Intel's fortunes in the laptop market remain strong in face of the growing AMD threat. A large part of optimism for mobile propositions arrives through earlier implementation of the latest architectures and technologies. Right now, laptops from leading vendors use either Ice Lake or Tiger Lake microarchitectures, both of which are not represented in the desktop space.
Looking to extend the performance reach of ultraportable gaming laptops in particular, Intel is using CES to launch a trio of Tiger Lake-infused H Series CPUs equipped with a nominal 35W TDP.
Core i7-11375H, Core i7-11370H and Core i5-11300H all share a 4C8T CPU topology and are largely differentiated on frequency alone. They're also the first high-performance mobile chips to use 10nm SuperFin technology, which helps drive single-thread frequency up to 5GHz in a thin-and-light form factor.
Intel chooses 10th Gen H Series (35-45W) and 11th Gen U (15W) Series to compare against. That's all well and fine, and one would expect there to be generational uplift, yet the fact that rival AMD has moved on over to 8C16T on its high-performance mobile chips means these H Series won't be nearly as impressive in CPU-centric multi-tasking scenarios.
Opting to position them for ultraportable gaming dictates a discrete card will be present in most systems, nullifying much of the advantage of the all-new Xe graphics. In other news, in common with other Tiger Lake systems, all laptops will feature options for Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6.
These chips are all about getting the highest possible single-thread (read gaming) performance possible. You'll note that Resizable Bar is supported. Intel trots out a presumed 30 per cent single-thread lead over the existing AMD competition, though Ryzen isn't standing still in the same segment.
Expect to see a flurry of Tiger Lake H Series ultraportable gaming laptops flood the market. Intel wants them to hit certain characteristics: >16mm height, 14-15in screens, Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6 support. Over 40 designs will be available in the first half this year.
What do you think? Impressed or nonplussed. Let us know.
