Intel Core i9-10980HK vs Core i7-10750H – none of these two is a real winner

LaptopMedia.com Comparisons Intel Core i9-10980HK vs Core i7-10750H - none of these two is a real winner

From: Nikolay Palaozov 02 June 2020 / 06:54 | 2

Which CPU is enough for an all-purpose laptop and which one is an overkill? Probably this question doesn’t have a 100% right answer because every person has its own specific needs when it comes to computational power. Some users just browse the Web daily and that’s all – in this case, a laptop with fast SSD and a quad-core CPU should be fine.

But if you play games and if you want to edit photos and videos, well, a 6-core chip is a needed thing, of course, if you can afford a notebook with such a CPU. If money isn’t a problem then maybe you can get some 8-core mobile monstrosity and you’ll deal with heavy tasks like compression or decompression (just an example) even faster (compared to a 6-core chip).

So, for today’s comparison, we’ve picked the Intel Core i9-10980HK as a monster processor with a super high price, and on the other side, we have the Intel Core i7-10750H which will play the role of a “normal” CPU with 6 cores.

Quick Specs

Intel is asking $583.00 for the Core i9-10980HK and $395.00 for the Core i7-10750H. So, the i7-9750H is 32% cheaper than the i9-10980HK – that’s a big markup but it is what it is. Now, let’s have a look at the hardware specs of these fellas – the Intel Core i9-10980HK is an 8-core chip with 16 threads while the Core i7-10750H has 6 cores and 12 threads. The Core i9-9800HK has 16MB cache size and the i7-10750H’s cache amount is a bit smaller – 12MB. The TDP levels of both CPUs are equal – 45W and the same goes for the maximum supported memory frequencies – DDR4-2933 no matter the processor.

When it comes to clocks, the Intel Core i9-10980HK has a bit lower base frequency (2.40 GHz to 2.60 GHz) compared to its rival but the big boy is taking the lead with 5.30 GHz boost clock while the Core i7-10750H can boost up to 4.80 GHz and if there is enough thermal room (below 70°C) it can go even higher thanks to the Thermal Velocity Boost – 5.00 GHz.

Moreover, these two processors have the same iGPU inside of them – the Intel UHD 630 Graphics but in 99% of the machines with six and eight-core Comet Lake-H chips, you’ll find a dedicated video card as well so the iGPU performance isn’t important here. One interesting fact – the Intel Core i9-10980HK has an unlocked multiplier. That means you can squeeze even more performance out of it if you are familiar with overclocking and if your laptop’s cooling can handle the additional amount of heat and power consumption that are inevitable when the frequencies and the core voltage are increased.

More detailed specs here – Intel Core i9-10980HK / Core i7-10750H

Specs table:

	Intel Core i9-10980HK	Intel Core i7-10750H
Cores / Threads	8/16	6/12
Base / Max frequency	2.40 – 5.30 GHz	2.60 – 4.80 (5.00) GHz
Cache	16 MB L3 Cache	12 MB L3 Cache
TDP / up / down	45W / 65W / –	45W / – / 35W
Memory support	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2933

CPU Benchmarks

That is an expected result – the Intel Core i9-10980HK is 23% faster when compared to the Core i7-10750H.

3D Rendering

Results are from the Cinebench R23 CPU test (the higher the score, the better)

Intel Core i7-10750H LaptopMedia Core i7-10750H Sample Laptop

8511

Intel Core i9-10980HK LaptopMedia Core i9-10980HK Prototype Laptop

10600

Adobe Photoshop

Results are from our Photoshop benchmark test (the lower the score, the better)

Intel Core i7-10750H LaptopMedia Core i7-10750H Sample Laptop

7.37

Intel Core i9-10980HK LaptopMedia Core i9-10980HK Prototype Laptop

5.35

Verdict

In short, the Intel Core i9-10980HK offers good performance and overclockability but it’s too expensive for what it is. On the other side, the Core i7-10750H is 32% cheaper and it’s 23% slower when compared to its bigger sibling, and that sounds like a fair deal. Between these two, the Core i7-10750H offers a much better price/performance ratio and it can be a good “company” for your daily driver laptop. The Intel Core i9-10980HK is for the wealthier enthusiast who wants to have some fun while overclocking a laptop or they just want to own the fastest Intel mobile CPU at the moment. Sure, this Core i9 processor has potential and it can be blazing fast in almost any heavy CPU-intensive task and probably it’s a needed thing if you want a full-blown RTX 2080 Super because CPUs like i7-10750H will probably bottleneck such a fast GPU.

But none of these two CPUs is worth it when you compare them to the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H – the machines that are equipped with this AMD CPU are even cheaper than the ones with the Core i7-10750H and the 4800H is faster in 3D rendering than the Core i9-10980HK. We think that you all got the point – in this comparison, the Core i7-10750H wins because of its better price/performance ratio but the hidden winner is the Ryzen 7 4800H which is cheaper and faster.