[CES 2023] Intel Unveils 13th Gen Mobile CPUs, Updated Evo Specs, N-Series and More
Intel Unveils 13th Gen Mobile CPUs, Updated Evo Specs, N-Series and More
Team Blue’s CES keynote puts its focus on laptop markets, with processors ranging from flagship Core i9 HX-series to low-power N-series, Core i5 desktop CPUs, and more.
Intel introduced as much as 32 SKUs under the Raptor Lake (13th Gen) lineup, including: Core i9-13980HX, the flagship mobile CPU with 8E+16P cores capable of boosting up to 5.6GHz. Intel claims this is the fastest mobile processor on the market – with PCIe 5.0, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, plus support to both DDR4 and DDR5 systems (up to DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600).
First party benchmarks indicate +11% and +49% in single and multicore performance respectively over the previous generation CPU, Core i9-12900HX and Core i9-12900HK. The chipmaker touts overclocking capabilities on HX and HK models, but it’s unlikely a practical option given the already miniscule thermal headroom available in laptop designs.
Next up is the thin-and-light focused models, P-series (28W class) and U-series (15W class). Up to 6P+8E cores are available on offer with the improved Thread Director feature; support for DDR4, DDR5 and their LP memory variants, Wi-Fi 6E and Thunderbolt 4 support.
Intel also reveals a new type of processing core called Movidius vision processing unit (VPU). Co-developed with Microsoft, this chip is designed to handle AI-heavy workloads ranging from content upscaling to streaming optimizations. This VPU will be featured in select 13th Gen models.
The chipmaker has also updated the Evo laptop specifications to reflect better PC-mobile integration. Dubbed Intel Unison – eligible designs are certified to provide seamless experience across Intel Evo laptops and Android or iOS devices.
On the desktop side of things, Intel has introduced its mainstream desktop lineup (non-K models), with Core i5 models getting E-cores for the first time. Benchmarks claim +11% and +35% for single and multicore respectively over 12th Gen non-K CPUs. These 65W and 35W parts will otherwise maintain the same feature set including DDR5/DDR4 support plus backwards compatibility to Intel 600 series motherboards.
As the Pentium and Celeron name were recently retired, replacing its place are the Intel Processor and Intel Core i3 N-series. These ultra low-power chips are entirely powered by E-cores (Gracemont core), and features up to core configuration of 0P+8E (8 cores, 8 threads). The company claims these chips are capable of 10-hour HD video playback on a single charge, with all the modern features including AV1 decode, Wi-Fi 6E, and DDR5 support.
Pokdepinion: Between Core i9-13980HX and AMD’s Ryzen 9 7945HX, we got one hell of a showdown coming up…