Intel is turning its attention to gamers and content creation with its newly announced 10th generation Intel Core Series-H mobile processors. With a series of new high-performance CPUs boasting faster clock speeds, more power per core, and an expanded feature set, the new Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9 H Series processors bring desktop-like performance to gaming laptops, more power for content creation and streaming.

Among the many improvements in the new CPUs Intel announced today (April 2), the new 10th generation H-Series promises improved gaming performance, faster overall responsiveness, faster top speeds, and support for the latest applications and features like 4K HDR streaming and integrated support for Wi-Fi 6

However, the H series is not a "one-size-fits-all" solution.

But the biggest change is in processor speed, with the 10th generation H-Series offering the first laptop-class processors that break the 5 GHz barrier; more than half of the six new CPUs achieve this speed, once the equivalent of a desktop PC with high frame rates and low latency The company is poised to offer laptop PCs that will deliver the high frame rates and low latency of desktop PCs in the past.

At the top of the new H-Series pyramid, the Intel Core i9-10980HK boasts a rugged 8-core design, maximum single-core clock speed of 5.3GHz, 16MB of Smart Cache, and DDR4-2933 memory capable of handling up to 128GB RAM dual-channel support.

According to Intel, this is the fastest mobile processor to date and will be featured in a number of gaming laptops and performance-oriented systems, including more than 30 thin and light designs under 20 mm thick.

With a base clock of 2.4 GHz, the 5.3 GHz available in a single core represents a very significant power boost, making this CPU ideal for games that rely on high frequency, single-threaded performance. This performance is essential for low latency on graphics cards and for the best gaming performance.

Intel did not show off as many benchmark comparisons as usual, but did provide some numbers showing the power increase one would expect the new CPU to provide: a comparable Core i7-7820HK (three years old, the heyday of mobile processors) with a Compared to top-class gaming laptops, the new Core i9-10980HK showed significant frame rate gains in several popular games, ranging from 23% in Far Cry to 10980HK in 10980HK: New Dawn and Assassin 's Creed Odyssey and 54% improvement in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Intel is also touting the new Core i7 as an ideal choice for both creators and gamers. The new Intel core i7-10875H offers speeds of up to 5.1 GHz and an 8-core, 16-thread design that should provide broad support for both gaming and media production.

Compared to the three-year-old Core i7-7700HQ, the new Core i7-10750H offers improved frame rates, with a 44% increase in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Two more i7 models, the Core i7-10850H and the 17-10750H, were also announced; the Core i7-10850H is unique among this trio of i7 chips in that it is partially unlocked for overclocking.

The new H-Series low-end models include two new Core i5 CPUs, the Core i5-10400H and the Core i5-10300H. These are quad-core processors, but with clock speeds of up to 4.6 GHz and 4.5 GHz, respectively, and offer plenty of performance for everyday uses like streaming media and productivity tasks, as well as gaming and photo editing.

Intel also shared that 50% of gaming laptop purchases are not primarily for gaming, but for creative tasks such as video editing and content creation. As these creative uses become more prevalent, shoppers are finding that the higher performance offered by gaming systems better suits their needs than most mainstream laptops.

To better meet these needs, Intel is partnering with well-known brands such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and Razer to launch a new category of high-performance laptops for these media production tasks.

These machines have similar high-power processors and GPUs, but are more modest than standard gaming laptops, boasting features like less flashy designs, quieter fans, and color-accurate displays.

Intel has a few other tricks up its sleeve for its new chip. Turbo Boost Max 3.0 isolates and optimizes the CPU's best performing cores to deliver more power. In addition, the new Intel Speed Optimizer provides one-click overclocking and easy access to higher performance.

Entertainment needs have also been enhanced, with improved video support. The 10th generation processors support both HEVC and VP9 at 10 bits for smooth 4K streaming. They also support HDR (High Dynamic Range) content and Rec.

The new processors also support Wi-Fi 6, formerly known as 802.11ax, ushering in broader support for the new wireless standard. Wi-Fi 6 routers are still relatively new to the market, not ubiquitous due to the lack of compatible Wi-Fi 6 devices. With Intel's new processors supporting Wi-Fi 6, this new standard should be more widely supported, making many of the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 more accessible

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The processor itself is also packed with impressive features, with up to 40 PCIe lanes for use with graphics cards, CPU-attached storage, and raid storage. support for Thunderbolt 3 is also built-in, providing 3,000 megabits per second of data bandwidth and the ability to handle 4K resolution and power over a single cable.

The rollout of these new chips has been delayed slightly due to the COVID-19 craze, but Intel is taking pre-orders today and expects them to hit store shelves by mid-April; pricing for H Series-powered systems has not been announced, but they will be available soon.

COVID-19 has one impact on the Intel 10th generation H-Series announcement. Normally, Intel provides initial benchmarks when it announces a processor, but in this case those benchmarks are not available due to the late arrival of the chips from China. We will update this article as soon as these comparative figures are released.