Intel announces 12th Gen Core HX mobile CPUs featuring up to 16 cores

Intel announced its 12th Gen Core HX processors this week at its Vision conference. The new mobile workstation processors feature “desktop-caliber silicon in a mobile package,” according to Intel, and will power many of the best Windows laptops going ahead. Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9 models of the new CPUs will be available, with more than 10 devices running the chips on the way by the end of this year, according to Intel.

The Core i9-12950HX is Intel’s first 16-core CPU built for laptops. It features eight performance cores and eight efficiency cores and hits speeds as high as 5GHz.

Here are some of the highlights shared by Intel about its new chips:

• Up to 16 cores (8 Performance-cores and 8 Efficient-cores) and 24 threads running at a processor base power of 55W.
• Access to x16 PCIe Gen 5.0 via the processor and 4×4 PCIe Gen 4.0 from a dedicated platform controller hub (PCH) for increased bandwidth and faster data transfers.
• An industry-first unlocked and overclockable series of mobile processors.
• Memory support for up to 128GBs of DDR5/LPDDR5 (up to 4800MHz/5200MHz) and DDR4 (up to 3200MHz/LPDDR4 4267MHz) with Error Correcting Code (ECC) capability.
• Designs with Intel Wi-Fi 6/6E (Gig+)2 for improved connectivity and access to the new 6 GHz Spectrum.

In total, there are seven new 12th Gen Core HX processors from Intel. They range from the Core i5-12450HX with eight cores all the way up to the aforementioned Core i9-12950HX flagship. Each of the new processors has a power draw of 55 watts. The entire range of HX chips is overclockable and unlocked out of the box.

The Core i9-12900HX is faster than the Core i9-12900HK, the i9-11980HK, and the Ryzen R9-6900HX, according to Intel’s benchmarks. The company’s chart doesn’t have a scale or exact figures but places the new flagship mobile CPU above its competition.

Dell, HP, and Lenovo are among the OEMs that plan to launch devices with the new 12th Gen Intel Core HX processors this year. Intel promised more than 10 workstation and gaming laptops featuring the new chips.