In the notebook market in 2021, there is a new type of model that is quite hot, that is, the thin and light book equipped with a standard voltage processor (game processor), about 1.4kg, double heat pipe (double fan), the processor power release can be stable about 45W, the CPU part is strong, can work, can model, and can render video. Although the set display ratio is not unique, in 2.2K, 2.5K and even 2.8K resolution, it is easy to deal with the "national game" "League of Legends" - this is enough! For the vast majority of ordinary users who use computers in fixed places, do not play large-scale 3D games and only play "League of Legends", and occasionally edit videos, this high-performance thin and light book of about 5,000 yuan is undoubtedly an excellent choice.
However, due to the weak performance of the integrated graphics card UHD Graphics, unable to cope with the demand for online games under high-definition resolution, coupled with the high price of i7, Intel's 11th generation Core H was absent from this feast, and the R7 5800H processor represented by Asus Fearless Pro 14, Lenovo Xiaoxin Pro 14, and ThinkBook 14P was very rich.
However, this year (2022), the script of the high-performance thin and light book may be completely rewritten!
Core H display upgrade to Iris Xe, the only short board disappeared
One of the major changes in the 12th generation Core H processor is that most of the models* integrated graphics (GPU) have been upgraded from the previous 32EU (execution unit) UHD Graphics to the 80EU (i5) or 96EU (i7/i9) Iris Xe, which has exploded in performance and has been able to run League of Legends very smoothly at the highest image quality of 2.8K resolution.
At the same time, thanks to good support for OpenCL, the daily applications of young users, video editing and video transcoding, have also exploded in efficiency, easily crushing competitors. In terms of AI image computing, there are also crushing-level advantages! To put it simply: in a large number of applications can use graphics card acceleration today, the introduction of Iris Xe, so that the only short board of Core H disappeared, not only can get the popular online game, and compared to the competitors' display, common applications and professional applications are better, more efficient - remember i5 1135G7, a 4-core 8-thread low-voltage processor on the Me video transcoding R7 5800H, in the Pr video clip can also match the R7 5800H? Its hero is the Iris Xe collection.
(※TIPS: In the 12th generation Core H, the integrated display of two processors is still UHD Graphics, they are i5 12450H and i7 12650H, but the number of execution units has also increased significantly, of which the i5 12450H is 48EU, and the i7 12650H is 64EU.) ）
CPU part of the performance, i5 called R7, the price of the whole machine is no longer a problem
Through the previous tests, we have seen the strength of the 12th generation Core H i9 and i7 with the large and small core architecture, and the CPU performance part is not only "vertically climbing" relative to the 11th generation Core H, but also easily crushing the AMD Ryzen™ 5000H and the latest Ryzen™ 6000H series (click here and here to see the previous detailed test). This provides a solid guarantee for the performance level of the 12th-generation Core H i7 to smoothly enter the high-performance thin and light cost - even if it is limited by the heat dissipation capacity of about 45W, it cannot exert its potential 100%, but it can still maintain the CPU at a high performance level.
And here to mention another important processor - i5 12500H, perhaps you don't know, this 12th generation Core H i5 processor with 4 large cores and 8 small cores totaling 16 threads, when the power is fully exerted, its CPU performance can also easily chop R7 5800H under the horse, and can call R7 6800H!
Yes, the CPU performance part, the 12th generation Core H i5 model can match the latest Ryzen R7 6800H, and this also means that the Core H high performance thin and light can use the i5 12500H as the "main force" to eliminate the price disadvantage - after all, according to the convention, the Core H i5 model will be cheaper than the Core H i7 model will be about a thousand yuan cheaper, so in terms of price, the Core H high performance thin and light book will no longer have a price disadvantage!
Lenovo Asus War Drum Flying: Established! Pricing also!
Of course, theoretical advantages must rely on the product support of PC manufacturers to become a reality. Lenovo, which occupies 40% of China's market share and has no.1 global shipments, and Asus, which challenges Lenovo head-on in the domestic market, are already "war drums flying":
Not long ago, Lenovo launched the "new generation of divine machine" ThinkBook 14+, this 14-inch thin and light book weighing only 1.4kg, using i5 12500H and i7 12700H processors, and can output 50W of power! At the same time, the machine has 16GB LPDDR5 4800 high-speed memory on board, equipped with a 2880×1800 ultra-clear resolution 100% sRGB color gamut DC dimming 90Hz high brush screen, and standard PCIe4.0 SSD, and can expand the SSD of the second PCIe slot!
In addition, the machine also has Thunderbolt 4 interface and 62Wh large-capacity battery, supports Windows Hello face recognition login, and even can choose RTX 2050 discrete graphics card! And the machine's i5 12500H set display debut price is only 4999 yuan (i7 12700H set display 6099 yuan) - the luxury of the configuration, the price is cheap, jaw-dropping!
Immediately after, last year's fearless series and Lenovo frontal gang, and this year is more fierce, the number of 12 generation Core new products exploded, occupying half of the international first-line brand models, Asus also made a high-profile debut in the "peerless" 14-inch series, and issued a "bold word" - the annual blockbuster!
Why is it so high-profile? Because its configuration is more luxurious than last year's God Machine Fearless Pro 14: the i5 12500H processor with an output power of 45W; the 2880× 1800 resolution with a maximum brightness of 600nit, 100% DCI-P3 ultra-high color gamut (about 133% sRGB color gamut) DC dimming 90Hz high brush OLED screen; dual Thunderbolt 4 interface; 70Wh large-capacity battery; and WiFi6E wireless card and PCIe4.0 SSD. The only thing to be picky about is the memory using the DDR4 3200 (dual channel) instead of the DDR5. The price is also exaggerated, the first price is 4899 yuan, which is also a deposit pre-sale!
So, these two models sounded the offensive horn of the 12th generation Core H high-performance thin and light book? No! They are the market! With the luxury of the configuration and exaggerated low price of these two models, the 12th generation Core H high performance thin and light market has been completely defined! And the shipments will be large enough (as long as the capacity keeps up)! And it is clear that Lenovo's small new and YOGA series will also follow suit to launch similar high-performance thin and light books, and this market has been achieved! And other PC manufacturers, inevitably, must also follow!
In a sense, the 12th generation of Core H high-performance thin and light books has rewritten the product pattern of the thin and light book market - whether it is Core P or Core U, or Ryzen series thin and light books, it will also fully enter the era of high power release and high performance dominance!
Two "game variables" that must be mentioned
There is no doubt that the CPU performance of the 12th generation Core H processor has soared, and the GPU (integrated display) performance has been supplemented, which has pushed the Core H high-performance thin and light cost to us, and a new market is forming and will grow rapidly! Intel's hammer has already gained something!
But there are still two "game variables":
The first is AMD's Ryzen™ R7 6800H high-performance display. Since the R7 6800H's jizen Radeon 680M performance is stronger than the Iris Xe, in theory, if it continues to enter the thin and light cost at the same low price as last year's R7 5800H, it will be a challenge for Intel's Core H high performance thin and light book.
However, the reason why it is a "game variable" is because there are some uncertainties here:
The first is the production capacity - at present, only Asus holds the R7 6800H processor, which can be said to be exclusive to Asus, but it also reflects that the current R7 6800H production capacity is not high, and even the Fearless series has not been updated, but the peerless series using the 12th generation Core H has been first. When the R7 6800H will be available in large quantities is unknown.
The second is that it "can it be lower priced?" Last year, the R7 5800H model of the Fearless Pro 14 set a low price of 4999 yuan, which is already the "bottom price" of the Ryzen H series high-performance thin and light book, but there is no Thunderbolt 4, not even the Type-C port. Lenovo, the R7 5800H model of the Xiaoxin Pro 14 is still 5599 yuan. Today's new R7 6800H must use DDR5 memory, and can not use DDR4 memory to reduce costs in exchange for a more luxurious configuration, then, overall, in order to get the same i5 12500H model of the peerless and ThinkBook 14+ the same luxurious configuration, the price is lower than 4999 yuan, it is unlikely!
The final uncertainty is "the graphics performance of the R7 6800H after being put into a thin and light book". Although the Radeon 680M's 3DMark TS score can reach 2267 points, which is higher than the Iris Xe scores of 80EU and 96EU (1576 points and 1700 points, respectively), the price is that the GPU package power is as high as nearly 50W - when taking the GPU alone, the whole machine power is nearly 90W! The highest package power of the Iris Xe is only 20W to 22.5W, which is much lower. So, in theory, when they all enter the thin and light cost, under the limited overall heat dissipation capacity (such as 45W), the performance of the Iris Xe can still be fully utilized, but the Radeon 680M will be greatly affected. If handled properly, the Radeon 680M's 3D performance may eventually win, but the advantages may be greatly reduced and become "nuances on the same grade"!
▲R7 6800H single test GPU, the whole machine power is nearly 90W.
What's more, according to the previous A/I platform PK (R7 6800H PK i7 12700H model), we noticed that even at full power release, Radeon 680M graphics card is only a game 3D performance advantage, and in video editing and AI computing, the acceleration efficiency is still significantly inferior to Iris Xe, not to mention the limited power after entering the thin and light book - this will definitely make the Radeon 680M and even R7 6800H attractiveness greatly reduced.
(TIPS: R5 6600H Due to the small number of processor cores, CPU performance is at a significant disadvantage, coupled with its centralized Radeon 660M processing unit is only 1/2 of 680M, so the performance is only a little better than R7 5800H Radeon Graphics, in the future high-performance thin and light cost competition may be difficult to become a climate, so here we only discuss R7 6800H. ）
The second game variable comes from Intel's own Core P series processors! According to the official information provided by Intel, the 12th generation Core P series processor with a base power of 28W is also positioned as thin and light, and the maximum power can be as high as 64W - if it also enters the dual heat pipe or even the double fan thin and light cost, then power overlap is a high probability, who has better performance? How should consumers choose?
Of course, according to processor technology, any processor near the base power, its power and performance improvement is linear. However, in the high power zone, the performance improvement efficiency will be significantly reduced, and more power will be used for heat generation, so there may still be a certain performance gap between the core P with the base power of 28W and the core H with the base power of 45W.
In addition, we analyze that Core P or more for improving the "performance of the original 1.25kg (and below weight) ultra-light and thin book", the original use of Core U processor, more emphasis on the performance of the endurance of the mid- and high-priced ultra-thin models to raise the performance of a grade, taking the "high-end ultra-thin and light route", such as ThinkPad X1, LG Gram and other models of upgrades. In addition, there may be some manufacturers will combine Core P with the upcoming Intel Arc solo display to form a "new 3I platform model". In terms of price, the Core P model may be higher than the Core H high-performance thin and light cost (at least not low), and the selling point is: both thin and light and ultra-long endurance - after all, the base power of Core P is significantly lower, so the idle power and daily application power of the platform should also be lower, and the battery life will be longer.
(TIPS: Regarding core P's market positioning and product situation, we will analyze it separately.) ）
Further reading: There is also a high-performance lightweight book (equipped with a low-end solo) 12th-generation Core H large screen
In fact, with the launch of the 12th-generation Core H thin and light book, using similar processors, and even the 15.6-inch and 16-inch portable books (weighing about 1.8kg) combined with low-end unique display (such as RTX 2050/3050) have also appeared, such as ThinkBook 16+, ASUS Peerless 15, and RedmiBook Pro 2022. It is worth noting that some models will even use i5 12450H and i7 12650H, which are not upgraded with centralized display, to reduce costs moderately and seek a better balance between performance and price.
The emergence of such Core H (exclusive) lightweight books also broke the pattern of the high-performance lightweight book market dominated by AMD Ryzen H last year. And who will achieve a larger market share this year, may soon be known! Of course, this is another wonderful drama!