Intel Client Computing Group EVP Gregory M Bryant recently announced that Intel had started shipping high-performance 12th-Gen Alder Lake processors to customers.This is an exciting development as the much-vaunted 12th-Generation desktop chip has been shredding performance benchmarks lately—but at the cost of excessive power consumption.So when will we get 12th Gen Intel chips in new laptops? And how well will they perform?

1. When Did Alder Lake-Powered Laptops Release?​​​​​

While Bryant didn't announce any 12th-generation laptop launch dates, many expected different laptop manufacturers to showcase their Alder Lake offerings at CES from January 5 to 8, 2022.

Even though Intel started shipping their latest chips on November 23, 2021, Geekbench 5 results for the Gigabyte Aorus 15 and HP Omen, both powered by an Intel i7-12700H, were already available online before that.

These Intel 12th-Gen benchmarks mean both Gigabyte and HP have begun finalizing their prototypes, ready for shipping. That, plus the roughly month and a half difference between November 23 and January 5 CES 2022 opening date, should be enough time to start production and have these latest models on store shelves by CES 2022.

True enough, during CES 2022, several new laptops appeared, most of them powered the 12th-gen Intel processor. Most of them have P-series and U-series chips, although a couple of gaming laptops from Alienware, Asus, and Acer sported the more powerful H variant.

2. Intel 12th-Gen Laptop Performance

Desktop Mobile Ultra Mobile SOCs comparison

During Architecture Day 2021, Intel announced that the mobile chips would come in two flavors—a high-performance processor with up to 14 cores (six performance and eight efficiency cores) and a lower-end chip with up to 10 cores (two performance and eight efficiency cores).

Geekbench results for the higher-end i7-12700H show a single-core score between 1,300 and 1,600. It also posted a multi-core score of around 10,000 to 11,000.

While the 12700H's single-score speed bears some similarity with the previous generation's Intel Core i7-11700, posting a score between 1,100 and 1,600, the multi-core rating soundly defeats last year's device by around 2,000 to 6,000 points.

Geekbench 5 results screenshot

During CES 2022, Intel finally released three tiers of mobile chips—the U-series for affordable laptops, the P-series for thin and light devices, and the H-series for high-end and gaming laptops. They also added the top-end HX-series in May 2022.

3. Launch Brands for the Intel 12th-Generation Chips

Aside from the Geekbench 5 results, which confirmed Gigabyte's and HP's offerings, there have also been leaks of benchmark results from a 12th-generation Intel-powered Asus VivoBook. Even Lenovo's Marketing Director for Consumer Notebooks in China confirmed on Weibo that they're launching Alder Lake devices in 2022.

However, these are some of the laptops that were confirmed during CES 2022:

  • Alienware x14 with an Intel Core i7-12700H or Intel Core i5-12500H
  • Asus ROG Flow Z13 with an Intel Core i7-12700H
  • Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED with an Intel Core i7-1250U
  • Acer Predator Triton 500 SE with an Intel Core i9-12900H
  • Dell XPS 13 Plus with an Intel Core i5-120P, Intel Core i7-1260P, or Intel Core i7-1280P
  • Gigabyte AORUS and AERO laptops with up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i9 H-series chip
  • HP OMEN 16 and OMEN 17 with up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i9-12900H
  • Lenovo Yoga 9i with an Intel Core i5-1240P or Intel Core i7-1260P
  • ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 with up to a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor

Most of these laptops are available at the time of writing, except for the HP OMEN and ThinkBook Plus laptops, which are coming soon.

4. Questions on Efficiency

While the desktop Alder Lake chips provided a lot of power, they did so at the cost of power consumption. These chips consumed a lot of energy—from 125 watts up to over 241 watts. The question is, will their mobile versions be a lot more efficient?

Leaks indicated that the lightest versions consume around 5 watts, while the most powerful processors are rated up to 55 watts. While these numbers are significantly lower than their desktop counterparts, will they defeat the new, powerful, yet ultra-efficient Apple M1 chips that offer battery lives of up to 14 hours?

Now that these chips have been released, we're slowly getting benchmark results. The Core i7-1280P has 70% better performance over its 11th-gen version. Intel also claims this chip delivers better multithreaded performance over the 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK despite consuming only half the power.

Tests of the Dell XPS 13, powered by an Intel Core i5-1230U, deliver up to 14 hours of battery power. This is astounding battery life, making this thin and light device a great candidate for on-the-go professionals.

Nevertheless, your results may vary depending on the type of laptop you're testing. For example, gaming laptops rarely have over four hours of battery life, especially during gaming. But laptops powered by U-series chips are expected to have the longest possible battery life while maintaining reasonable processing power.

Mobile Power and Better Efficiency Brought by Intel's Alder Lake Chip

After Intel's blunder with their 11th-generation processors, the Alder Lake chips are now proving their worth in desktop and laptop computing. With unprecedented power and efficiency, Intel's hybrid architecture design is helping the company retake the crown as the most powerful x86 chip on the market.

The four options Intel made available for laptop makers allow manufacturers to create Intel-powered laptops for every need and budget. There's the affordable U line-up, the mainstream P variant, the powerful H model, and the HX processors for mobile workstations.

With these new strong releases, AMD will have a more challenging time competing with Intel, especially as it has put behind the poor-performing 11th-generation chips. Nevertheless, AMD is not backing down as it announced the new Ryzen 6000 mobile CPU for laptops.