Intel prepares Core i3-N300 processors without performance cores

The first data about energy-efficient mobile Alder Lake-N processors, which have not yet been officially presented by Intel, appeared in the web.
We're talking about Core i3-N305 and Core i3-N300 models, which have eight cores each.
It is noteworthy that the chips do not include high-performance P-core Golden Cove - the processors use only energy-efficient E-core Gracemont.Image source: VideoCardzData about the chips is still scarce.
The Core i3-N305 has been noted in the synthetic benchmark Geekbench.
It is indicated that the processor has a base frequency of 1.8 GHz and can automatically overclock to 3.78 GHz.
Data about L1/L2 and L3 cache configuration confirms that the chip uses Gracemont cores architecture.Image source: Geekbanksh About Core i3-N300 chip except for the information about the number of cores and that it supports DDR4-3200 memory, nothing is known.
Although you can also see that there is built-in Intel UHD graphics.Image source: GeekbenchIn the single-core Geekbench test, the Core i3-N305 model scores 1025 points, and in multi-core - 4420 points.
So its performance is about the same as the Core i7-8750H (Coffee Lake).
The latter has results in the same test are 974 and 4,438 points respectively.Image source: GeekbencheIf we compare with something more modern, the Core i3-N305 slightly outperforms the mobile Ryzen 7 5700U on the Zen 2 architecture in single-core performance, but is inferior in multi-core.
AMD chip scores 1021 and 5433 points in the same tests, respectively.

Leak confirms that Intel's Raptor Lake processor family will have models on chips from Alder Lake

Another leak of Intel slides has confirmed earlier rumors that some models of Intel's 13th generation Core (Raptor Lake) processors will be built on older chips from Intel's 12th generation Core processors, aka Alder Lake.
Image source: VideoCardzIt has been previously reported that the Core 13th generation Core processors will use three types of chips, with stepping B0, C0 and H0.
The first will be used in all Core i9, Core i7 and older Core i5 with a \"K\" suffix.
And the rest of Core i5 will get C0 chips, and base Core i3 will get H0 chips.Already then, it was assumed that only B0 chips will be built with new performance P-core Raptor Cove and energy efficient Gracemont E-core.
The rest of the chips use Golden Cove and Gracemont cores, respectively, which are already used in Alder Lake processors.
Now these rumors are indirectly confirmed.
Image source: Igor'sLAB / 3DCenter.orgIntel's slide which has appeared in the Network confirms that the Raptor Lake processors will differ on the architectural level, as indicated by the increased amount of L2 and L3 cache memory on the higher chips.
According to the slide, the increased L3 cache will get Core i5 processors and older, and the increase in L2 cache is announced only for the new Core i5 with \"K\" suffix and older chips.
In other words, all of the newer generation CPUs will offer the same amount of cache as their predecessors.The Gracemont small E-core clusters in the Alder Lake processors each have 2 MB of L2 cache memory.
Earlier leaks suggest that Gracemont cores in Raptor Lake chips will each have 4 Mbytes of L2 cache.
Using the old Alder Lake (Golden Cove) architecture in the new Core i5-13400, Core i5-13500 and Core i5-13600 processors means they will have less IPC than models with Raptor Cove cores, which in turn will reduce their potential against new AMD Ryzen 7000 processors.

Intel Alder Lake system tested with Windows 11 and different Linux - Microsoft OS was slowest in 72% of tests

Phoronix has conducted a performance comparison test of the Intel Alder Lake platform with different operating systems.
It turns out that under different Linux distributions the computer is in most cases faster than under the latest Windows 11.The tests were done with an Intel Core i9-12900K processor, ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi motherboard, 32GB (2x16GB) of DDR5-6000 memory, 500GB WD Black SN850 SSD and an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card.
The configuration is one of the best by today's standards, able to handle both high resolution games and working applications, as well as working with content.
For the performance comparison, Windows 11 Pro, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on the stable Linux 5.18 kernel, and Intel Clear Linux version 36580 were chosen.Image source: phoronix.comTestors ran a total of 103 tests, with Clear Linux being the clear victor, scoring maximum points in 55 cases (53.4%), second with 19 wins (18.4%) to Ubuntu 22.
04 LTS, third place went to Windows 11 with 16 top scores (15.5%) and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with Linux 5.18 only 13 wins (12.6%).Image source: phoronix.com Image source: phoronix.com Of course, a benchmark is not a benchmark, and for most average users of flagship chips, gaming tests can be decisive.
On the other hand, it would be a mistake to ignore other tasks that determined the scoring in the test series: virtualization, data compression, rendering and video encoding - in all these cases, Linux family systems were faster.
Taking the cumulative result for all tests, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS was 4 percent faster than Windows 11, and in the case of Clear Linux the gap widened to 8 percent.
And Windows 11 was the worst performer in 72% of tests.

Core i9-12900KS review: the processor that eats like GeForce RTX 3080

Special Edition processors are not a new phenomenon, both AMD and Intel periodically released such products.
However, for the last few years only Intel has been using this option.
Under this brand it offers overclocked variants of flagships, which solve some marketing tasks, for example, give it formal grounds to declare itself a leader.
For example, the last \"special processor\" Core i9-9900KS hit the market at the end of 2019, and its tasks included something to respond to the 12- and 16-core Ryzen.
This response then turned out to be asymmetrical, since the superiority of AMD in multithreaded performance Intel countered the additional increase in gaming performance, but its audience Core i9-9900KS still found.Among the Core 10th and 11th generation processors no special models were released, but this does not mean that Intel has forgotten about the old practice.
With the arrival of the Alder Lake family on the market, the company had in its hands an advanced processor design that allowed it to take over the initiative in the performance race.
However, AMD's desire to introduce 3D V-Cache processors with significantly increased gaming potential made Intel worry that the hard-won leadership could slip their hands again.
So the company decided to recall its old tricks and developed the Core i9-12900KS Special Edition, an unscheduled processor with legal overclocking up to 5.2-5.5GHz, meant to refute AMD's claims that Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 96-Mbyte L3-cache is the new king among gaming CPUs.
However, it looks like some unproductive marketing activity provoked by some pinched ego, because the appearance of Core i9-12900KS is hardly able to change something fundamentally in market situation.
Firstly, this processor is too different from Core i9-12900K by frequency characteristics, but it is significantly different from it by price.
Secondly, the prefix Special Edition again means that in the name of ephemeral performance increase Intel has not only organized the selection of the most successful semiconductor chips, but also sacrificed thermal and power characteristics to quite a large extent.
Nevertheless, Intel seems to be sure that the Core i9-12900KS will be bought anyway.
At least while the last \"special\" processor was a limited edition, now there is no question about the finality of the supply.
That is, the Core i9-12900KS is built into the existing range, and to find it on sale does not need to make any special efforts (of course, not about Russia).
Another thing, it is not quite clear whether it is worth preferring the new flagship to the regular Core i9-12900K? ⇡#Core i9-12900KS in detailsBriefly speaking, Core i9-12900KS is an accelerated version of Core i9-12900K with the same core lineup (8 performance Golden Cove cores and 8 energy efficient Gracemont cores), but with slightly higher frequencies: P-core can take 5.2-5.5GHz, and E-core - 4.0GHz.
Core i9-12900KSCore i9-12900KKKcores16 (8P+8E)16 (8P+8E)Fluxes2424 P-core frequencies, GHz3.4-5.53.2-5.2 E-core frequencies, GHz2.5-4.02.4-3.9PBP, W150125MTP, W241241L3-cache, Mbytes3030MemoryDDR4-3200 DDR5-4800DDR4-3200 DDR5-4800Inbuilt graphicsUHD 770UHD 770PCIe16 lines 5.
0 4 lines 4.016 lines 5.0 4 lines 4.0Price$739$589The table shows that the Core i9-12900KS differs from the Core i9-12900K not only in frequencies but also in the PBP (Processor Base Power), which is the heat pack.
It's supposed to be 20% hotter overall, while its marginal consumption should fit into the same MTP (Maximum Turbo Power) value of 241W.
However, all these declarations have no practical value and are only formal.
PBP and MTP values are not used by motherboard manufacturers, which completely breaks all limits of consumption for Intel's flagship processors.
When announcing the Core i9-12900KS, Intel did not tell us about any technological differences from the Core i9-12900K, focusing only on the increased clock speed, which in turbo mode can reach 5.5 GHz.
Nevertheless, this processor is not just a maximally overclocked version of the flagship Alder Lake.
In addition to the selection of the most successful semiconductor chips and expanding the scope of the thermal package, another trick was used.
The Core i9-12900KS sees the return of the widest possible set of automatic boosts that previous generations of Intel processors already had, but didn't have in Alder Lake.So the Core i9-12900KS for its P-core supports Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) and Adaptive Boost Technology (ABT), which Intel used last time

NZXT released N5 Z690 and N7 Z690 motherboards for Intel Alder Lake processors

NZXT introduced N5 Z690 and N7 Z690 motherboards for Intel Alder Lake processors.
Both models look very similar, except for the different color schemes - black prevails in N5, white in N7.
However, the novelties are also different in technical equipment.Image source: NZXTIt should be noted that both models use black textolite.
Only the N7 model has more protective covers.
The NZXT N5 Z690 is based on a 9-phase power subsystem.
The N7 Z690 got a 13-phase power subsystem and is built on a higher quality textolite.
In theory, the higher model will provide more stable performance when overclocking the components.
Each card has three PCIe 5.0 x16 and two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots.
Both models support up to 128GB of DDR4-5000 RAM.
The choice in favor of the old, but still relevant memory standard, is justified.
Firstly, the boards were cheaper to produce and to the end customer.
And secondly, DDR5 memory is still very expensive.Another difference between the boards is the number of M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs.
The N5 model offers four M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, and the N7 offers three.
The number of SATA III (6 Gbit/s) slots is the same for both models - four each.
The new models also have different sound codecs.
The junior model has Realtek ALC897 8-channel, the senior - more modern 8-channel Realtek ALC1220 with Nichicon capacitors.
The set of external connectors is also practically the same.
The N5 Z690 model has one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, two USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0, one LAN (RJ45).
Moreover you can find here a button for quick BIOS Flashback firmware update.
On its turn, N7 Z690 offers one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, two USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0 and one LAN (RJ45).
Both models are already available in NZXT Online Shop.
The manufacturer has priced N5 Z690 at $240, and N7 Z690 at $300.

HP upgraded HP Spectre x360 laptops with Alder Lake processors and Intel Arc Alchemist graphics

HP has upgraded the 13.5- and 16-inch HP Spectre x360 laptop models with Alder Lake-P and Alder Lake-H processors.
The devices offer up to 32GB of RAM and solid-state drives up to 2TB.Image source: HPThe updated Spectre models have an attractive design, as well as offering nice bonuses like four speakers and an OLED display as an option, as befits a premium notebook series.
However, against the background of the predecessor 13.5-inch updated model stands out the new screen aspect ratio 3:2.The company offers for this model to choose from two display options.
This can be an IPS matrix with a resolution of 1920 × 1280 pixels, or a touch OLED display with a resolution of 3000 × 2000 pixels.
In both cases, the screen takes up 90.1 percent of the device's usable front panel area.HP has equipped the 13.5-inch Spectre x360 with an infrared 5-megapixel camera that improves image quality in low light, allowing the caller to see the user better during a video call.
In addition, the camera supports auto-framing (keeps the user in the frame when they move), automatic backlight adjustment, image noise reduction with AI algorithms, and a dynamic audio enhancement function.
The camera is covered by a curtain for safety.Prices for the updated 13.5-inch HP Spectre x360 start at $1250 for the version powered by a 10-core Intel Core i5-1235U up to 4.4GHz, equipped with 8GB of LPDDR4X-4266 RAM and a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drive.
There's also a choice of a 10-core Core i7-1255U up to 4.7GHz, up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage.
No discrete graphics card is provided.
RAM laptop soldered directly on the motherboard.
So if you choose the configuration with 8 GB of RAM you should think about it carefully or you may add money for choosing the version with 16 or 32 GB RAM.
External interfaces are presented by two Thunderbolt 4.0 ports (USB Type-C), one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 3.5mm audio combo jack and microSD card reader.
The Spectre laptops come with the HP Tilt Pen, an electronic pen that supports multiple degrees of pressure via Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0.
Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless support, a fingerprint scanner and a 65W USB Type-C charger are also claimed.
The laptop's 66-watt-hour battery charges from zero to 50 percent in 45 minutes.The updated 13.5-inch HP Spectre x360 is assembled in a metal case made of recycled aluminum.
The keyboard keycaps on the device are made of recycled plastic.
The notebook measures 297.94 × 220.47 × 17.02 mm and weighs 1.37 kg.The larger 16-inch updated HP Spectre x360 offers a choice of Alder Lake-H processors, up to the 14-core Intel Core i7-12700H with up to 4.7 GHz.
An Intel Arc A370M discrete graphics gas pedal is optional here.
The graphics card has eight Xe cores and eight ray tracing blocks, and has received 4GB of GDDR6 memory with a 64-bit bus.A choice of IPS panel with a resolution of 3072 × 1920 pixels and an OLED display with a resolution of 3840 × 2400 dots is available.
The aspect ratio of the screens is 16:10.
The older version of the HP Spectre x360 is equipped with an 83-watt-hour battery.The dimensions of the 16-inch version of the laptop are 357.89 × 245.36 × 19.81 mm.
The weight is 2.02 kg.
The novelty is already available for sale at a price of $ 1,650 in the U.S.

Acer unveils ConceptD 100 and ConceptD 500 compact desktops with Intel Alder Lake and NVIDIA graphics

Acer has announced the ConceptD 100 and ConceptD 500 compact desktops.
Despite its modest size, the new additions feature high-performance Intel Alder Lake processors as well as professional and gaming models of NVIDIA graphics gas pedals.Image source: AcerThe size of the Acer ConceptD 100 desktop is 137.4 × 373 × 359 mm.
Despite its compact size, the newcomer can offer features available to full-size systems.
Specifically, Acer is ready to equip the ConceptD 100 with an Intel Core i7 generation Alder Lake processor, up to 128 GB of dual channel DDR4-3200 RAM, a PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a hard drive up to 7200 RPM.
Acer ConceptD 100There is also a choice between NVIDIA T400 and NVIDIA T1000 professional graphics cards.
Both cards are based on the Turing architecture and use the TU117 processors, such as those found in GeForce GTX 1650 gaming cards.
The older version of the NVIDIA T1000 uses a chip with the same number of shader, texture and rasterization blocks as the GeForce GTX 1650.
The NVIDIA T400 uses a simplified version of the TU117 chip with fewer execution blocks.
Acer ConceptD 100Compact desktop Acer ConceptD 100 offers support for Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5 Gigabit LAN, and uses Windows 11 Pro as the operating system.
The new product is scheduled to go on sale in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in September.
The cost of the computer will start at 999 euros.
Acer ConceptD 500The ConceptD 500, measuring 200 × 389 × 393.6, will be able to offer even more performance stuffing.
Acer claims the ability to install an Alder Lake processor all the way up to the Core i9 model.
The system will also support up to 128GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, a hard drive up to 2TB and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.
Acer ConceptD 500The ConceptD 500 offers the more powerful NVIDIA RTX A4000, GeForce RTX 3060 or GeForce RTX 3070 graphics gas pedals.
It also claims support for Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E and a wired 2.5-gigabit network adapter.The price of the Acer ConceptD 500 will start at €1,199.
In Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the novelty will also appear in September this year.
In China, desktop sales will not start before the fourth quarter.
Prices there will start at about $1,800.

MSI will release a super-powerful gaming laptop Titan GT77 based on Alder Alake-HX with four fans

MSI began advertising in Chinese social networks new gaming laptop Titan GT77.
The manufacturer notes that the combined CPU and GPU power of this flagship system will be 250 watts, not including additional laptop components.
Image source: WeboThe MSI Titan series of gaming laptops hasn't been updated since the release of Intel's 10th generation Core processors.
There were no models based on Tiger Lake chips on the market, which suggested that the manufacturer decided to abandon this niche series of very expensive gaming devices.
Looks like MSI is taking a break after all, because the Titan GT77 gaming laptop based on 12th generation Intel Core processors will be available for the foreseeable future.
The company appears to have decided to wait for the higher performance Alder Lake-HX chips, offering up to 16 physical cores at up to 5GHz.
Despite the potentially very powerful stuffing, details of which are not yet known, the MSI Titan GT77 laptop will be only 23 mm thick.
However, the overall dimensions of this portable gaming station will be larger than any other gaming laptop on the market.
The Titan GT77 will have a special ventilation system in the back of the chassis, which is a characteristic feature of laptops of this series.
The new Titan GT77 has four fans and seven heat pipes, and can hold up to four memory slots and four slots for NVMe SSDs thanks to the Alder Lake-HX chip.
In addition, the notebook will offer several types of screens with support for 4K, 1440p and 1080p resolutions, as well as refresh rates of up to 360 Hz.
The cherry on the cake will be a mechanical SteelSeries RGB keyboard with Cherry MX switches that have 1.8 mm of travel.
The manufacturer has not yet announced when the new Titan Series gaming notebook will be officially unveiled and when it will be available for sale.
However, it is already clear that the price tag will be spacey.

ASUS introduced the ROG Strix Scar 17 SE and ROG Flow X16 gaming laptops powered by Alder Lake-HX and Ryzen 6000

ASUS has introduced two new Republic of Gamers (ROG) branded gaming laptops - ROG Strix Scar 17 SE and ROG Flow X16.
The first offers as a basis Intel Core processors of 12th generation Alder Lake-HX series, the second is based on the latest AMD Ryzen 6000 chips with Zen 3+ architecture.
Both laptops are equipped with GeForce RTX 30-series graphics gas pedals.Image source: ASUS The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE laptop is ready to offer up to the flagship 16-core Core i9-12900HX.
It features 8 high-performance and 8 power-efficient cores.
The maximum power consumption of the processor itself is 157 watts (the nominal TDP is 55 watts).
The laptop can also be equipped with 64GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and two 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs, working in RAID0 mode, which will provide sequential read speeds of up to 14,000 MB/s.
The ROG Strix Scar 17 SEThe discrete GeForce RTX 3080 Ti mobile GPU with a TDP of 175W is responsible for the graphics processing here.
The notebook cooling system uses an evaporation chamber.
And as a thermal interface here is used liquid metal Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut.
ASUS claims high CO efficiency and temperatures 15 degrees Celsius lower than those of more traditional solutions.The laptop has a 17-inch display, offered in two versions.
It could be a Full HD IPS panel with a refresh rate of 360 Hz, or a QHD IPS panel with a refresh rate of 240 Hz.
Both displays have a 3ms response time, a maximum brightness rating of 300 cd/m2, 100 percent DCI-P3 color space coverage, and also offer support for Dolby Vision HDR and Adaptive Sync.
ROG Strix Scar 17 SEThe laptop's external interface set consists of one USB 3.2 Gen 2, one Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C), two USB 3.2 Gen 1, one HDMI 2.1 and one 2.5 Gigabit network adapter.
Of course, there is also support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6E wireless standards.
It can be charged via USB Type-C with 100W power and runs on a 90Wh battery when in standalone mode.
A 330-watt power supply is included.
The battery charges up to 50% in 30 minutes.
ROG Strix Flow X16The new ROG Strix Flow X16 has a less traditional form factor.
The new notebook's screen expands 360 degrees, allowing you to use the notebook as a very powerful tablet.
In the maximum configuration, the laptop is ready to offer as the basis of an 8-core and 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with a TDP rating of 35W.
Like the ROG Scar 17 SE model, the novelty can be equipped with up to 64GB of DDR5-4800 standard RAM.
However, there is only one M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot available for NVMe SSDs up to 2TB.As a graphics subsystem, the ROG Strix Flow X16 can offer GeForce RTX 3070 Ti with up to 100W TDP.
However, the company does not specify whether we are talking about a graphics card built directly into the laptop itself or the gas pedal is offered as part of the external dock XG Mobile.
ROG Strix Flow X16The notebook has a 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio touchscreen with electronic pen support.
The curious thing about it is that it uses Mini LED backlighting with 512 local dimming zones.
In addition, the panel is DisplayHDR 1000 certified, has a maximum brightness of 1100 cd/m2, offers 100 percent DCI-P3 color space coverage, QHD resolution support and 165 Hz refresh rate.
There's also USB 4, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one HDMI 2.0b, a proprietary connector for the ROG XG Mobile docking station and a microSD card reader.
The laptop is equipped with a 90Wh battery with support for 100W fast charging via USB Type-C.
The process of charging the battery to 50% takes 30 minutes.The starting price of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE laptop model is $3500.
ROG Strix Flow X16 model will be offered from $1950.
About the timing of availability of new products manufacturer did not say anything.

First tests of the 16-core mobile Core i7-12800HX - up to 15% faster than the Core i7-12700H, but almost no difference in gaming

Although new 16-core mobile Intel Alder Lake-HX processors designed for portable workstations and powerful gaming notebooks were only introduced a few days ago, Chinese publications are already starting to publish their reviews.
For example, Chinese Golden Pig Upgrade Pack published a review of the Core i7-12800HX chip.Image source: Intel Intel notes that Alder Lake-HX series contains processors that are designed based on the same semiconductor chips that are used in desktop Alder Lake-S, but are optimized in terms of power consumption and transferred to BGA-package.
There's another aspect that makes the mobile Alder Lake-HX chipsets similar to the desktop ones.
They require a separate HM670 chipset on the laptop's motherboard, unlike the same mobile Alder Lake-P, where the chipset is built into a separate chip on the same substrate as the CPU's processing cores.Alder Lake-HX chips support 16 PCIe 5.0 lines for graphics card connection and 4 PCIe 4.0 lines for NVMe SSD.
Support for an additional 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes and 12 PCIe 3.0 lanes is provided by the chipset.
The presence of the Intel HM670 chipset can be seen in the photo below (compact chip circled in red), which also features the NVIDIA GN20-E6 GPU, the backbone of the mobile GeForce RTX 3070 Ti.
On the right side of the photo is the Core i7-12800HX.
The laptop board is based on the Core i7-12800HX.
Image source: Golden Pig Upgrade RaskThe difference between the mobile BGA and desktop LGA chip packaging is also there.
The former is 2.2 mm thinner than the desktop version.
Some SMD components of the mobile version of the chip have been moved to a different location on the substrate.
However, the chip itself with the computing cores is in the same place, in the center.Alder Lake processors with a core formula 8P+8E.
Image source: VideoCardzThe Chinese reviewer has reviewed two identical Lenovo Y9000P gaming laptops equipped with GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics gas pedals, as well as the same amount of DDR5-4800 RAM.
The only difference between the laptops is in the processors.
One uses a 14-core Core i7-12700H (Alder Lake-P) and the other uses a 16-core Core i7-12800HX (Alder Lake-HX).
The PL1 and PL2 power consumption limits for the Alder Lake-P chip are 115 and 135 watts, while the Alder Lake-HX model is increased to 125 and 175 watts, respectively.The Core i7-12800HX offers nearly identical single-threaded performance to the Core i7-12700H.
However, its multi-threaded performance is on average 15% better.
Intel Core i7-12800HX and Core i7-12700H in synthetic tests.
Image source: Golden Pig Upgrade RaskThe presence of two extra cores and 100 MHz of extra maximum clock speed, which in the Alder Lake-HX model is 4.8 GHz, doesn't make a difference in gaming.
Intel Core i7-12800HX and Core i7-12700H in games.
Image source: Golden Pig Upgrade RaskOba processors show about the same level of performance.
The difference in favor of the Core i7-12800HX is only 2.56%, and that only in some AAA projects.

Intel introduced 16-core mobile processors - 12th generation Core HX family

Intel introduced Alder Lake-HX - mobile processors designed for powerful workstation-class notebooks.
The flagship of the family, the Core i9-12950HX, is the first mobile 16-core CPU (with eight efficient and eight power efficient cores) which can run at speeds up to 5.0 GHz.
Intel says that such powerful processors may be of interest not only to professionals, but also to gamers.
According to Daniel Rogers, senior director of mobile product marketing in Intel's client computing division, although the best mobile gaming processor is the Core i9-12900HK, the new HX series is also good for gaming notebooks.The 12th-generation Core HX series includes seven models with 8 to 16 cores and core formulas of 8P+8E, 6P+8E, 4P+8E and 4P+4E.
All of them have quite high frequencies.
High-performance cores can turbocharge to 4.4GHz-5.0GHz, depending on model, and power-efficient cores can run up to 3.1-3.6GHz.
At the same time, all CPUs in the series have the same thermal package of 55W and a maximum consumption in turbo mode of 157W.
As explained by Intel representatives, the Alder Lake-HX series combines processors designed on the basis of desktop semiconductor chips.
In fact, it is the same desktop Alder Lake, but optimized in terms of energy efficiency and transferred to a BGA-package.
So these processors have 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes for graphics card connectivity and 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes for NVMe SSDs.
This deserves a separate mention because mobile processors like the Core i9-12900HK do not support the PCIe 5.0 bus.
That said, Alder Lake-HX processors don't have a built-in Thunderbolt 4 controller.
Alder Lake-HX-based systems are capable of running DDR5/LPDDR5 (up to 4800/5200 MHz) and DDR4/LPDDR4 (up to 3200/4267 MHz) memory.
Capacities of up to 128GB are available.
All 12th Gen Core HX models are overclockable (with some restrictions), and allow you to overclock the memory attached to them.According to the official data, the Core i9-12900HX in work applications outperforms the Core i9-12900HK, i9-11980HK and Ryzen R9-6900HX, but the exact scale of the advantage is not named.
In addition, Intel cited results from testing the Core i9-12900HX in games with a GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card and DDR5-4800 memory, citing triple-digit FPS scores in popular games.
Mobile workstations based on 12th generation Core HX series processors will soon be released by Dell, HP, Lenovo and other manufacturers.

Intel head says that Alder Lake processor family allowed the company to overtake AMD forever

In mid-February of last year, Patrick Gelsinger was appointed CEO of Intel. To celebrate the approaching of a symbolic milestone, he decided to video message to the LinkedIn audience in which he announced that with the release of the Alder Lake processor family, the company he headed had forever regained leadership in the consumer segment.

Gelsinger has previously acknowledged at various reporting events that even before the release of the Alder Lake processors, Intel had started to regain its lost market position, but now he is convinced that this family has a decisive role in maintaining this trend. «Alder Lake. Unexpectedly… Boom! We are back in the game, & ; emotionally illustrates the head of Intel to strengthen the company's position in the consumer sector, & ; AMD remains in the rearview mirror in the client segment and never more appear in front of the windshield, we will simply lead the market». The head of Intel does not abandon the ambition to master five new technological processes in four years. By early 2025 the company expects to offer customers the Intel 18A process. In an address to his colleagues Gelsinger also said that at this stage there is no better manager for Intel and he would do the best for the company in this position.

ASUS unveiled updated TUF Gaming laptops powered by Intel Alder Lake and AMD Ryzen 6000

ASUS has unveiled five redesigned TUF Gaming laptops at once: the TUF F15 and F17, A15 and A17, and the TUF Dash F15. All systems are based on the latest AMD Ryzen 6000 and Intel Alder Lake mobile processors, work with DDR5 memory and are equipped with GeForce RTX 30-series graphics gas pedals.

TUF F15 and F17 models offer Intel Alder Lake processors. The manufacturer is ready to equip new items with 14-core Core i7-12700H. The company does not specify the amount of available RAM standard DDR5-4800. It also offers installation of up to two NVMe SSDs with PCIe 4.0 and a GeForce RTX 3070 graphics gas pedal with a maximum power consumption rating of 140W.

Two display options will be available for the TUF F15 and F17: QHD resolution with 165Hz refresh rate or Full HD resolution with 300Hz refresh rate. In both cases, the response time of the displays is 3 ms. The laptops are equipped with a battery capacity of 90W·h. The main difference between the models TUF A15 and A17 is the platform. As the basis of these laptops are ready to offer the latest high-performance processors Ryzen 6000H series Rembrandt up to Ryzen 7 6800H. Another distinguishing feature is the fact that for the laptop models on Intel is claimed to have a Thunderbolt 4 connector. Ryzen-based models are equipped with USB 3.2 Gen 2 and DisplayPort 1.4 connectors. TUF F- and A-series ASUS laptops have metal case, new cooling system with new Arc Flow fans and RGB keyboards. The TUF Dash notebook model uses a 10-core Intel Core i7-12650H processor. It is claimed to be equipped with DDR5-4800 memory, solid state NVMe storage with PCIe 4.0 interface, and GeForce RTX 3070 graphics gas pedals. However, the manufacturer does not specify the maximum power consumption level of the graphics card here.

Notebook TUF Dash F15, as well as the models mentioned above, offers a choice of two display options: a panel with QHD resolution and refresh rate of 165 Hz, or a screen with Full HD resolution and refresh rate of 300 Hz. The response time in both cases is said to be 3 ms.

The metal housing of the TUF Dash is only 19,95 mm thick. The laptop is equipped with a battery with a capacity of 76 W·h. It is also stated the presence of Thunderbolt 4 connector and support for fast charging via USB Type-C connector. For all presented laptops TUF series manufacturer declares military-industrial standard certification MIL-STD-810, which indicates their increased shock resistance, protection from moisture, as well as evidence of the possibility of their work at very low or high ambient temperatures.

ASUS unveils Zenbook 14 OLED and Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition laptops with new Intel and AMD processors

ASUS has expanded its range of ultraportable Zenbook series laptops with three new models: the Zenbook 14 OLED UX3402 and UM3402, as well as a special version of the Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition. Novelties are equipped with OLED screens, as indicated in the names, and are built on the latest Intel and AMD processors.

The Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3402) features the latest Intel Alder Lake-P processors. A choice of installation is available up to the Core i7-1260P model. The AMD-based variant with model number UM3402 offers the Ryzen 7 5825U processor. The former is claimed to support up to 16GB of LPDDR5-5200 built-in RAM. The AMD version can be equipped with the same amount of memory, but LPDDR4X-4266 standard. A PCIe 4.0 solid-state NVMe drive with up to 1TB capacity is also available.

Both versions of the laptop got 14-inch OLED panels with 16:10 aspect ratio, support 2880 × 1800 resolution, 90 Hz refresh rate, 0.2 ms response and 550 cd/m2 peak brightness. The display claims 100 percent DCI-P3 color space coverage, VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black compliance and Pantone certification.

The devices also indicate support for wireless standards Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.2. Each tablet comes with two Harman Kardon speakers, two Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps Intel versions or two USB 3.2 Type-C models, as well as HDMI 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and 3.5mm audio jacks. The new products are powered by a 75W·h battery. Dimensions notebooks are 313.6 × 220.6 × 16.9 mm, weight is 1.39 kg.

What makes the special version of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition stand out is not only the design, but also the equipment. Inspired by the theme of space exploration, ASUS wanted to reflect in this special version of the laptop man's desire for new discoveries. In 1997 it released laptop P6300, which traveled to outer space on board of Russian orbital space station «Mir». It spent over 600 days in orbit and proved to be a very reliable tool for work.

New ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition has Morse code encoded message in Latin "Per Aspera Ad Astra»" or "Through Thorns to the Stars". The packaging of the device also has an unusual appearance, and it is suggested not to throw away the box from the laptop accessories, but to use it as a coaster. Completing the design is an unusual color of the device, which the company called Zero-G Titanium.

The laptop has an additional 3.5-inch ZenVision 3.5-inch OLED screen with 256 × 64 resolution and 150 cd/m2 brightness, located on the lid. It can display an image that mimics a spacecraft porthole with a view into outer space. It can also display the time, battery status, various text and the user's name. The basis of the display & ; 14-inch OLED-matrix with an aspect ratio of 16:10, supporting a resolution of 2880 × 1800, refresh rate of 90 Hz, response time of 0.2 ms and a peak brightness of 550 cd/m2. It claims 100% DCI-P3 color space coverage, VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black compliance and Pantone certification.

The device is based on powerful Intel Alder Lake-H mobile processors. You can choose up to the flagship model Core i9-12900H. Also the novelty can be equipped with up to 32 GB of RAM LPDDR5 and solid-state NVMe-drive up to 1 Tbyte. The notebook has an advanced dual-fan cooling system. There are also two Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, HDMI 2.0 and a 3.5mm combo jack. The system has Harman Kardon speakers and is powered by a 63W·h battery. The Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition laptop is so rugged that it can go into space. The company points out that it's tested to the strictest protocols to meet U.S. Space Systems Command SMC-S-016A standards and can operate in temperatures from -24° to 61° C and withstand vibration from 20 to 2,000 Hz.

Mobile Core i5-1250P is roughly equal to desktop AMD Ryzen 5800X in single-core Geekbench test

The Alder Lake-P mobile power-efficient processor has impressive performance, if freshly published data from the Geekbench 5 synthetic test is to be believed. In the single-core test, the upcoming Core i5-1250P showed almost identical results to the desktop AMD Ryzen 5800X.

Mobile Intel Alder Lake will be able to offer up to 14 physical cores: up to six high-performance P cores and up to eight energy-efficient E cores. The chips will be divided into two main subcategories. Alder Lake-H models with higher TDP and speeds, such as the Core i7-12700H, will be destined for high-performance gaming laptops. Alder Lake-P models with lower TDP, frequencies and number of cores, like the same Core i5-1250P, will be designed for thin and energy-efficient laptop models.

The Core i5-1250P processor gets 12 cores with support for 16 threads and 18 Mbytes of L3 cache memory. That is, it uses four P-core and eight E-core, and according to Geekbench 5 call this chip low-performance. In the single-core test Core i5-1250P showed a score of 1611 points, and in multi-core & ; 8789 points.

By comparison, the desktop Ryzen 7 5800X shows 1672 points in the same single-core test, only 6.8% higher than the Intel chip. The difference is not so big to call it significant. However, in multi-core test the Core i5-1250P is noticeably inferior to Ryzen processor, which shows a score of 10 347 points. But still they are «different weight categories 

[GB5 CPU] Unknown CPU: Intel Core i5-1250P (12C 16T) Min/Max/Avg: 3715/4368/3947 MHz Codename: Alder Lake CPUID: 906A2 (GenuineIntel) Scores, vs AMD 5800X Single: 1611, -6.8% Multi: 8789, -18.2%https://t.co/qm8uZ1gffl & ; Benchleaks (@BenchLeaks) December 27, 2021

The single-core performance of the Core i5-1250P is quite impressive, especially considering that this processor is likely to be used in ordinary laptops for everyday tasks rather than inside professional workstations. Equally interesting is the fact that the Intel chip has a much lower base frequency of 2.10GHz compared to the Ryzen 7 5800X, which has a base frequency value of 3.8GHz. Unfortunately, Geekbench does not indicate the exact maximum frequency of the Core i5-1250P. We can assume that it is at the level of 4.4 GHz.

Engineering samples of junior Intel Alder Lake-S were faster than AMD counterparts

One of the users of Chinese forum Chiphell has shared test results of qualification (pre-release) samples of quad-core Intel Core i3-12100 and Core i3-12300 processors, consumer versions of which will be officially unveiled next week. A six-core Core i5-12400 model, which is waiting for an announcement, also got into the comparative test. Younger Intel Alder Lake processors were compared with actual AMD's solutions.

Qualifying samples of Alder Lake-S processors labeled QYVQ, QYVR, QYHW and QTVM have been tested. Each of them is likely to have characteristics as close to the consumer versions as possible.

Curiously enough, the Chinese insider also has two versions of Core i5-12400 processor C0 and H0 revisions qualification samples at once. The last one is to be based on Alder Lake chip without power efficient cores. The first one uses «trimmed» crystal, which is used in already released older models of Core 12th generation processors, with small cores. There is no difference in performance between these versions of the chips. The differences lie only in the level of power consumption and heat dissipation. However, according to the Chinese reviewer, these indicators are not critical.

Gaming performance of the younger Alder Lake models was up to 33% higher than that of the younger AMD models. Among the latter were Renoir chips on Zen 2 architecture, as well as Cezanne on Zen 3. In «synthetics» Intel novelties were inferior even to Ryzen 3 5350G. According to the reviewer, the situation will not change until AMD does not release new Renoir-X models without integrated graphics. According to Chinese insider, the Intel Core i3-12100 and Core i3-12100 processors will cost about $125–141. The review also notes that the six-core Core i5-12400 could be a direct competitor to the Ryzen 5 5600G desktop hybrid processor. The Ryzen 5 5600X in turn offers better performance in some games, but not always in «synthetic».

AMD will not bet on big.LITTLE architecture and is skeptical about Alder Lake.

In this half of the year Intel has ceased to hide the fact that preparing for the announcement by next fall consumer processors Alder Lake will use a hybrid architecture with a combination of large and compact cores. But AMD believes that the time of such layouts has not yet come to the desktop segment, although it keeps a hand on the pulse of trends.

Image Source: Intel

As AMD corporate vice president and chief product officer Joe Macri explains, the concept of big.LITTLE itself has been on the market for more than fifteen years and is not new, but to make it successful in the consumer sector, operating systems and software must be radically redesigned. Existing task schedulers tend to be symmetrical and it's difficult to effectively manage data flows for large and small cores simultaneously. The AMD representative refused to discuss even the theoretical time frame for implementing such a hybrid layout in the company's processors, but admitted that it will never use such an architecture only for marketing purposes. "We will not do this just to get more cores," Joe Makri explained. Adding the number of cores at the expense of small functional blocks, he said, would be meaningless as long as their resources could not be used efficiently by the software ecosystem. The success that AMD has now achieved with "big" cores, according to Makri, could not have been achieved with "small" cores. Over time, he admits, AMD may need to use small cores, but the software must be fundamentally rebuilt by then. If such changes are not visible to the end consumer, there is no point in implementing them.