[Comparison] AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS vs Intel Core i7-12700H – Is AMD back?
The most popular laptop CPU for gamers and video editors alike, the Core i7-12700H is a fantastic piece of silicon from the day that it was released early last year. However, we’re in the middle of 2023 now, and AMD is showing off what they’ve been cooking. Of course, we’re talking about the new Ryzen 9 7940HS, powered by Zen 4, but carrying AMD’s old-school sensibilities of high clock speeds and efficiency.
You can find more information about both processors here: AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS / Intel Core i7-12700H
Yes, a big chunk of AMD’s CPUs in 2023 now come with a lower 35W power limit, however, this can be very valuable for video editors who work on the go and aren’t close to an outlet all the time. AMD chips have notoriously performed very well even on battery, so with more wiggle room of the power limit, the Smart software from AMD can play around with wattages and clock speeds to optimize everything. On the other hand, the Core i7 has plenty of raw power, as all 14 cores get in on the action when the need arises.
Specs table
| AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS | Intel Core i7-12700H | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 4 | Alder Lake-H |
| Cores / Threads | 8/16 | 14/20 |
| Clock Speeds – Base/Boost | 4.00 – 5.20 GHz | 1.70 – 4.70 GHz |
| Cache | 24MB | 24MB |
| Lithography | 5nm | 10nm |
| TDP | 35W | 45W |
| Memory type | DDR5-5600, LPDDR5x-7500 | DDR5-4800, LPDDR5-5200, DDR4-3200, LPDDR4x-4267 |
| Integrated GPU | AMD Radeon 780M | Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96EU) |
Performance
In the 3D Rendering benchmark with Cinebench R23, we’ve got the Ryzen 9 leading the charge, being 8% more powerful. Switching to Photoshop shows the Core i7 pick itself up and deliver, finishing first, with a lead of 0.6 seconds.
Conclusion
What we can learn from this comparison is that AMD has woken up and starting to make good moves, in order to stay relevant in the laptop market. The Zen 4 CPUs look good so far, but we still need a wider pool of devices to test this hardware, in order to get a more accurate assessment. Compared to both new and old Core i7 chips, we see the CPU remain competitive, while the lower power limit helps it be more efficient, sparing your battery when you’re not at home. What we’re really excited about is the Zen 4 U-series processors, since these will also bring RDNA 3 integrated graphics, making budget gaming laptops even more accessible. From our research, it looks like the RDNA 3 iGPUs are on the level of low-end discrete GPUs, but we have to get our hands on them before we make any statements.
All AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS configurations:
All Intel Core i7-12700H configurations:
Author: Severin Kolakov
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Very disappointed that Zen3+Vega APUs are refreshed once again in the 7000 series, no doubt to appease OEMs who want to stay on DDR4.
RDNA2, 3 iGPU equipped laptop are a rare sight.