Intel Core i9-12950HX vs Intel Core i7-12700K vs Intel Core i5-12450HX

Intel Core i9-12950HX

The Intel Core i9-12950HX 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 2.3 to 5 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.7 to 3.6 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 30 MB L3 cache. As a HX-variant, the CPU offers an open multiplicator and therefore the possibility to overclock the CPU cores. Compared to the similar i9-12900HX, the 12950HX supports vPro and ECC memory (successor of the Xeon line) but the CPU overclocking is limited.

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 1.55 GHz.

Performance

The average 12950HX in our database is in the same league as the Core i7-13650HX, Core i7-13700HX, Core i9-13900HK, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very fast chip, as of early 2023.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 82 W, the ThinkPad P16 G1 is among the fastest laptops built around the 12950HX that we know of. It can be 30% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

The chip's "minimum assured" power consumption is 45 W. Its 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 higher value than 55 W to get better performance.

The i9-12950HX is built with Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i7-12700K

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a high end CPU for desktops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was first announced in November 2021 and offers 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The performance cores (P-cores) support HyperThreading, leading to 20 Threads that can be processed at once. The performance cores can clock with up to 5 GHz (Turbo Boost Max 3.0), the efficiency cores can clock with up to 3.9 GHz. All cores can use 25 MB Smart Cache. The integrated memory controller supports up to 128 GB DDR5 with 4800 MT/s (dual channel).

Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficiency cores for the best performance.

The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and called Intel UHD Graphics 770. It clocks between 300 and 1.5 GHz.

For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost. 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.

Performance

The average 12700K in our database is way ahead of the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 9 3900X, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Which is a very, very impressive result, as of late 2022.

Power consumption

This Core i7 series chip has a Base power consumption of 125 W, with its highest Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption sitting at 190 W. It might be a good idea to get an AIO cooling solution for a chip this power hungry.

The i7-12700K is manufactured on Intel's fourth-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for lower-than-average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i5-12450HX

The Intel Core i5-12450HX is a fast mid-range mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture (Alder Lake-S chip). It was announced in mid 2022 and offers 4 of the 8 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 of the 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 12 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.4 to 4.4 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.8 to 3.1 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 12 MB L3 cache. The CPU offers only limited overclocking capabilities and no support for vPro or ECC main memory.

Performance

Due to the similar specs, the performance of the 12450HX should be similar to the Core i5-12450H (45 W TDP). Thanks to the higher TDP, the sustained performance could be better (if the cooling of the laptop is sufficient). 

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 card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers only 16 of the 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.3 GHz.

The CPU is rated at 55 W base power (157 W PL2). The SoC is manufactured on a 10nm process at Intel, which is known as Intel 7.