Ahead of CES 2022, Intel unveiled its latest 12th Gen Alder Lake chip, which has the company’s new hybrid architecture and is led by the Core i9-12900HK, which Intel boldly claims is “the fastest mobile processor” ever.

One of Intel’s biggest achievements in recent years was its first wave of 12th Gen Alder Lake desktop chips last fall, allowing the company to deliver a CPU that could compete with AMD’s Ryzen 9 5950X flagship in productivity and gaming.

And now, Intel is introducing the same revolutionary approach to chip design—with its Arm-esque performance and efficiency cores—to laptops, starting with its most powerful 45W H-series versions of CPUs.

That performance gain is significant. The 12th-generation i9-12900HK is up to 44 percent faster in PugetBench and up to 30 percent faster in Blender, according to Intel’s own data.

On both tests, the Intel CPU outperformed AMD’s Ryzen R9 5900HX and Apple’s M1 Max.

INTEL 12TH GEN ALDER LAKE H-SERIES CHIPS

Intel also announced the future 12th-gen CPUs that will come to thin and light laptops later in Q1. Two performance and eight efficiency cores will be added to U processors for thinner laptops, while up to six performance and eight efficiency cores will be added to the P line for more powerful thin-and-light laptops.

In Q1, Intel’s 12th-generation H laptop CPUs will be available in devices.

Qualcomm is concentrating its efforts on other platforms at the moment. Starting with Windows-on-ARM laptops and two new chipsets for them, one for high-end devices and the other for low-cost devices that nevertheless require 5G connectivity.

The high-end model is the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. We don’t know what CPU cores are employed here because Qualcomm is keeping hardware details under wraps. We do know it’s a 5 nm chipset (a first for Windows devices), although the original 8cx and the Gen 2 were both 7 nm parts.

According to the company, the new chip will have an 85% increase in multi-core performance and a 60% rise in GPU performance over its predecessor. The NPU has also been improved, now offering over 29 TOPS, which is three times more than the prior chip.

Qualcomm claims that this can be used in fanless systems because of the low power consumption. The prior chips might be able to do so as well, but in terms of long-term performance, this one should be a clear winner. The manufacturer also claims that the laptop would last for several days on a single charge, but this will certainly vary depending on the model.

Many of the innovations made in smartphone chips, such as improved modems, are tapped into by the 8cx Gen 3. When it comes to 5G, Qualcomm will offer laptop OEMs various options: the X65 modem, which can supply up to 10 Gbps downlink speeds, the older X55, which can deliver up to 7.5 Gbps, and the X62, which can deliver up to 4.4 Gbps downlink speeds. Local connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6 and the newest Wi-Fi 6E.

Qualcomm claims that this may be used in fanless designs because of the low power consumption. The prior chips might be able to do so as well, but in terms of long-term performance, this one should be a clear winner. The manufacturer also claims that the laptop would last for several days on a single charge, but this will certainly vary depending on the model.

Many of the innovations made in smartphone chips, such as improved modems, are tapped into by the 8cx Gen 3. When it comes to 5G, Qualcomm will offer laptop OEMs various options: the X65 modem, which can supply up to 10 Gbps downlink speeds, the older X55, which can deliver up to 7.5 Gbps, and the X62, which can deliver up to 4.4 Gbps downlink speeds. Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are two options for local connectivity.

Other options include AI-assisted echo cancellation and noise reduction (this is where that beefy NPU comes into play). Furthermore, the chip enables numerous cameras; for example, it can simultaneously share front and back cameras for an online presentation at a workplace or at school. Working from home or studying while on the go is a big factor for this age.

The Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 is aimed at Windows laptops that aren’t too expensive. It’s made on a 6 nm process (the 7c Gen 2 was made on an 8 nm process) and has a 60% faster CPU and 70 % quicker GPU than its predecessor. Qualcomm didn’t directly compare the 8cx and 7c+, of course. The NPU has 6.5 TOPS of AI computation capacity, which is a little increase (up from 5 TOPS).

Wireless connectivity has also received a significant upgrade, with 5G now being supported. It can achieve downlink speeds of up to 3.7 Gbps thanks to its X53 modem. Wi-Fi 6E is also supported, with up to 2.9 Gbps rates.

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is the first 5nm chipset for Windows-on-ARM laptops, whereas the Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 is the successor to the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2.
Even though the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 only supported 4G, Qualcomm felt it was necessary to provide fast, modern connectivity to even the most basic laptops, so it switched to a 5G modem. Of course, the two new CPUs benefit from Snapdragon audio and security advancements.

Availability

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is the first 5nm chipset for Windows-on-ARM laptops, whereas the Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 is the successor to the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2. The first Windows 11 laptops featuring Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and 7c+ Gen 3 processors will be available in the first half of 2022, according to Qualcomm.

Today, MediaTek and AMD announced a partnership to co-engineer industry-leading Wi-Fi solutions, beginning with the AMD RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E modules, which include MediaTek’s new Filogic 330P chipset. In 2022 and beyond, the Filogic 330P chipset will power next-generation AMD Ryzen-series laptops and desktop PCs, delivering fast Wi-Fi speeds with low latency and less interference from other signals.

AMD and MediaTek developed and certified PCIe® and USB interfaces for modern sleep states and power management, which are critical elements of modern customer experiences, to optimize the AMD RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E modules with a focus on delivering seamless connectivity experiences for customers. Furthermore, the optimization process included stress testing and ensuring compatibility standards, which may reduce development time for OEM customers in the long run.

Filogic 330P supports 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 (2.4/5GHz) and 6E (6GHz band up to 7.125GHz) connectivity standards, as well as Bluetooth® 5.2 (BT/BLE). The high throughput chipset is extremely fast, with up to 2.4Gbps connectivity and support for the new 6GHz spectrum at 160MHz channel bandwidth. The Filogic 330P chipset also incorporates MediaTek’s power amplifier (PA) and low noise amplifier (LNA) technology to help optimize power consumption and reduce design footprint, allowing it to be embedded in laptops of all sizes.

AMD RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E Modules Specifications

The AMD RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E modules extend AMD’s Wi-Fi capabilities, providing excellent connectivity solutions to OEMs and end-users whether they are playing the latest interactive games, working remotely, or completing a large project.