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Intel Core i5-9300H

Intel Core i5-9300H in 2025: Is it Worth Buying a Laptop with This Processor?

Introduction

The Intel Core i5-9300H processor, released in 2019, is still found in budget and mid-range laptops. Despite its age, it remains relevant for certain use cases. Let’s explore who this CPU will suit in 2025, its strengths, and its limitations.

1. Architecture and Process Technology: Coffee Lake at 14 nm

Cores, Threads, and Frequencies

The Core i5-9300H is based on the Coffee Lake microarchitecture (9th generation Intel). It is a 4-core processor with Hyper-Threading support (8 threads). Its base frequency is 2.4 GHz, and the maximum in turbo mode is 4.1 GHz (for one core). All cores can boost up to 4.0 GHz with adequate cooling.

The process technology is 14 nm, which will be considered outdated by 2025 (modern Intel and AMD models use 7 nm and smaller). This affects energy efficiency but does not negate the reliability of the architecture.

Integrated Graphics

The integrated GPU is the Intel UHD Graphics 630, with a base frequency of 350 MHz and a maximum of 1.15 GHz. This solution is suitable for:

- Streaming 4K videos.

- Light gaming (for example, _CS:GO_ on low settings gives around 40-50 FPS).

- Office applications.

For gaming or video editing, a discrete graphics card (such as the NVIDIA GTX 1650 or better) is recommended.

2. TDP and Power Consumption: Balancing Power and Heat

The processor’s TDP is 45 W. This means that laptops require an efficient cooling system. In gaming models (like the Acer Nitro 5 or Lenovo Legion Y540), the coolers handle the load but can be noisy. In thin chassis (ultrabooks), such a processor is rarely used due to thermal constraints.

In idle mode, power consumption drops to 5-10 W thanks to technologies such as:

- Intel SpeedStep (dynamic frequency adjustment).

- C-States (disabling unused cores).

3. Performance: From Office to Gaming

Office Tasks and Multimedia

- Chrome with 20+ tabs + Slack + Zoom — the processor handles it without lag.

- Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom — photo retouching and RAW file processing take about 10-15% longer than on an i7 from the 10th generation, but remain comfortable.

- 4K video in VLC — plays without issues.

Gaming

When paired with a GPU like the NVIDIA RTX 3050 (laptop version):

- Cyberpunk 2077 — 45-55 FPS on medium settings (1080p).

- Fortnite — 60-70 FPS on high settings.

- Thermals — with extended sessions, throttling (frequency reduction) may occur if the cooling system is clogged with dust.

Turbo Mode: How Long Can It Sustain?

In laptops with quality cooling (such as the MSI GF63), turbo mode activates for 30-40 seconds at the start of a game, after which frequencies stabilize at 3.8-4.0 GHz. In thin chassis (if such a CPU is installed), turbo time may drop to 10-15 seconds.

4. Use Cases: Who is the i5-9300H Suitable For?

- Students — for studying, working with documents, and light presentation editing.

- Budget Gamers — when paired with a discrete graphics card.

- Office Workers — multitasking without lag.

- Freelancers — video editing at up to 1080p (in Premiere Pro, rendering a 10-minute video takes around 15-20 minutes).

Not Suitable For:

- 3D modeling in Blender or rendering 4K video — a CPU with 6+ cores (like the Ryzen 5 5600H) would be a better choice.

- Energy-efficient ultrabooks — due to high TDP.

5. Battery Life: How Long Will the Battery Last?

Laptops with the i5-9300H typically come with batteries ranging from 50-60 Wh. In usage modes:

- Web browsing — 4-5 hours.

- Video playback — 3.5-4 hours.

- Gaming — 1-1.5 hours (with active discrete graphics).

Power-saving helps with:

- Windows "Power Saver" mode.

- Disabling turbo mode through utilities like ThrottleStop.

6. Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 5 3550H (4 cores/8 threads, 12 nm, TDP 35 W):

- Better energy efficiency, but 10-15% weaker in single-threaded tasks.

- Integrated Vega 8 graphics faster than UHD 630 by 20-25%.

Apple M1 (8 cores, 5 nm, TDP 15 W):

- 2-3 times higher performance per watt.

- Compatibility only with macOS and limited software.

Intel Core i5-11300H (11th generation, 4 cores, 10 nm):

- 25-30% better IPC (instructions per cycle).

- Support for PCIe 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4.

Conclusion: The i5-9300H in 2025 lags behind newer models but shines in price.

7. Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Sufficient performance for most everyday tasks.

- Low cost of laptops (new models starting from $600).

- Supports up to 64 GB of DDR4-2666 MHz.

Weaknesses:

- High heat levels under load.

- Lacks support for PCIe 4.0 and Wi-Fi 6.

- Outdated 14 nm process technology.

8. Recommendations for Laptop Selection

- Gaming Models — Look for options with GPU no less than NVIDIA RTX 3050 and an SSD of at least 512 GB (for example, HP Pavilion Gaming 15).

- Workstations — at least 16 GB RAM and an IPS display.

- Cooling — Choose laptops with dual fans and copper heat pipes (check reviews for throttling issues).

Tip: Avoid models with hybrid storage (HDD + SSD) as they slow down performance.

9. Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i5-9300H in 2025 is a choice for those who:

- Are looking for an affordable laptop for work and gaming (up to $800).

- Do not intend to run heavy 3D applications.

- Are willing to tolerate moderate battery life.

Key Benefits: balance of price and performance, proven reliability, compatibility with most Windows applications. If your budget allows an additional $200-300, consider laptops based on Ryzen 5 6600H or Intel Core i5-12450H — they will offer a better future-proof solution.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

April 2019

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i5-9300H

Code Name

Coffee Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

2.40 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

4.10 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCBGA1440

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

14 nm

TDP

45 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR4-2666 | LPDDR3-2133

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

128 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

41.8 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.05 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@30Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (VGA)

N/A

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

8 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel Flex Memory Access

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1268

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

3656

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

968

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

3191

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2306

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

7638

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-1185G7E

1353 +6.7%

Xeon E-2186M

1310 +3.3%

Core i5-9300H

1268

Xeon E3-1280 v3

1226 -3.3%

Xeon W-2123

1187 -6.4%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i7-1065G7

4122 +12.7%

Core i7-4790S

3872 +5.9%

Core i5-9300H

3656

Xeon E5-2620

3412 -6.7%

Core i3-9100T

3189 -12.8%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i5-8400H

1015 +4.9%

Xeon Gold 6338N

994 +2.7%

Core i5-9300H

968

Core i3-10100T

947 -2.2%

Ryzen 7 3780U

930 -3.9%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i7-1180G7

3446 +8%

Xeon E5-1620 v2

3316 +3.9%

Core i5-9300H

3191

Core i7-3770

3072 -3.7%

Ryzen 5 PRO 1500

2927 -8.3%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i3-10300T

2371 +2.8%

Ryzen 5 3400G

2340 +1.5%

Core i5-9300H

2306

Ryzen Threadripper 1950X

2279 -1.2%

Core i7-5775R

2247 -2.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E3-1280 v5

8362 +9.5%

Core i3-10105T

8024 +5.1%

Core i5-9300H

7638

Xeon E-2124G

7413 -2.9%

Core i3-9300

7137 -6.6%