Computers

Intel's new 10th Gen laptop processors crack 5GHz

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Intel has unveiled its 10th Gen Intel Core laptop processors
Intel Corporation
Intel has unveiled its 10th Gen Intel Core laptop processors
Intel Corporation
A wafer of 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processor
Intel Corporation
Acer's Nitro 5 is an entry-level laptop built with Intel's new 10th Gen processors
Acer
Acer's Predator Triton 500 is a high-end gaming laptop built with the new Intel 10th Gen processors
Acer
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Intel has unveiled its newest generation of laptop processors, which are the first to streak past the 5 GHz mark. The 10th Gen Intel Core H-series packs power you’d previously only get in a desktop, allowing for more demanding games and creative tasks. And the first batch of devices making use of them are here too.

This batch of chips, which Intel calls Comet Lake-H, is divided into three classes. The top of the line is the Intel Core i9, which can hit a max frequency of up to 5.3 GHz across its eight cores and 16 threads. The mid-range is the i7, managing up to 5.1 GHz with its eight- or six-core setup, while the i5 rounds out the bottom end with a respectable 4.6 GHz over four cores.

The chips can pull off these numbers thanks to some sneaky built-in optimization options. They all have pretty soupy names hot off a corporate brainstorming session, but they seem to be more or less doing the job.

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 can apparently direct the most important tasks to the fastest cores. Speed Optimizer and Extreme Tuning Utility are tools that let users overclock their systems easily. Thermal Velocity Boost senses when the processor is running cool and automatically cranks up the power. And Adaptix Dynamic Tuning lets device developers monitor factors like temperature and fan speed, to push their designs as far as they’ll go without catching fire.

Speaking of developers, Intel’s reveal was quickly followed by manufacturers announcing their laptops built with the 10th Gen Intel Core H-series. Republic of Gamers, the gaming arm of Asus, unveiled the Zephyrus Duo 15, which has a touchscreen mounted between the keyboard and the main display.

Acer's Predator Triton 500 is a high-end gaming laptop built with the new Intel 10th Gen processors
Acer

Acer revealed two new gaming laptops at either end of the price spectrum. The Predator Triton 500 packs one of the Comet Lake-H processors (of course), while a GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER or 2070 SUPER GPU handles the graphics. It’s not cheap though, starting at US$2,199.99.

The Acer Nitro 5 is a more wallet-friendly option. It’s powered by the mid-tier Intel Core i7 chip, with GPU options of up to a GeForce RTX 2060. It starts at $749.99.

And finally Razer is also making use of the chipset in its usual flashy flair, with the new Razer Blade 15. This uses the new Intel Core i7 and up to a GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GPU, and starts at $1,599.

Intel says that over 100 laptops featuring the 10th Gen cores will be launching this year, with 30 or so of them being thin-and-light systems.

Sources: Intel, Windows blog, Razer

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4 comments
paul314
Although clock speed is nice for rule of thumb, I'll wait to see how much these processors accomplish per clock cycle. (CPUs approached the 5GHz mark about a decade ago, then backed off as designers found other, less power-hungry ways to improve performance.)
minivini
Man, I’m hoping Microsoft has been holding up the Surface Book 3 for this. I’ve been waiting since before the release of the second generation for a version that offers Thunderbolt compatibility. Hope this is it...
ljaques
The AMD seems to retain the workhorse position. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-10th-gen-comet-lake-h-vs-amd-ryzen-4000
aki009
When Intel goes higher on clock speeds, it tells you they are running out of better ideas. That doesn't bode well for real world performance gains in the future (though I'm sure that the marketing types will have plentiful lipstick to apply to whatever comes out of the labs).

I'm assuming nobody will tell you how much heat these things produce at top clock and how long that speed can be maintained.