Intel Core i9-10980HK vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX vs Intel Core i7-10750H

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.

AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX is a processor for big (gaming) laptops based on the Cezanne generation. The R9 5900H integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 3 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 3.3 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.6 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT for a total of 16 threads. The chip is manufactured on the modern 7 nm TSMC process. The "X" in the name indicates the overclocking capabilities of the CPU.

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 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.

Performance

The average 5900HX in our database trades blows with Intel's Core i9-11980HK, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While not much faster than the less power-hungry Ryzen 9 5900HS, this is still a great CPU for quality gaming laptops as well as DTRs and high-performance mini-PCs, as of mid 2022.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 80 W, the Strix Scar 17 G733QSA-XS99 is among the fastest laptops powered by the 5900HX that we know of. It can be roughly 15% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 9 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 45 W, a value that laptop makers are allowed to change to anything between 35 W and 54 W with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly as a result. Either way, a high-performance cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this.

The R9 5900HX is built with the 7 nm TSMC manufacturing process resulting in decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

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.