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Intel Core i7-11850H

Intel Core i7-11850H: Power for Professionals and Gamers in 2025

April 2025

Introduction

The Intel Core i7-11850H processor, released in 2021, remains a relevant choice for high-performance laptops. Despite the introduction of new CPU generations, this chip retains its popularity due to a balance of power, energy efficiency, and affordability. In 2025, laptops featuring the i7-11850H can be found in the $900–$1500 range, making them appealing for those seeking a "sweet spot." Let's explore who this processor is suitable for and what it is capable of.

Architecture and Process: 10 nm SuperFin and 8 Cores

Hybrid Tiger Lake Architecture

The Core i7-11850H is built on the Willow Cove microarchitecture (codenamed Tiger Lake) using the 10nm SuperFin process. This technology allowed Intel to significantly improve energy efficiency and clock speeds.

- Cores and Threads: 8 cores (6 Performance-cores + 2 Efficient-cores) and 16 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading.

- Frequencies: Base frequency of 2.5 GHz, maximum Turbo Boost frequency of up to 4.8 GHz.

- Cache: 24 MB of L3 cache for fast data access.

Integrated Graphics

The integrated GPU is Intel UHD Graphics for the 11th generation (Xe-LP). Its capabilities are sufficient for:

- 4K video playback.

- Casual gaming (e.g., CS:GO at medium settings — 40–60 FPS).

- Working with graphic editors (Photoshop, Lightroom).

Important: For gaming or 3D modeling, a discrete graphics card (NVIDIA RTX 3050 and above) is recommended.

Power Consumption and TDP: 35 Watts with Caveats

The nominal TDP of the i7-11850H is 35W, but in Turbo mode, power can reach 65–70W. This creates two scenarios:

1. Ultrabooks: Manufacturers limit TDP to 35W for improved battery life, which reduces peak performance.

2. Gaming Laptops: TDP is raised to 45–50W, enhancing cooling (e.g., ASUS ROG Zephyrus with Liquid Metal cooling).

Tip: When buying, check how the TDP is configured in a specific laptop model. For example, the Dell XPS 15 (2023) with this CPU sustains a stable 40W, while the MSI GP66 Leopard goes up to 55W.

Performance: Real Tasks and Turbo Mode

Office and Multimedia

- Office Applications: In Microsoft Office, browsers with 20+ tabs, the processor runs at 10–20% load.

- 4K Video: Rendering in DaVinci Resolve takes 15% less time than with the i7-10750H.

- Multitasking: Running Photoshop, Zoom, and streaming music simultaneously causes no lag.

Gaming

- With a Discrete GPU: Paired with the RTX 3060 in Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, DLSS) — 60–70 FPS.

- On iGPU: The Witcher 3 at low settings — 25–30 FPS.

Turbo Mode

In the Cinebench R23 benchmark:

- Single-Core Test: 1964 points (Geekbench 6) — on par with Ryzen 7 6800H.

- Multi-Core Test: 8109 points — higher than the Apple M1 Pro (2023).

However, Turbo mode lasts only a short time (1–2 minutes) without powerful cooling. In thin laptops (e.g., HP Spectre x360), the frequency may drop to 3.2 GHz under load.

Usage Scenarios: Who is the i7-11850H Suitable For?

1. Professionals:

- Video editing in Premiere Pro.

- 3D rendering in Blender (20% faster than the i7-10875H).

2. Gamers: In combination with an RTX 3060 level GPU.

3. Students and Office Workers: For multitasking and working with "heavy" Excel spreadsheets.

Example: The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (2023) with i7-11850H and RTX 3070 Ti ($1400) is an excellent choice for streaming and gaming.

Battery Life: 4–8 Hours Depending on Load

At a TDP of 35W, battery life varies:

- Web Browsing: Up to 8 hours (brightness 150 nits, power-saving mode).

- Gaming: 1.5–2 hours (even with optimizations).

Power-saving Technologies:

- Intel Speed Shift: Dynamically changes frequency to reduce power consumption.

- Dynamic Tuning 2.0: Analyzes load and temperature, adjusting power accordingly.

Tip: To extend battery life, disable Turbo Boost in power settings.

Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (Zen 3)

- Pros of AMD: Better multi-threaded performance in Blender (+10%).

- Cons: Weaker in single-threaded tasks (-15%), lacks Thunderbolt 4.

Apple M2 Pro (2024)

- Pros of Apple: Up to 12 hours of battery life, cool operation.

- Cons: Limited compatibility with Windows software.

Intel Core i7-12800H (Alder Lake)

- Pros of the Newcomer: +20% performance boost in gaming.

- Cons: Laptops with it are more expensive by $200–$300.

Conclusion: In 2025, the i7-11850H is advantageous for those seeking a proven CPU with a good price-to-performance ratio.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- High single-threaded performance.

- Support for Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 4.0.

- Optimal for hybrid tasks (gaming + work).

Weaknesses:

- Heating under prolonged load.

- Dependent on the quality of the cooling system.

- iGPU is weaker than Radeon 680M (Ryzen 6000).

Recommendations for Laptop Selection

1. Gaming Models:

- A discrete GPU (RTX 3060 or above) is essential.

- Check for 2–3 fans and heat pipes.

- Example: Acer Predator Helios 300 ($1300).

2. Ultrabooks:

- Choose models with a battery of at least 70 Wh.

- Avoid overly thin cases (less than 16 mm) — they will throttle.

- Example: ASUS ZenBook 14X ($1100).

3. Workstations:

- Look for 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD.

- Important to have a display covering 100% sRGB.

- Example: MSI Creator Z16 ($1500).

Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i7-11850H in 2025 is a great choice for:

- Professionals who need stable power for rendering.

- Gamers who are willing to compromise on price and performance.

- Universal users who value a balance between battery life and speed.

Key Benefits:

- Power for most tasks at $900–$1500.

- Flexibility of use (from office work to gaming).

- Long-lasting relevance due to support for modern interfaces.

If you are not chasing the top-end specifications of the latest CPUs, the i7-11850H remains a reliable option even four years post-release.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

May 2021

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.

i7-11850H

Code Name

Tiger 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.

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.

4.80 GHz

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

L3 Cache

24 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCBGA1787

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.

10 nm SuperFin

TDP

35 W

Max. Operating Temperature

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

100C

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.

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+1x4 | 2x8+1x4 | 1x8+3x4

Microprocessor PCIe Revision

Gen 4

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.

Up to 3200 MT/s

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).

51.2 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 for 11th Gen Intel® Processors

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.

1.45 GHz

DirectX Support

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

12.1

Execution Units

The Execution Unit is the foundational building block of Intel’s graphics architecture. Execution Units are compute processors optimized for simultaneous Multi-Threading for high throughput compute power.

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.

4096x2304@60Hz

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.

7680x4320@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.

4096x2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

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

eDP 1.4b | DP 1.4 | HDMI 2.0b

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

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.

24 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 Volume Management Device (VMD)

Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) provides a common, robust method of hot plug and LED management for NVMe-based solid state drives.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

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 Control-Flow Enforcement Technology

CET - Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) helps protect against the misuse of legitimate code snippets through return-oriented programming (ROP) control-flow hijacking attacks.

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.

4.6

OpenCL Support

OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is a multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for heterogeneous parallel programming.

3.0

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

1964

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

8109

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1386

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

7317

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

3131

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

20610

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon w5-2455X

2162 +10.1%

Core i9-13900TE

2053 +4.5%

Core i7-11850H

1964

Core i5-1235U

1860 -5.3%

Core i7-1260P

1738 -11.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i9-10900X X-series

9021 +11.2%

Core i5-12500H

8552 +5.5%

Core i7-11850H

8109

Ryzen 5 5600G

7672 -5.4%

Xeon Platinum 8164

7212 -11.1%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i3-1210U

1531 +10.5%

Core i7-1255U

1452 +4.8%

Core i7-11850H

1386

Core i7-13700E

1331 -4%

Core i5-1145G7

1287 -7.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i5-1340P

8065 +10.2%

Xeon D-1587

7706 +5.3%

Core i7-11850H

7317

Ryzen 7 5800H

6897 -5.7%

Ryzen 5 PRO 5650GE

6538 -10.6%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Ryzen 5 5600

3257 +4%

Xeon W-11555MRE

3201 +2.2%

Core i7-11850H

3131

Ryzen 7 5800HS

3043 -2.8%

Xeon E-2324G

2953 -5.7%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Ryzen 5 5600X

22088 +7.2%

Core i9-11950H

21379 +3.7%

Core i7-11850H

20610

Ryzen 5 230

19681 -4.5%

Xeon D-2752TER

19102 -7.3%