12th Gen Intel® Core™ HX Processors Deliver Unrivaled Mobile Performance

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Intel Tech

8 min readAug 16, 2022

The moment you start rendering video, compiling code, or modeling a design, your progress bar becomes a bottleneck. Minimize wait times and supercharge the latest games with a mobile workstation or high-end gaming laptop built around 12th Gen Intel® Core™ HX Processors featuring more cores, more memory, and more I/O to accelerate those demanding tasks.

This mobile platform’s secret sauce is its desktop pedigree. Every 12th Gen Core HX processor is based on the same CPU die as Alder Lake desktop CPUs. The full array of performance and reliability features maps over to mobile, including all the cores, PCI Express 5.0, RAID, and ECC memory support. A separate Platform Controller Hub (PCH) allows us to pack extra compute horsepower into the processor and still expand connectivity to the next level.

A mobile workstation platform rooted in desktop-class computing

Like their desktop counterparts, 12th Gen Core HX processors employ our Alder Lake performance hybrid architecture with up to eight Hyper-Threaded Performance-cores and eight Efficient-cores. Together, they operate on as many as 24 software threads concurrently. And because the entire HX processor family has access to a 55-watt base power rating — 22% higher than our 12th Gen Core H-series CPUs — there’s more headroom to help pursue higher performance.

Intel Thread Director technology monitors each task’s mix of instructions and the state of each core with nanosecond precision to guide the operating system’s scheduling. So, whether you’re playing your favorite first-person shooter or building a financial model, Alder Lake HX processors use state-of-the-art resources for the job to keep your mobile workstation performant and responsive.

Maximizing memory is key to feeding the beast

Worried that your open-source framework might be too much for a laptop to handle? Big data sets are no match for mobile workstations based on the HX platform.

Whereas our H-series processors emphasize broad memory support to enable a range of form factors and power targets, the HX-series puts a laser focus aimed at maximizing bandwidth to all those P-cores and E-cores with support for up to DDR5–4800 or DDR4–3200 memory.

Desktop DNA also doubles the memory capacity compared to laptops built around the H-series. We know that maintaining a productive flow on the road may mean using a combination of demanding applications at the same time — rendering in Blender while updating textures in Unreal Engine 5.0, for example. That’s why 12th Gen Core HX processors accommodate up to two DIMMs per channel, or four DIMMs in total, for a maximum 128GB of RAM.

Correct soft memory errors on the fly with Intel vPro® versions

Beyond supporting more memory than other 12th Gen mobile processors, HX-series CPUs designed for the Intel vPro® platform also incorporate important data security features, such as Error Correcting Code (ECC). This technology finds and fixes soft memory errors, where single bits (zeros and ones) accidentally flip, potentially corrupting files or causing a crash.

Hardware-based ECC is most common on servers. More recently, we added ECC to our mobile Xeon processors. Now it’s available on select Alder Lake HX processors as well, providing more valuable protection to professionals running complex simulations, training neural networks, or handling sensitive data on the go.

Expanded I/O brings desktop-like connectivity to laptops

Redundant storage complements ECC with another layer of data integrity. The 12th Gen Core HX platform supports up to four SSDs through M.2 slots attached to the platform’s many PCIe links. That’s enough room for a pair of performance-oriented drives, plus a couple of SSDs backing each other up via mirroring.

Just how extensive is the high-speed I/O? The CPU and PCH offer a staggering 48 lanes of PCI Express between them, including 16 lanes of PCIe 5.0 piped right into the processor, 20 lanes of PCIe 4.0 split between the CPU and PCH, and 12 lanes of PCIe 3.0.

Our partners have a lot of freedom in how they can divvy up those links. For instance, the PCIe 5.0 lanes can be split into a pair of x8 pathways for high-speed graphics plus a blisteringly fast SSD. And the four lanes of PCIe 4.0 hanging right off the CPU are great for low-latency access to enthusiast-class storage.

An eight-lane Direct Media Interface (DMI) link based on PCIe 4.0 connects the CPU and PCH, helping ensure ample throughput for transfers between today’s (and tomorrow’s) fastest peripherals. In addition to supporting graphics and storage, the 12th Gen Core HX platform is ready for multi-gigabit Ethernet controllers and Wi-Fi 6E wireless networking. There’s even room for two discrete Thunderbolt 4 controllers, contributing up to 40 Gb/s of throughput per port for external docks, displays, GPU enclosures, and storage.

Aim for more performance with several overclocking features

Our 12th Gen Intel Core HX processors are all about working hard. Their speed, connectivity, and data security are exactly what ISVs look for when they’re certifying applications like Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, and Adobe Premiere Pro. But our partners are building gaming laptops that play hard, too. The entire HX-series supports several exciting overclocking features, allowing enthusiasts to hone the performance of their laptops.

Every model boasts memory overclocking, exposing the fine-tuned frequency and timing settings that affect bandwidth to the CPU’s data-hungry cores. If you’d rather lean on parameters already optimized and tested for your specific modules, Alder Lake HX processors also support Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 2.0 (for DDR4) and 3.0 (for DDR5).

There’s even a bonus perk for going the XMP route. Our new Dynamic Memory Boost feature seamlessly transitions between the modules’ baseline and performance profiles in real time based on bandwidth demands. That means you’re saving power and generating less heat while composing emails, then automatically hitting the afterburners when a more intensive workload is detected.

Select 12th Gen Core HX processors offer unlimited core overclocking, too. The latest version of our Extreme Tuning Utility adds E-core ratio adjustments, allowing you to tune the P-cores and E-cores independently. It also sports an updated Intel Speed Optimizer routine for simpler one-click overclocking.

A full lineup purpose-built for performance

From top to bottom, the 12th Gen Core HX processor family is tuned for unrivaled mobile performance. All seven models share a 55-watt base and 157-watt maximum Turbo power rating. Those figures are 22% and 37% higher than the fastest 12th Gen H-series CPUs, respectively, creating headroom for higher Turbo Boost frequencies (particularly in multithreaded workloads).

The flagships of the lineup are the Core i9–12950HX and Core i9–12900HX, which boast eight P-cores that accelerate up to 5GHz, eight E-cores able to hit 3.6GHz, and 30MB of L3 cache. You’ll find the former in mobile workstations with Intel vPro technology, while the latter tempts enthusiasts with our full complement of overclocking features.

The Core i7–12850HX and Core i7–12800HX sport the same core configuration accompanied by 25MB of L3 cache. Their P-cores boost up to 4.8GHz and their E-cores hit 3.4GHz. However, similar power specs and unlocked overclocking controls mean you can experiment with Core i9-class clock rates using the 12800HX. A third model, the Core i7–12650HX, operates on up to 20 software threads at a time with six Hyper-Threaded P-cores and eight E-cores.

Mobile workstations get more accessible with the Core i5–12600HX and Core i5–12450HX packing up to four P-cores and eight E-cores. Their slightly lower peak frequencies are offset by the same 55-watt processor power and 157-watt Turbo power rating, which helps sustain higher Turbo clock rates during taxing workloads.

Desktop-caliber technology in a mobile package

With a performance hybrid architecture and features pulled straight from our desktop portfolio, Alder Lake HX processors power the world’s best mobile workstation platform1. Their copious connectivity, data integrity features, and overclocking options across the stack ensure that 12th Gen Intel Core HX laptops can deliver a great experience in your most demanding applications.

Notices & Disclaimers

1. The 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i9–12900HX is the world’s best mobile workstation platform based on unique features, including:

Broad Memory Support — First to industry to enable DDR5–4800, DDR4–3200, LPDDR5 5200, LPDDR4x-4267
Best in class connectivity — Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+) , Thunderbolt 4, Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 6E : Low Latency Gameplay, Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+): Intel® Double Connect, Thunderbolt™ 4: 40Gbps, Thunderbolt™ 4: Mandatory Certification
Industry-pioneering PCIE Gen 4 (best in class)

And superior CPU performance of 12th Gen Intel Core i9–12900HX with RTX 3080Ti vs 11th Gen Intel Core i9–11980HK with RTX 3080 and vs AMD Ryzen R9–6900HX with RTX 3060.

Performance varies by use, configuration, and other factors. Learn more at www.Intel.com/PerformanceIndex.

Performance results are based on testing as of dates shown in configurations and may not reflect all publicly available updates. See backup for configuration details. No product or component can be absolutely secure.

All versions of the Intel vPro® platform require an eligible Intel® Core™ processor, a supported operating system, Intel LAN and/or WLAN silicon, firmware enhancements, and other hardware and software necessary to deliver the manageability use cases, security features, system performance, and stability that define the platform. See www.intel.com/performance-vpro for details.

No product or component can be absolutely secure.

Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, software or service activation.

Intel® Thread Director requires OS enablement, and available features and functionality vary by OS.

WiFi 6E subject to 6GHz band availability, operating system support, and router compatibility.

Overclocking may void warranty or affect system health. Learn more at intel.com/overclocking. Results may vary.

Code names are used by Intel to identify products, technologies, or services that are in development and not publicly available. These are not “commercial” names and not intended to function as trademarks.