We attach Intel’s 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK up in opposition to AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900HX in a knock-down, crawl-out fight.
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It’s been a protracted avenue, but we might perhaps perhaps eventually maintain an reply to the request of “which CPU is the final be conscious gaming laptop laptop chip?” The immediate reply: Tiger Lake H.
The long reply is extra nuanced, obviously, so attend learning. You can furthermore exercise our to hand table of contents under to bounce forward:
- The Intel CPUs we tested
- What’s in a TGP
- 11th gen Core i9-11980HK vs Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU performance
- 11th gen Core i9-11980HK rendering performance
- Core i9-11980HK gaming performance
- PCIe performance
- CPU thread performance
- Conclusion
The Intel CPUs we tested
Let’s stroll you by the breeze to get right here. When we first reviewed the 11th-gen Core i7-11800H we maintain been unable to load Nvidia’s Sport Ready Drivers on the GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop. As an more than a couple of, we targeting its CPU performance.
We then tested the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK in an Intel reference laptop laptop (essentially an MSI Creator Z16). With its GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop laptop GPU, it’s infrequently what we would think a real gaming laptop laptop.
With the MSI GE76 Raider and its 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK and GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop at a blistering 165 watts (it’s 155 watts out of the box), we maintain the next belief into Tiger Lake H’s gaming prowess. Every laptop laptop is diverse, however the performance of the 11th-gen Core i9 in the MSI GE76 Raider furthermore offers us perception into the label of an 11th-gen Core i9 vs. an 11th-gen Core i7, and the device great of a performance enhance you get from an 11th-gen Core i9 in a 6-pound-plus thick laptop laptop, versus that very same CPU’s performance in a 4.5-pound laptop laptop.
What’s in a TGP
One crucial instruct price pointing out is the assorted Full Graphics Energy (TGP) rankings for every laptop laptop. The TGP is the Nvidia spec for what the GPU’s maximum thermal budget is. Nvidia has a wide menu of solutions for every GPU, making apples-to-apples comparisons very hard. Even whenever you happen to might perhaps perhaps get the the same TGP-rated GPU, you will be ready to’t divorce the GPU or CPU from the laptop laptop. One device or the other every laptop laptop has its non-public performance character.
Whenever you happen to’re considering a couple of 155-watt TGP laptop laptop vs. a 130-watt TGP laptop laptop vs. a 105-watt TGP laptop laptop, it if truth be told doesn’t topic whenever you happen to’ll be ready to’t cast off the one you wish to maintain. excessive-conclude laptops, all americans is conscious of of handiest a single Ryzen 9-basically basically basically based laptop laptop with a 155-watt TGP GeForce GPU in it. The substantial majority are 130-watt TGP or lower.
11th gen Core i9-11980HK vs Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU performance
Our first end result comes from Maxon’s Cinebench R20, a protracted-established 3D rendering benchmark that loves core and thread counts. AMD’s Ryzen 9 5000 has long been the monster of multi-core performance, and the Ryzen 9 5900HX doesn’t disappoint. It rankings a hair sooner than, but is basically tied with, Intel’s contemporary 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK chip.
Here’s no longer essentially a loss for Intel. It’s if truth be told perfect recordsdata that Intel has an 8-core that might perhaps compete with Ryzen 5000. You can search for the chart under, the assign the light-blue bars dispute how poorly the earlier 10th-gen Intel CPUs produce in opposition to Ryzen. After all, a Ryzen 9 4900HS in a thin and lightweight 3.5-pound gaming laptop laptop matches great larger and hundreds heavier laptops.
The substantial majority of tool doesn’t exercise the complete cores of a Core i9 or Ryzen 9, so we furthermore speed Cinebench R20 the exercise of a single thread. Here, we search for the MSI GE76 Raider and its Core i9-11980HK lead the Ryzen 9 5900HX by about 9 percent. The Ryzen 9 5980HS if truth be told is the fastest Ryzen, but we wouldn’t feel immoral in regards to the performance of either Ryzen 5000 laptops.
The assign 11th-gen if truth be told exhibits its energy is in opposition to its non-public relations, the 10th-gen Intel chip chips, which get left on the support of by extra than 33 percent. We furthermore search for that 11th-gen Core i9 is handiest about 7 percent sooner than the Core i7, and the variation between the skinny and thick laptops with 11th-gen chips is no longer as a lot as three percent.
For one other quick gauge of all-core performance, we speed Chaos Neighborhood’s V-Ray, a ray tracing renderer. The results are unsurprisingly similar to what we saw with Cinebench R20, but with a if truth be told miniature revenue for the 11th-gen Core i9 in the MSI GE76. Whenever you continued with other CPU-centered tests, you’d search for each Ryzen 9 5000 and 11th-gen Core i9 offer fairly linked performance. The “wins” might perhaps perhaps lean toward Ryzen, but no longer enough to topic great. Intel’s 10th-gen appears to be like somewhat worn—even a Ryzen 9 4000 in a tiny, skinny laptop laptop can virtually match it.
11th gen Core i9-11980HK rendering performance
AI isn’t proper a immoral Steven Spielberg movie, it’s furthermore an manner to computing to make it smarter. In PCs we’ve mostly viewed it archaic for recognizing patterns. Nero’s Obtain benchmark (free for download in the Dwelling windows Retailer or at Nero) does that by measuring how posthaste a PC can acknowledge and mark quiet photos. The belief that is similar to what your cellular phone already does in recognizing and sorting photos for you—it proper does it with the support of a huge recordsdata center.
The Intel 11th-gen Tiger Lake H merely crushes Ryzen 5000 and 10th-gen Intel CPUs, and it’s no shock. Intel has been pushing AI and Deep Studying performance as a key feature of its chip, and it exhibits.
How great this issues to you very great is relying on what you enact, obviously. AMD followers might perhaps perhaps dispute that handiest a couple of applications currently increase AI or Intel’s DL Boost. From what we’ve viewed to this level although, it’s very compelling skills.
On a extra purposeful stage, you will be to plug attempting to search out how these laptops produce in Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. For that we exercise UL’s Procyon benchmark, which runs scripts within Photoshop and Lightroom Classic to search out out performance. Adobe products are rich applications with hundreds if no longer hundreds of functions, and Procyon is but a miniature pattern of them. Soundless, it’s perhaps about as exact-world as you will be ready to get, a real gauge of the complete laptop laptop’s performance with the CPU and GPU making up a huge part of that.
Who wins? We are in a position to claim that the 11th-gen Tiger Lake has a definite edge, with the MSI GE76 and its Core i9-11980HK and GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop GPU about 9 percent sooner than the Asus Strix Scar G17 with its Ryzen 9 5900HX chip and GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop GPU. While that you just can mediate the 165-watt TGP GPU in the MSI is the X instruct right here, the argument in opposition to that is the performance of the Gigabyte Aorus 17G. That laptop laptop substances a Core i7-11800H and a GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop GPU at a 105-watt TGP, and it quiet comes in a hair sooner than the Ryzen 9 and 130-watt GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop GPU.
That’s all big for 11th-gen, but we furthermore wish to dispute the manner you will be ready to posthaste hit diminishing returns with a stout GPU in Adobe products. For instance, the Intel reference laptop laptop with its Core i9-11980HK and GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop laptop GPU is handiest 3 percent slower than the upper and heavier MSI laptop laptop.
Moreover quiet-photo enhancing, Procyon furthermore has a mode the assign it makes exercise of Adobe Premiere Pro to export movies the exercise of the YouTube preset, at 4K resolution with Lumatri coloration correction and other tweaks. As soon as extra the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK with its 165-watt GPU and the 11th-gen Core i7-11800H with its 105-watt GPU outpace the Ryzen 9 5900HX with its 130-watt GPU. We ought to furthermore dispute that the Core i9-11980HK paired with the GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop laptop GPU in the Intel reference laptop laptop is virtually as posthaste because the Ryzen, and handiest about 15 percent slower than the great larger MSI.
So certain, total, the final be conscious performer is the 11th-gen Core i9 in the GE76 Raider, but we mediate there’s a real argument that latest GeForce RTX 30-assortment basically basically basically based laptops enact neatly. We furthermore mediate that whereas the smaller Intel reference laptop laptop with its 16-spin cowl cowl obtained’t dangle in gaming with the larger gaming laptops, it’ll be the easier laptop laptop for a creation legit attempting to shed pounds whereas handiest giving up a exiguous bit performance.
Core i9-11980HK gaming performance
Our closing CPU-centered take a look at makes exercise of 3DMark Time Look’s CPU take a look at to measure the performance of the CPUs working a sport physics engine. This take a look at largely ignores GPU performance.
We don’t maintain results for all of the laptops we tested above, but those designs aren’t if truth be told centered on gaming as their major energy. After all, for our gaming part, we’ll listen handiest on the gaming laptops with the complete GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop laptop GPU. We furthermore unfortunately enact no longer maintain gaming numbers for the 11th-gen Gigabyte Aorus 17G in this part, as we maintain been unable to set up the most contemporary Sport Ready Drivers on it.
The winner is the 11th gen Core i9-11980HK. In 2nd living is the Ryzen 9 5900HX, with the pair of 10th-gen Intel-basically basically basically based laptops in third living.
UL’s 3DMark is a “synthetic” benchmark somewhat than a precise sport, but that has tons of cost. It is extremely real and repeatable, which is why it’s so standard in the overclocking scene. And not like a sport, that might perhaps perhaps also very neatly be overly impacted by CPU performance, 3DMark graphics tests focal level fully on GPU performance.
For this next end result, we speed Time Look and document the GPU performance, so the variation between an Intel 11th-gen or 10th-gen, or AMD Ryzen 5000, doesn’t glide the needle as great.
The take a look at is a DirectX12 benchmark, and there are no longer any evolved substances comparable to ray tracing tested. The distinction between a 130-watt TGP RTX 3080 and a 165-watt TGP RTX 3080 is about 27 percent in wattage, which works out to an 8-percent distinction in performance. Going from a 105-watt TGP RTX 3080 to the 165-watt TGP RTX 3080, it’s a couple of 21-percent amplify in performance for a 57-percent amplify in TGP rankings.
Horizon Zero Morning time performance
As we said above, exact sport performance isn’t confined proper to the GPU. The CPU issues too. We are in a position to search for that dispute up in our first sport: Horizon Zero Morning time, the assign we speed the sport at 1920×1080 resolution living to Favor Quality. The total winner is the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK, which opens up a wholesome 21-percent originate over the Ryzen 9 5900HX and first fee 7-percent originate over the 10th-gen Core i7-10870H. Certain, all americans is conscious of, it’s an 11th-gen Core i9 vs. a 10th-gen Core i7, but we don’t think a 10th-gen Core i9 would goose the get that great, because the 10th-gen Core i9 became no easy chip to tame. In the entirety with the exception of for the laptops with the very handiest cooling, it became consistently a tad underwhelming.
Would the Ryzen 9 5900HX maintain picked up extra from a hotter GPU? Undoubtedly. Would it maintain surpassed the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK? Per chance no longer, but it for walk would maintain for walk conducted better.
Some distance Yowl New Morning time Performance
Up next is Some distance Yowl New Morning time, which has long been a thorn in the aspect of Ryzen CPUs. The game engine the Some distance Yowl assortment has normally been 15 to 20 percent slower on Ryzen, but that every one modified with the Zen 3 cores and Ryzen 5000 on desktop. With its big 32MB L3 cache and redesigned cores, it erased any deficit in opposition to Intel on desktops. The laptop laptop model doesn’t get that very same stout cache, that might perhaps perhaps also very neatly be the motive for the Ryzen’s lackluster end result. After all, despite the Ryzen 9 5900HX’s 130-watt RTX 3080, it’s losing to a 10th-gen Core i7-10870H with a 105-watt TGP in this sport.
Against the great sooner 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK with its hotter GPU, Ryzen 9 5900HX will get overwhelmed to the tune of 31.4 percent in Some distance Yowl.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance
Up next is Shadow of the Tomb Raider. For our checking out we speed the sport at 19×10 the exercise of the Absolute most practical preset and with hardware ray tracing off. The winner is all over again the MSI GE76 Raider with its 11th-gen Core i9, which has a first fee 19-percent lead over the Ryzen 9 in the Asus Strix Scar G17. In the Intel vs. Intel streak, the 11th-gen Core i9 outpaces the 10th-gen Core i7 by proper over 5 percent.
We mediate a hotter GPU in the Ryzen 9 would make this end enough that, neatly, it perhaps wouldn’t topic all that great.
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation performance
Transferring to a special genre of gaming, we ran Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, which is a exact-time strategy sport that became the showcase sport for DirectX 12 before the entirety assign. For this take a look at we persist with 19×10 the exercise of its Loopy preset and speed the GPU-centered benchmark. The results are fairly end, with the 11th-gen Core i9 in the MSI GE76 outpacing the 10th-gen Core i7 in the older GE76 laptop laptop by proper under 5 percent. The 11th-gen Core i9also eclipses the Ryzen 9 by about 15 percent.
Unfamiliar Brigade Performance
Our next sport end result is Unfamiliar Brigade, which oddly refuses to speed on the Ryzen system. This can speed in DirectX 12 mode, but we speed the sport in Vulkan, so we proper obtained’t maintain a get for AMD/Nvidia laptop laptop. We are in a position to claim the sport appears to be like mostly GPU-certain, as each the 10th-gen and 11th-gen laptops with the the same-wattage GPUs are dreary even.
Furthermore of repeat is the performance of the low-wattage GPU vs. the excessive wattage ones. We search for the 165-watt TGP GPUs with their 57-percent revenue cough up a 29-percent revenue in frame rates.
Crimson Boring Redemption 2 Performance
RDR2 is a large Extinct West sport, and curiously the final be conscious thing it cares about is the GPU.
There’s if truth be told a real likelihood the Ryzen 9 with a hotter GPU would make it even and even perhaps a exiguous bit surpass the 11th-gen Core i9, but with its 130-watt TGP, it’s on the support of by about 11 percent. Crank up that GPU, although, and we mediate it’d be so end it wouldn’t topic.
Metro Exodus Performance
Our closing GPU-heavy take a look at is Metro Exodus the exercise of the Rude preset. The results if truth be told give the 10th-gen a miniature revenue, but we are in a position to name it a tie. For certain, it’s practically a tie for all whenever you happen to might perhaps perhaps get the the same GPU in all of them. If we needed to proclaim winner it will in all probability well also be the 10th-gen Intel, adopted by the 11th-gen Intel after which the Ryzen 9. All are so end right here, there are no longer any bragging rights.
Counter Strike: GO Performance
Most games if truth be told aren’t that GPU restricted. After all, essentially the most standard ones will be fairly light-weight on graphics. Counter Strike: International Operations is a form of. It’s prone, runs on proper about one thing, and is principally the most standard sport on Steam perfect now.
We exercise the FPS Workshop mod for our runs at 19×10 the exercise of the High preset. It’s a if truth be told heft defend for the 11th-gen Core i9 which offers us 40 percent extra frames than the Ryzen 9. While the caveat that the Ryzen 9 might perhaps perhaps be aided by a elevated wattage applies to one other runs, we don’t mediate it does right here. We are pronouncing that for the reason that Ryzen 9 is basically dreary-even with the 10th-gen Core i7-10870H in the Gigabyte Aorus 17G, which has a 105-watt TGP card in it.
You can furthermore search for the 11th-gen Core i9 quit 18.6 percent extra frames than the 10th-gen Core 7-10870H in the older MSI GE76 too. Every laptops maintain 165-watt TGP substances.
Our closing sport benchmark will exercise Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, one other standard eSports title with a huge following. As you will be ready to search for, you aren’t hurting for frames on any of the laptops right here, however the optimistic winner is the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK laptop laptop, which has a 62-percent revenue over the Ryzen 9 in the Strix Scar G17. As we saw with CS:GO, the Aorus 17G and 10th-gen Core i7 is handiest a exiguous bit slower than the Ryzen 9 despite having a 105-watt TGP GPU.
In the the same laptop laptop physique, the 11th-gen Core i9 has a 29-percent performance lead over the 10th-gen Core i7 in the older GE76 laptop laptop. It’s but one other optimistic defend for the 11th-gen chip.
PCIe performance
Our closing end result appears to be like on the PCIe bandwidth capacity of the laptops the exercise of 3DMark’s PCIe Bandwidth module. The take a look at transfers recordsdata to the graphics card and support. As you will be ready to search for the 16 lanes of PCIe Gen 4 in the 11th-gen Core i9 has a huge revenue over the earlier 10th-gen, which is limited to 16 lanes of PCIe Gen 3. The Ryzen 9 laptops enact even worse, due to AMD’s cell substances are restricted to eight lanes of PCIe Gen 3.
In belief, the 11th-gen chips maintain a huge revenue in bandwidth. On paper, although, it perhaps isn’t the sport-changing figure you mediate it’s miles. That’s due to few client applications or games cast off revenue of all that bandwidth.
AMD will be a exiguous bit constrained, but perhaps no longer enough to topic. The energy of the PCIe bandwidth in the 11th-gen perhaps makes extra sense attach to other tasks. The laptop laptop, as an illustration, helps PCIe 4.0 SSDs, which far eclipse the performance of PCIe 3.0 drives and might perhaps even increase a couple of drives at Gen 4.0 speeds.
That’s a exact revenue that favors the 11th-gen CPUs.
CPU thread performance
We’ll end out our evaluate with two CPU tests, the assign we speed the older Cinebench R15 the exercise of 1 thread the complete manner to 16 threads. On story of few apps exercise all of the cores of a CPU, that is a real manner to visualise the shriek of energy a particular CPU has. For instance, the Ryzen 9 5900HX without be troubled crushes the older 10th-gen Intel CPUs proper above in each living when we enact this. Intel’s 11th-gen Tiger Lake H CPUs aren’t that worn, although, and you will be ready to search for from the outcomes.
To dispute you how to visualise this, we dispute the diversities between the 11th-gen Intel and the Ryzen 5000 as a share trade. As you will be ready to search for, the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK has a miniature revenue on flippantly threaded tasks, whereas the Ryzen 9 5900HX has a miniature revenue on closely threaded tasks.
Conclusion
We’ve been ready months to get the next belief of whether the Ryzen 9 5900HX or the 11th gen Core i9-11980HK is the easier gaming CPU. From what we are in a position to search for on the present time, in any case, we’d wish to present it to the 11th-gen Core i9, which normally has a real-to-dominant revenue in the games we ran.
If the Ryzen maintain been paired with a sooner GPU, would the competition be closer? Per chance, but we don’t mediate it will in all probability well also be enough to conquer the 11th-gen Core i9. With that said, in most GPU-restricted games, we mediate it will in all probability well also be so end you if truth be told couldn’t plug substandard with either. In games that lean on the CPU extra, as we saw in CS:GO and Siege, the Core i9 is unlikely to be touched by that Ryzen 9.
So certain, whenever you happen to’re chasing the most practical frame rates in gaming period, the 11th-gen Tiger Lake H ought to be what you reach for extra normally than no longer.
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One among founding fathers of hardcore tech reporting, Gordon has been covering PCs and parts since 1998.