Today, Intel breaks beyond the 5 GHz barrier for laptops with the launch of the 10th Gen Intel Core H-series mobile processors.

The new chips have a TDP of 45W, with clock speeds that can boost past 5.0GHz, a first for Intel’s processors.

Headlined by the 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, the H-series delivers desktop-caliber performance that gamers and creators can take anywhere.

Packed with performance typically only available from desktops, 10th Gen Intel Core laptop processors deliver faster performance with up to 5.3 GHz Turbo, eight cores and 16 threads.

At the top of the stack is the 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK, featuring up to 5.3 GHz Turbo, eight cores, 16 threads and 16MB of Intel Smart Cache. The unlocked 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK processor powers the laptops for gamers and creators, allowing further customization, optimization and tuning of the CPU’s performance.

Compared with a three-year-old system, the i9-10980HK delivers:

• Up to 54% more frames per second in gaming for even better playability across top titles (SYSMark 2018 on Intel Core i9-10980HK vs. Intel Core i7-7820HK)
• Up to 44% better overall performance as measured by SYSMark*2018 on Intel Core i9-10980HK vs. Intel Core i7-7820HK
• Up to two times faster 4K video rendering (as measured by Blender RUG 1013 on Intel Core i9-10980HK vs. Intel Core i7-7820HK) and export (as measured by
• Power Director 4K video export workload RUG 1006 on Intel Core i9-10980HK vs. Intel Core i7-7820HK)

The 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H processor with up to 5.0 GHz Turbo is purpose-built for enthusiast gamers and creators demanding optimized performance. Compared with a three-year-old system, i7-10750H delivers:

• Up to 44% more frames per second in gaming (as measured by Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on Intel Core i7-10750H vs. Intel Core i7-7700HQ)
• Up to 33% better overall performance (as measured by Power Director 4K video export workload RUG 1006 on Intel Core i7-10750H vs. Intel Core i7-7700HQ)
• Up to 70% faster 4K video exporting (Aas measured by Power Director 4K video export workload RUG 1006 on Intel Core i7-10750H vs. Intel Core i7-7700HQ_

The 10th Gen launch also introduces the new Intel Core i7-10875H, featuring up to 5.1 GHz Turbo, eight cores and 16 threads for the growing creator segments, enthusiast gamers that also enjoy creation, and other demanding multitaskers.

Engineered in collaboration with PC manufacturers, more than 30 thin-and-light systems measuring 20 mm or less in thickness and 100 designs across consumer, commercial and workstation segments will launch this year. Intel also optimizes laptops with PC-makers to support the latest technologies, including:

• Integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (Gig+) supports nearly three times faster downloads for high-speed, low-latency wireless performance
• Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0​
• Intel Adaptix Dynamic Tuning Technology and Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for intelligent performance tuning
• Intel Speed Optimizer15delivers simple one-click method to overclock​
• Thunderbolt 3 support with four times more bandwidth than USB 3.1 to move rich media content and connect to two 4K displays with ease
• Intel Optane memory support accelerates game launch and load
  

The i9 and i7 chips also have a new feature Intel calls “Thermal Velocity Boost,” which helps Intel reach those 5.0GHz-plus speeds by automatically boosting clock frequency by up to 200MHz when the processor’s temperature measures 149 degrees Fahrenheit / 65 degrees Celsius or lower.

Intel’s been releasing its 10th Gen chips for months now in laptops, with both its 14nm Comet Lake processors and its new 10nm Ice Lake chips. But until now, all of its 10th Gen chips have been either low-power Y-series chips designed for ultralights or midrange U-series.

These new chips are still Comet Lake chips built on Intel’s 14nm process, similar to the Comet Lake Y-series and U-series chips Intel released last summer. They don’t use the 10nm Ice Lake process or its upcoming successor, the 10nm+ Tiger Lake process that Intel teased at CES.

The new chips are meant to be Intel’s answer to AMD’s highly anticipated Ryzen 4000 series — specifically, AMD’s top-of-the-line 45W H-series chips, like the Ryzen 9 4900HS, Ryzen 7 4800H, and Ryzen 5 4600H. While the first laptops with AMD’s new chips are just starting to roll out, early impressions of them have been extremely positive.

Compared to the Ryzen 4000-series, Intel matches AMD core-for-core across the stack, but slathers in higher clock speeds to compete. However, AMD's chips will likely maintain their integrated graphics superiority, and the denser 7nm node brings power improvements that are hard to match.