Intel Core i7-12800HX vs AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS vs AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS

Intel Core i7-12800HX

The Intel Core i7-12800HX is a high-end mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in mid 2022 and offers 8 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 24 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.0 to 4.8 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.5 to 3.4 GHz on the efficiency cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare with the Core i7-6920HQ). All cores can use up to 25 MB L3 cache. The CPU offers an open multiplicator and therefore the possibility to overclock the CPU cores. Compared to the similar i7-12850HX, the 12800HX does not offer vPro or ECC memory support.

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800 and DDR4-3200. 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 supports 48 PCIe lanes consisting of 16 Gen5 (x16 or 2x8), 20 Gen4 and 12 Gen3.

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.45 GHz.

Performance

The average 12800HX in our database is in the same league as the i9-12900HX while being noticeably faster than the Ryzen 7 7745HX, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very fast chip, as of early 2023.

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

Power consumption

The chip's "minimum assured" power consumption sits at 45 W. Its peak Turbo power consumption is not supposed to go over 157 W and its Base power consumption is supposed to be around 55 W. Most laptop makers will probably go for a value much higher than 55 W to extract more performance out of the 12800HX.

This Core i7 series processor is built with Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS

The AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS is a processor for big (gaming) laptops based on the Cezanne generation. The R9 5980HS integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 3 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 3 GHz (guaranteed base clock) to 4.8 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (16 threads). The chip is manufactured on the modern 7 nm process at TSMC. Compared to the 5980HX (up to 54 W), the 5980HS is configured to a TDP of 35W and offers a 300 MHz reduced base speed.

The new Zen 3 microarchitecture offers a significantly higher IPC (instructions per clock) compared to Zen 2. For desktop processors AMD claims 19 percent on average and in applications reviews showed around 12% gains at the same clock speed.

With the increased clock speed and IPC improvements thanks to Zen 3, the Ryzen 9 5980HS should be clearly faster than the lower clocked Ryzen 9 4900H.

In addition to the eight CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics card with 8 CUs and up to 2100 MHz. The dual channel memory controller supports DDR4-3200 and energy efficient LPDDR4-4266 RAM. Furthermore, 16 MB level 3 cache can be found on the chip.

The TDP of the APU is specified at 35 Watt and therefore suited for smaller laptops than the 5980HX (35 - 52W, default 45W).

AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS is a processor for big (gaming) laptops based on the Cezanne generation. The R7 5800H integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 3 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 2.8 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.4 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT for a total of 16 threads. The chip is manufactured on the modern 7 nm TSMC process. Compared to the 5800H (up to 54 W), the 5800HS is configured to a TDP of 35W.

The new Zen 3 microarchitecture offers a significantly higher IPC (instructions per clock) compared to Zen 2. For desktop processors AMD claims 19 percent on average and in applications reviews showed around 12% gains at the same clock speed.

In addition to the eight CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics adapter with 8 CUs (512 shaders) at up to 2,000 MHz. The dual channel memory controller supports dual-channel DDR4-3200 and quad-channel LPDDR4-4266 energy efficient RAM. Furthermore, 16 MB level 3 cache (up from 8 MB at the 4800U) can be found on the chip.

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 5800HS as of August 2023, we have tested several laptops featuring the 5800H, a chip with very similar specs (Cezanne, 8 cores, 16 threads, up to 4.4 GHz). Based on that, we fully expect the 5800HS to be just slightly slower than the Core i5-12500H, Core i7-11800H, Core i7-12650H, Core i9-11950H and also the AMD Ryzen 9 4900H, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Which is pretty damn fast, as of late 2022.

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

Power consumption

The Ryzen has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 35 W. A proper cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this.

This Zen 2-based APU is built with TSMC's 7 nm process for average, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.