumption (also known as the default TDP or Power Limit 1) is 28 W, with 64 W being its maximum Turbo power consumption (also known as the PL2). As for the "Minimum Assured" power consumption, Intel's guidelines mention 20 W. All in all, an active cooling solution is a must for such a chip.

The CPU is built with Intel's fourth-gen 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency. It's still a rather power-hungry CPU; a single P-core will happily consume more than 20 W when under heavy load. A couple of the higher-end 7 nm U-class AMD Ryzen 5000 chips are not nearly as power-hungry while delivering similar or higher performance levels.

Intel Core i9-12900H

► remove from comparison Intel i9-12900H

The Intel Core i9-12900H 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 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 20 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.5 to 5 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.8 to 3.8 GHz on the efficient cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6920HQ). All cores can use up to 24 MB L3 cache. Compared to the 12900HK, the 12900H does not offer the open multiplicator (for overclocking) but the full "Enterprise" set of vPro features (for remote management).

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 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.45 GHz.

Performance

The average 12900H in our database proves to be an outrageously fast CPU, ripping the Ryzen 9 6900HX to pieces as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Perhaps surprisingly, the i9's multi-thread performance is not much higher than that of the Core i7-12700H, suggesting the latter might be a better bang for the buck.

With its decent cooling solution and a long-term Power Limit of 110 W, the Asus StudioBook 16 H7600ZW is one of the fastest laptops built around the i9-12900H that we know of. It can be more than 80% faster than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, depending on the circumstances.

Power consumption

The Core i9 has a "minimum assured" power consumption of 35 W, with 45 W being its Base power consumption. The CPU's maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption sits at 115 W.

The i9-12900H is built with Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for lower than average, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.

ModelIntel Core i7-1270PIntel Core i9-12900H
SeriesIntel Alder Lake-PIntel Alder Lake-P
CodenameAlder Lake-PAlder Lake-H
Series: Alder Lake-P Alder Lake-H
Intel Core i7-1280P compare1.3 - 4.8 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1270P « 1.6 - 4.8 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i7-1260P compare1.5 - 4.7 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1250P compare1.2 - 4.4 GHz12 / 16 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i5-1240P compare1.2 - 4.4 GHz12 / 16 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i3-1220P compare1.1 - 4.4 GHz10 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i9-12900HK compare1.8 - 5 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i9-12900H « 1.8 - 5 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12800H compare1.8 - 4.8 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12650H compare1.7 - 4.7 GHz10 / 16 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12600H compare2 - 4.5 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12500H compare1.8 - 4.5 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12450H compare1.5 - 4.4 GHz8 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Clock1600 - 4800 MHz1800 - 5000 MHz
L1 Cache1.1 MB1.2 MB
L2 Cache10 MB11.5 MB
L3 Cache18 MB24 MB
Cores / Threads12 / 1614 / 20
TDP28 Watt45 Watt
Technology10 nm10 nm
max. Temp.100 °C100 °C
SocketBGA1744BGA1744
FeaturesDDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Director, DL Boost, GNA, Rem. Platf. Erase, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHADDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Dir., DL Boost, GNA, RPE, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA
iGPUIntel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs ( - 1400 MHz)Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs ( - 1450 MHz)
Architecturex86x86
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i7-1270P
37.7 pt (52%)
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i9-12900H
44.1 pt (61%)
Cinebench 2024 - CB24 CPU Single Core
min: 96     avg: 100.8     median: 100.5 (70%)     max: 106 Points
Cinebench 2024 - CB24 CPU Multi Core
min: 371     avg: 558     median: 563 (10%)     max: 734 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
min: 8426     avg: 9718     median: 9718 (9%)     max: 11010 Points
min: 7359     avg: 15301     median: 15987 (15%)     max: 19648 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
min: 1552     avg: 1620     median: 1620 (69%)     max: 1688 Points
min: 1634     avg: 1822     median: 1863 (79%)     max: 1921 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 595     avg: 611     median: 611 (68%)     max: 627 Points
min: 624     avg: 705     median: 715 (79%)     max: 738 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 3167     avg: 3536     median: 3536 (9%)     max: 3905 Points
min: 2681     avg: 5761     median: 6060 (15%)     max: 7471 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 1695     avg: 1739     median: 1739 (11%)     max: 1783 Points
min: 1395     avg: 2482     median: 2586 (16%)     max: 3077 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 226     avg: 229.5     median: 229.5 (69%)     max: 233 Points
min: 235     avg: 262.2     median: 265 (80%)     max: 277 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
19.9 Points (26%)
min: 12.08     avg: 23.7     median: 26 (34%)     max: 32.77 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
2.7 Points (68%)
min: 2.83     avg: 3     median: 3 (74%)     max: 3.3 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
7886 Points (48%)
min: 8083     avg: 8445     median: 8235 (50%)     max: 9498 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
36271 Points (26%)
min: 24313     avg: 44048     median: 47831 (35%)     max: 60567 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
min: 48178     avg: 64876     median: 66958.5 (46%)     max: 77409 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
min: 12846     avg: 13091     median: 13130.5 (16%)     max: 13256 Points
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
344.6 s (4%)
min: 187.176     avg: 211.3     median: 196.5 (2%)     max: 265.116 s
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
9.8 s (2%)
min: 3.421     avg: 4.2     median: 4.1 (1%)     max: 5.062 s
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
16497 Points (26%)
min: 7620     avg: 8121     median: 7897 (13%)     max: 9328 Points
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
min: 38099     avg: 38274     median: 38274 (22%)     max: 38449 MIPS
min: 34684     avg: 61535     median: 64918 (37%)     max: 76677 MIPS
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
min: 4874     avg: 5279     median: 5279 (63%)     max: 5684 MIPS
min: 5302     avg: 5835     median: 5881 (70%)     max: 6289 MIPS
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
min: 67.5     avg: 103.9     median: 111.4 (39%)     max: 125.45 fps
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
min: 225     avg: 255.1     median: 254.8 (59%)     max: 286 fps
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
min: 9.56     avg: 10.4     median: 10.4 (18%)     max: 11.3 fps
min: 8.05     avg: 17.3     median: 18.7 (33%)     max: 22.5 fps
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
0.8 GB/s (0%)
min: 0.864     avg: 1     median: 1 (0%)     max: 1.4 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
1.1 GB/s (19%)
min: 1.5     avg: 1.8     median: 1.7 (29%)     max: 2 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
5.8 GB/s (15%)
min: 8.6     avg: 10     median: 9.7 (25%)     max: 12.8 GB/s
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
714 Seconds (9%)
min: 273     avg: 415.4     median: 375.5 (5%)     max: 850 Seconds
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
min: 372     avg: 373.5     median: 373.5 (3%)     max: 375 Seconds
min: 160     avg: 229.3     median: 201 (1%)     max: 451 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
min: 0.4926     avg: 0.5     median: 0.5 (12%)     max: 0.575 sec
min: 0.4218     avg: 0.5     median: 0.4 (10%)     max: 0.506 sec
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
min: 10122     avg: 12562     median: 12799 (27%)     max: 14082 Points
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
7.6 s (2%)
min: 7.3     avg: 7.8     median: 7.8 (2%)     max: 8.329 s
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
min: 16.373     avg: 17.7     median: 18 (1%)     max: 18.439 s
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
436.4 s (2%)
min: 385.4     avg: 416.2     median: 409.2 (2%)     max: 474.148 s
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
min: 33640     avg: 50378     median: 52582 (46%)     max: 62706 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
min: 10981     avg: 12323     median: 12323 (33%)     max: 13665 Points
min: 10552     avg: 21605     median: 22620 (61%)     max: 26126 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
min: 77848     avg: 90608     median: 91828 (75%)     max: 103016 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
min: 71651     avg: 89609     median: 91745 (74%)     max: 103757 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
min: 81857     avg: 89449     median: 87365 (74%)     max: 100472 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
min: 9451     avg: 9958     median: 9958 (25%)     max: 10465 Points
min: 9262     avg: 18183     median: 19209 (49%)     max: 22123 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
min: 18221     avg: 18284     median: 18283.5 (33%)     max: 18346 Points
min: 9703     avg: 25831     median: 27232 (49%)     max: 31176 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
min: 5316     avg: 6022     median: 6021.5 (25%)     max: 6727 Points
min: 5062     avg: 11710     median: 12399 (52%)     max: 14424 Points
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Single-Core
min: 2263     avg: 2267     median: 2265 (69%)     max: 2273 Points
Geekbench 6.2 - Geekbench 6.2 Multi-Core
min: 9278     avg: 10322     median: 10442 (41%)     max: 11247 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 1564     avg: 1644     median: 1644 (69%)     max: 1724 Points
min: 1631     avg: 1797     median: 1830.5 (77%)     max: 1892 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 8610     avg: 8660     median: 8660 (16%)     max: 8710 Points
min: 8519     avg: 12163     median: 12321.5 (22%)     max: 14376 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
1683 Points (7%)
min: 1553     avg: 1681     median: 1673 (7%)     max: 1838 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
8537 Points (27%)
min: 8374     avg: 10702     median: 10985 (35%)     max: 12717 Points
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 7191     avg: 7401     median: 7199 (72%)     max: 8015 Points
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 30682     avg: 35572     median: 35978.5 (40%)     max: 39648 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
min: 537     avg: 541     median: 540.5 (1%)     max: 544 ms
min: 490     avg: 522     median: 507.5 (1%)     max: 608 ms
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
78273 Points (70%)
min: 84027     avg: 87439     median: 86645 (78%)     max: 92438 Points
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
251 Points (72%)
min: 239     avg: 260.3     median: 264 (76%)     max: 279 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
min: 279     avg: 285     median: 285 (59%)     max: 291 Points
min: 263     avg: 297.9     median: 297.5 (62%)     max: 332 Points
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
min: 1585     avg: 1649     median: 1648.5 (63%)     max: 1712 Points
min: 1515     avg: 1844     median: 1884 (72%)     max: 2108 Points
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 47.3     avg: 53.2     median: 53.2 (9%)     max: 59.1 Watt
min: 52     avg: 110.6     median: 104.2 (18%)     max: 180 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 61.3     avg: 63.1     median: 63.1 (12%)     max: 64.9 Watt
min: 74.6     avg: 128.5     median: 124.5 (23%)     max: 222 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
4 Watt (3%)
min: 4.05     avg: 29.7     median: 26.5 (18%)     max: 96.8 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
4.6 Watt (5%)
min: 7.99     avg: 18.1     median: 14.8 (16%)     max: 34.3 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
min: 27.5     avg: 27.6     median: 27.6 (21%)     max: 27.7 Points per Watt
min: 13.6     avg: 19.8     median: 19.4 (14%)     max: 27.5 Points per Watt

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-1270P → 100% n=37

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i9-12900H → 127% n=37

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

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show all (including archived), 2024, 2023
v1.26
log 29. 02:46:31

#0 checking url part for id 14062 +0s ... 0s

#1 checking url part for id 14043 +0s ... 0s

#2 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#3 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:35:32 +0100 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#4 composed specs +0.046s ... 0.048s

#5 did output specs +0s ... 0.048s

#6 getting avg benchmarks for device 14062 +0.02s ... 0.068s

#7 got single benchmarks 14062 +0.018s ... 0.086s

#8 getting avg benchmarks for device 14043 +0.022s ... 0.108s

#9 got single benchmarks 14043 +0.136s ... 0.244s

#10 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.244s

#11 min, max, avg, median took s +0.423s ... 0.667s

#12 return log +0.025s ... 0.693s

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Processor Comparison - Head 2 Head
Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)