Intel Core i9-12900H vs i9-12900HX: Which is Better?

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I have compared i9-12900HX with i9-12900H and these processors are designed for high-performance laptops and are typically used in gaming laptops that require a lot of processing power.

i9-12900H vs i9-12900HX

The new 12900HX has two more Performance cores than the 12900H, giving it four more threads. Although 12900HX has more cores, its clock speeds are mostly the same, however its turbo boost speed is 200MHz slower than the higher tier 12900HX chip. Additionally, 12900HX has 25% more cache, which is known to improve game FPS.

Laptops Tested

XMG NEO 15	MSI TITAN GT77
i9-12900H CPU	i9-12900HX CPU
32GB DDR5-4800 RAM	32GB DDR5-4800 RAM
RTX 3080 Ti GPU	RTX 3080 Ti GPU
Check Price	Check Price

Application Benchmarks

Despite the fact that the 12900H was actually ahead at 45 watts, they are about equal at 80 watts, and at 125 watts, which is as high as the 12900H can run, the 12900HX chip finally wins.

It is likely that the silicon lottery caused the 12900H to outperform the 12900HX here, since these power limits shouldn’t limit single-core performance.

In this test, 12900HX always outperformed 12900H. At 45 watts, the difference was extremely small, but at higher levels, the 12900HX had a larger boost.

With 12900HX, Adobe Premiere saw even greater performance gains. Even though they’re clocking lower than 12900H within the same power budget, perhaps the higher core and thread count with 12900HX is still beneficial for this workload.

At 80 watts, 12900HX slightly outperformed 12900H, but it’s a small difference. Although the gap widens at higher power limits, 12900HX can’t compete at lower levels in this multithreaded workload.

It is possible to make good use of all cores and threads when rendering workloads like V-Ray are used. 12900HX scored 10% higher than 12900H at the highest power limit despite having 14% more cores or 20% more threads.

Geekbench is one of the few tests with a single core component, which I don’t like. The 12900HX loses at 45 watts, is about even at 80 watts, then takes the lead at 125 watts, though the difference is only 6%.

Games Benchmarks

The 12900HX achieved a 9% higher average FPS at 1080p, and 12% higher at 1440p.

The 12900HX was a little behind in Red Dead Redemption 2. Additionally, I have seen instances where more cores and threads offer lower performance in this test. The performance difference is so small, you wouldn’t notice it while playing.

In general, CS:GO performs better on better CPUs, and that was the case here. At both resolutions, the 12900HX CPU had a 6% higher average frame rate.

The difference was even greater in Rainbow Six Siege. At 1080p, the 12900HX chip reached 12% higher FPS, and at 1440p, it reached 8% higher.

It doesn’t seem to matter in some games like Forza Horizon 5, where the difference between the two processors is only 1-2 frames per second.

In contrast to CS:GO and Rainbow Six, I did not find Fortnite to be as different as those games.

Similarly, Call of Duty Warzone had basically no difference in average frame rates.

Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t differ much either. It seems there is more of a gap at 1440p, which I wasn’t expecting since CPU differences usually matter more at lower resolutions, but we’re talking about 4 frames per second here.

Should you spend more money to buy 12900HX?

Honestly, probably not for most people. To perform better, 12900HX needs more power, which means a larger laptop. The differences in games are minor, except for a few titles. In games, 14 cores and 20 threads isn’t exactly going to be a limit because most laptops also have a GPU, so they don’t send a lot of power to the CPU. This extra cache probably explains the boosts we are seeing with 12900HX.

Unless your workload is actually able to utilize all 16 cores and hit high power limits, 12900HX wasn’t actually that much better. For most people, 14 cores and 20 threads is plenty, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

If you do a lot of rendering, something like 12900HX might be beneficial to you. If you need more storage and memory, 12900HX can help. As a result, the laptop will be larger since these things take up more space.

Jaskaran Singh

Jaskaran, a tech enthusiast from childhood, inspired by his father, began his tech journey by rooting Android phones. He now writes on various tech topics, aiming to simplify complex ideas for a broad audience. His writing is direct, concise, and flows effortlessly, making tech topics accessible and engaging.