New Intel 10th-gen H-series chips launched, suitable for 2020 MacBook Pro refresh

Intel has revealed specifics on a new line of 10th-generation Core processors for premium laptops — although the improvements over what is presently available are actually relatively small.

Apple already uses 10th-generation Intel chips in its latest MacBook Air, though the ones that Intel announced today at 45W H-series processors that are aimed for higher-end notebooks like the MacBook Pro.

On the whole, the new H-series chips, part of the Comet Lake series, are fairly muted as far as upgrades. They feature minor changes to clock speed and support for Wi-Fi 6, but are still built using Intel's 14nm architecture.

Across the lineup, the base clock speeds are exactly the same as the 9th-generation chips used in the current 16-inch MacBook Pro. Turbo Boost speeds, however, now exceed 5GHz for the first time.

For example, the highest-end Core i9 chip sports a 2.4GHz clock speed but a maximum Turbo Boost of 5.3Ghz, up from 5.0GHz in the previous iteration. Intel calls the Core i9 the "world's fastest mobile processor."

Similar bumps to Turbo Boost clock speeds can be seen across the lineup. The lowest-end Intel Core i5 has a clock speed of 4.5GHz, up from 4.1GHz. A 10th-generation Core i7 clocks in at 5GHz, compared to 4.5GHz in the year-ago processor.

The Core i7-9850H and the Core i7-9750H also pack Intel's "thermal velocity boost," a feature that was restricted to the Core i9 chips last year. The highest-end Core i9 is still the only one that ships unlocked.

Intel's latest chips also feature support for two-channel DDR4-2993 memory. The previous generation supported DDR4-2666.

The chips also feature support for the 802.11ax standard, also known as Wi-Fi 6. It's a new Wi-Fi technology that should delver better speeds, increased power efficiency and lower latency than past standards, though devices must have Wi-Fi 6-compatible chips to use it.

Apple's latest iPhones and iPad Pro models already feature support for Wi-Fi 6, but none of the company's Macs do — even the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the 2020 MacBook Air.

Of course, because Apple only launched the 16-inch MacBook Pro in November, it's likely that we're still months away from a refresh.

Furthermore, oft-accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also forecast that Apple will release its first ARM-based MacBook model with custom silicon in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021, with more ARM devices to come later that year.

22 Comments

mdriftmeyer 7395 comments · 20 Years

About 4 years ago

These are not suitable for Mac. They are slower, hotter and far more power hungry than AMD. Results already show they are 14nm retreads.

From Anandtech: https://www.anandtech.com/show/15687/intel-details-10th-gen-comet-lake-h-for-45-w-notebooks-up-to-53-ghz

The base frequency of this chip is 2.4 GHz, and it has a regular 45 W TDP (sustained power), which can be run in cTDP up mode for 65 W. Two other plus points on this chip is that it is unlocked, for when an OEM provides more thermal headroom, and it supports DDR4-2933, which is an upgrade over the previous generation. Intel's recommended PL2 (turbo power) for the Core i9 is 135 W, and Intel says the recommended 'Tau' is set to 56 seconds for the i9, and 28 seconds for all the other CPUs. OEMs don't often adhere to these values for notebooks, but they are provided as a guide. It does mean that in order to hit 5.3 GHz, the Core i9 is by default allowed to take 135 W across two cores, or 67.5 W per core. Even at 60W per core, you're looking at 50A of current per core... in a laptop.

tht 5594 comments · 23 Years

About 4 years ago

They aren't suitable for PCs either. If you want more performance, mind as well put an i9-9900K in your laptop. It's not that far removed from putting an i9-10980HK into your laptop. Or, buy an AMD 4000-series APU laptop.

baka-dubbs 179 comments · 13 Years

About 4 years ago

mdriftmeyer said:

These are not suitable for Mac. They are slower, hotter and far more power hungry than AMD. Results already show they are 14nm retreads.

I was shocked by the performance were seeing out of the 4000 series AMD chips. They destroying Intel chips in multicore performance while maintaining really good batter life and reasonable thermals. AMD has been killing it in the desktop space, but this is the first time(ever?) I have seen them ahead of intel in mobile. Intel is going into the fight with the higher boost clock, but AMD has better IPC and I'm willing to bet they can stay at a higher clock speed under load than intel with the smaller manufacturing process.

I know that they found references to AMD chips in a recent MacOs beta, I would love to see them shock everyone and introduce a 14 inch Macbook pro with an amd 4000 series chip.

tht 5594 comments · 23 Years

About 4 years ago

baka-dubbs said:

mdriftmeyer said:

These are not suitable for Mac. They are slower, hotter and far more power hungry than AMD. Results already show they are 14nm retreads.

I was shocked by the performance were seeing out of the 4000 series AMD chips. They destroying Intel chips in multicore performance while maintaining really good batter life and reasonable thermals. AMD has been killing it in the desktop space, but this is the first time(ever?) I have seen them ahead of intel in mobile. Intel is going into the fight with the higher boost clock, but AMD has better IPC and I'm willing to bet they can stay at a higher clock speed under load than intel with the smaller manufacturing process.

I know that they found references to AMD chips in a recent MacOs beta, I would love to see them shock everyone and introduce a 14 inch Macbook pro with an amd 4800h or the unreleased 4900 series chip.

It's basically the first time ever AMD has a fabrication tech advantage over Intel. AMD's Zen 2 chips are fabbed on TSMC 7 nm fabs while Intel is stuck on 14nm for the vast majority of their processors. That's about a 2x transistor density advantage for AMD to work with, and they are outperforming Intel at every Zen 2 SKU accordingly.

Apple will transition away from Intel CPUs. It's inevitable because TSMC has lapped Intel in fab tech.

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