Intel Core i5-14500HX vs Intel Core i7-12650HX vs Intel Core i5-12600HX

Intel Core i5-14500HX

The Intel Core i5-14500HX is a high-end CPU from the Raptor-Lake-HX Refresh series (RPL-H). The CPU offers all 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove or Raptor Cove architecture) and 8 efficiency cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support hyperthreading (therefore 20 threads together) and clock from 2.4 to 4.9 GHz (single-core turbo). The E-cores clock from 1.9 - 3.7 GHz and should offer comparable performance to old Skylake cores (e.g. i7-6920HQ).

Performance

Thanks to the higher clock rates of the Rocket Lake series, the i5-14500HX can reach the level of the old Core i9-12900H and is therefore a very fast mobile CPU that is ideal for all areas of application.

Graphics unit

Like its predecessor, Intel integrates an Intel Xe-based graphics unit. In the 14500HX, all 96 EUs are activated and clock at up to 1.55 GHz.

Features

Like Alder-Lake-H, Raptor-Lake-H has partially integrated WiFi 6E and Thunderbolt 4 (4x). The integrated memory controller now supports faster DDR5-5200 memory. The integrated Gaussian and Neural Accelerator (GNA) is still installed in version 3.0. The Quick Sync 8 media engine is the same as in Rocket Lake and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC and AV1 decode. The chip supports PCIe 5.0 x8 for a dGPU and two PCIe 4.0 x4 for SSDs. The PCH also offers PCIe Gen3 x12.

Power consumption

The Intel Core i5-14500HX is specified with 55 watts TDP (PL2 157 watts). The processor continues to be manufactured using the improved Intel 7 process (10 nm SuperFin).

Intel Core i7-12650HX

The Intel Core i7-12650HX is a high-end mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in mid 2022 and offers 6 of the 8 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 2.0 to 4.7 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.5 to 3.3 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.

Performance

Due to the similar specs, the performance of the 12650HX should be similar to the Core i7-12700H (14 cores, max 4,7 GHz, 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 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.45 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.

Intel Core i5-12600HX

The Intel Core i5-12600HX is a upper mid-range mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake-S chip. It was announced in mid 2022 and offers 4 of the 8 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 16 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.5 to 4.6 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.8 to 3.3 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 18 MB L3 cache. The CPU supports vPro and ECC memory and is therefore a successor to the mobile Xeon CPUs.

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 12600HX as of August 2023, we have tested several systems featuring the i5-12500H, a CPU with similar specs (4 P-cores mated to 8 E-cores, all running at pretty much the same clock speeds as what the 12600HX has). Based on that, expect the 12600HX to be very close to the Ryzen 9 6900HS, Ryzen 9 6900HX and also the Core i7-12650H, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned.

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

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 32 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.35 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.