Intel Core i9-11980HK vs Intel Core i9-11950H vs Intel Xeon W-11955M

Intel Core i9-11980HK

The Intel Core i9-11980HK is a high-end octa-core SoC for gaming laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates eight Willow Cove processor cores (16 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.6 GHz. The single core boost speed can reach up to 5 GHz (ITBM 3.0, also two cores), all cores can reach up to 4.5 GHz. The CPU offers 24 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory. Thanks to the free multiplicator, the CPU can also be easily overclocked (but may not have much headroom).

The SoC also features the improved Xe graphics adapter called UHD Graphics with all 32 EUs active.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (20 lanes in the H45 series), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6E in the chip.

Professional management features like Intel vPro, SIPP or TXT are not supported by the 11980HK unlike the similar i9-11950H and Xeon W-11955M (with ECC support).

All articles on Tiger Lake can be found on our Tiger Lake architecture hub.

Performance

The average 11980HK in our database matches the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H in multi-thread performance, rendering the i9 a fairly powerful (if a little underwhelming) CPU, as of late 2022.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 62 W, the MSI WE76 11UM-456 is among the fastest laptops built around the 11980HK that we know of. It can be about 30% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

The Core i9 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 45 W to 65 W, the expectation being that laptop makers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance.

The i9-11980HK is built with Intel's 3rd generation 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i9-11950H

The Intel Core i9-11950H is a high end octa core SoC for laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates eight Willow Cove processor cores (16 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.6 GHz. The single core boost speed can reach up to 5 GHz (ITBM 3.0, also two cores), all cores can reach up to 4.5 GHz. The CPU offers 24 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory. Compared to the i9-11980HK, the 11950H offers professional management features like Intel vPro, SIPP or TXT.

Thanks to the new Tiger Lake architecture, the i9-11980HK should be significantly faster than the old Intel Core i9-10980HK (Comet Lake-H, 2.4 - 5.3 GHz, 16 MB L3) in single and multi threaded performance and similar to the Ryzen 9 5980HX (Zen 3, 3.3 - 4.8 GHz, 16 MB L3). Therefore, the i9 should be one of the fastest laptop CPUs in 2021 and well suited for even very demanding tasks.

The SoC also included the improved Xe graphics card called UHD graphics with all 32 EUs.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (20 lanes in the H45 series), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6E in the chip.

The chip is produced on the improved 10nm process (called 10nm SuperFin) at Intel, which should be comparable to the 7nm process at TSMC (e.g. Ryzen 4000 series). The default TDP is rated at 45 W, at 65 Watt the base clock speed increases to 3.3 GHz (cTDP up).

All articles on Tiger Lake can be found on our Tiger Lake architecture hub.

Intel Xeon W-11955M

The Intel Xeon W-11955M is a high end octa core SoC for laptops and mobile workstations. It is based on the Tiger Lake H45 generation and was announced in mid 2021. It integrates eight Willow Cove processor cores (16 threads thanks to HyperThreading). The base clock speed depends on the TDP setting and at 45 Watt is at 2.6 GHz. The single core boost speed can reach up to 5 GHz (ITBM 3.0, also two cores), all cores can reach up to 4.5 GHz. The CPU offers 24 MB level 3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 memory. Similar to the Core i9-11950H, the Xeon W-11955M supports SIPP, vPro and TXT. In addition to this, the Xeon line supports ECC memory.

Performance

The average W-11955M in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 7 4800H, Core i7-11850H, Core i7-1360P, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a fairly 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.

The SoC also included the improved Xe graphics card called UHD graphics with all 32 EUs.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (20 lanes in the H45 series), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6E in the chip.

Power consumption

This Xeon series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 35 W to 45 W, the expectation being that laptop makers will go for a higher value to get better performance.

The W-11955M is built with Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.