Only two CPU iterations ago, traditional guidance on purchasing laptops remained relevant. It was acceptable to recommend individuals to save money by opting for the previous generation. While there was a noticeable performance gap, it was not significant enough to cause concern about being frugal in the short term but wasteful in the long term.
Intel’s 12th-generation Alder Lake CPUs have disrupted the previous notions, and the launch of Team Blue’s latest flagship laptop processor, the Core i9-13980HX, further solidifies this new paradigm. Boasting 24 cores, 32 threads, and a maximum turbo speed of 5.6GHz, this chip is truly a powerhouse. Similar to its desktop versions, it delivers exceptional performance. Opting for an Alder Lake notebook means sacrificing the top chip for demanding tasks while being mobile.
You can find a detailed analysis of the benchmark results in our YouTube video. However, for the key highlights regarding Intel’s latest high-end mobile processor, which was tested on the powerful MSI Titan GT77 featuring the Core i9-13980HX and an Nvidia RTX 4090, continue reading.
Multithreaded tasks receive a significant enhancement.
The quicker you are able to process renders, encodes, and other demanding workloads, the sooner you can proceed to your next assignment. Currently, the Core i9-13980HX excels at handling its queue unlike any other mobile chip.
Raptor Lake demonstrates significant improvements over Alder Lake in laptops, mirroring the advancements seen in desktops. The performance gains are equally impressive across both platforms. The 13th-gen processor holds a substantial lead over the 12th-gen counterpart. Our tests using Cinebench R23, Blender, and V-Ray rendering software revealed enhancements ranging from 32 to 40 percent, with the most significant boost observed in Cinebench R23’s multithreaded test.
The narrative parallels in Handbrake, albeit less intense, involve inputting a sizable 4K mov file into the software and compressing it into a smaller H.265 file. Utilizing the Core i9-13980HK, the encoding process concludes approximately 25 percent quicker.
The performance gains are distributed quite evenly as the number of threads used increases, as demonstrated by this test of thread scaling performance in Cinebench R23. Tasks with low thread usage show modest double-digit improvements, but these improvements become much larger when dealing with heavily threaded workloads.
The main question that remains regarding the 13980HK is how it will perform in comparison to the upcoming Ryzen 9 7945HX from AMD. Both are expected to be powerful chips, so the showdown between these two flagship mobile parts is anticipated to be quite intense.
Not all manufacturing tasks yield advantages.
Our experience with the 13980HX took an unexpected turn when we shifted our focus to different types of content creation tasks, specifically those carried out in Adobe’s Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom applications.
Upon initial examination, it can be concluded that these results can be categorized as falling within the margin of error. This means that the performance in Adobe apps remains consistent between 13th-gen and 12th-gen processors. Nevertheless, this outcome is still quite peculiar.
Adding complexity is the fact that our tests mimicked typical usage, with the GPU also being utilized. It could be argued that these benchmarks do not provide a straightforward, independent assessment of the 13980HX’s capabilities in comparison to the 12900HX, and that statement would not be inaccurate. Nevertheless, in practical situations, individuals generally do not rely exclusively on the CPU, and these findings may shed light on a potential situation that a content creator might encounter in the initial stages.
It is uncertain whether a mistake was made during testing, if there is a driver issue, or if the software is simply not optimized yet. Further investigation will be required to determine the cause.
Games also receive a boost.
Determining the precise performance of a laptop CPU in gaming is more challenging compared to desktops. It is uncommon to come across two laptops with varying generation processors but identical GPUs, especially from the same manufacturer and product line.
The laptops we used for benchmarking were alike, yet not identical. One of them featured a previous-generation MSI Titan GT77 laptop equipped with a 12th-gen Core i9-12900HX and an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti. In contrast, the other laptop was a present-day MSI Titan GT77 model with the Core i9-13980HX and an Nvidia RTX 4090.
In light of these disparate setups, our gaming benchmarks predominantly showcase the performance improvements of the Nvidia RTX 4090 compared to the RTX 3080 Ti. However, there was a particular game in our benchmark suite that hinted at the impact of the 13980HX on CPU-dependent games: Counter-Strike Global Offensive.
Although CSGO’s 23 percent may not always be reliable for a CPU-bound game, this test result provides some insight into the impact of the 13980HX on gaming performance. This information is valuable for individuals who are concerned with such details, particularly when selecting a laptop configuration.
Avoid purchasing this chip for routine activities.
Those who keep up with processor news and releases are likely aware that a CPU such as the 13980HX is excessive for tasks such as using Microsoft Office applications and browsing the web. In fact, it is absurdly excessive for the vast majority of users.
Office power users, such as those who handle complex spreadsheets, are indeed a reality. In their case, having more cores generally translates to more processing power. However, the current Office benchmarks we have access to do not accurately reflect this type of workload. Unfortunately, our special Excel eSports benchmark, developed by Jason Moore, is still malfunctioning. Procyon focuses on more common productivity tasks, and although the Core i9-13980HX surpasses its predecessor, a 14 percent overall improvement may not justify the CPU’s recommended. While you wouldn’t typically purchase a laptop chip separately, this price point provides a rough idea of its value in comparison.
The identical situation applies to internet browsing. Indeed, there is a enhancement. However, the main reason for purchasing this chip is not for a 25 percent increase in web app performance. It should be considered as an added benefit, not a primary feature. We advise making purchasing decisions based on this.
Anticipate an influx of 13th-generation laptops entering the market in the near future. Keep an eye on PCWorld’s compilation of the finest laptops for a comprehensive overview of the best options currently on the market.