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Intel Core i7-6820HQ

Intel Core i7-6820HQ in 2025: Is it worth getting this "veteran" of Skylake?

Let's explore who might benefit from this 4-core processor from 2015 in the age of neural networks and 5 nm chips.

1. Architecture and Process Technology: What Skylake Hides

The Intel Core i7-6820HQ, released in 2015, belongs to the Skylake generation — the sixth series of Intel Core. Despite its age, in 2025 it is still found in budget work laptops and refurbished devices.

- Cores and Threads: 4 physical cores and 8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading. Base frequency is 2.7 GHz, turbo mode boosts it to 3.6 GHz (one core) or 3.2 GHz (all cores).

- 14 nm Process Technology: A breakthrough for its time, but today even budget chips are manufactured using 7–10 nm processes (e.g., Intel Alder Lake or AMD Zen 3).

- Integrated Graphics HD Graphics 530: 24 EU (Execution Units), base frequency of 350 MHz, turbo up to 1050 MHz. Supports 4K@60 Hz via DisplayPort and hardware decoding of H.265. In gaming, it provides only a "basic" level: CS:GO at low settings gives 40–50 FPS at 1080p.

Architecture Features:

- Support for DDR4-2133 MHz and LPDDR3 — relevant for upgrading older laptops.

- Improved IPC (instructions per clock cycle) by 5–10% compared to the previous Broadwell generation.

- Extended AVX2 instructions for accelerating computations in scientific tasks.

2. Power Consumption and TDP: Balancing Power and Heat

With a TDP of 45 W, the i7-6820HQ is positioned as a processor for "thick" laptops and mobile workstations.

- Heat Output: Without an efficient cooling system (such as large heat sinks and dual fans), the chip quickly reaches 90–95°C under load.

- Real Scenarios: In office tasks (Chrome, Word), power consumption drops to 10–15 W thanks to SpeedShift technology, but during rendering or gaming, it remains consistently at 45 W.

Tip: When purchasing a laptop with this CPU, check reviews regarding fan noise. For instance, the Dell Precision 5510 with i7-6820HQ is known for adequate cooling, whereas some thin models from Gigabyte may throttle.

3. Performance: What Can It Do in 2025?

Office and Multimedia:

- Chrome with 20 Tabs + Zoom: Core load is 30–40%, no lag.

- 4K Video in VLC: Integrated graphics handle it easily.

Rendering and Heavy Tasks:

- Blender (BMW demo scene): Renders in 12 minutes. For comparison, a Ryzen 5 5600H (6 cores) will complete this in 7–8 minutes.

- Photoshop (filters + layers): Delays possible when working with files larger than 2 GB.

Gaming:

- With a discrete GPU (e.g., NVIDIA GTX 1060): Pairing with the i7-6820HQ still allows for playing Apex Legends at medium settings (60 FPS at 1080p).

- Using Integrated Graphics: Only old titles like Dota 2 or Minecraft.

Turbo Boost Mode: Automatic overclocking to 3.6 GHz works reliably for short tasks (launching applications), but during prolonged workloads (streaming), the frequency drops to 3.2 GHz due to overheating.

4. Use Cases: Who Is It Suitable For?

- Students and Office Workers: For Word, Excel, Zoom, and light editing in Premiere Pro (1080p).

- Engineers: Compatible with AutoCAD 2025 (requires at least 4 cores), but complex 3D models may lag.

- Budget Gamers: Only when paired with a discrete GPU, like the GTX 1650.

Not Suitable For:

- Vloggers working with 4K videos in DaVinci Resolve.

- AI enthusiasts (Stable Diffusion, local LLMs) — lacking cores and AVX-512 support.

5. Battery Life: How Long Will It Last?

- Laptops with i7-6820HQ typically come equipped with batteries ranging from 50–60 Wh. By 2025, such batteries may already be degraded, but in new models (if any exist), the operating time will be:

- 6–7 hours for web surfing (brightness at 50%, Wi-Fi on).

- 1.5–2 hours under load.

- Power-Saving Technologies:

- SpeedStep: Dynamic frequency drop during idle.

- C-states: Disabling unused cores.

Recommendation: Choose laptops with a battery of at least 70 Wh and support for fast charging (e.g., HP ZBook 15 G3).

6. Comparison with Competitors: How Does It Stand Out?

- Intel Core i5-1135G7 (2020): 4 cores/8 threads, 10 nm, Iris Xe. In Geekbench 6 Multi-Core — 4200. Consumes half the power (28 W) but starts at $600 in new ultrabooks.

- AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (2021): 6 cores/12 threads, 7 nm, Vega 7. Multi-threaded performance — 4800 points. Laptops with it start at $550.

- Apple M1 (2020): 8 cores, 5 nm. Geekbench 6 Multi-Core — 7500. Priced from $900 — a clear favorite, but only for macOS.

Conclusion: In 2025, the i7-6820HQ is a choice for those looking for an affordable Windows laptop for basic tasks (up to $400–500 for a new device).

7. Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Affordable laptop prices (new models — $450–600).

- Support for up to 64 GB DDR4 — useful for virtualization.

- Reliability: A proven architecture over the years.

Weaknesses:

- No support for PCIe 4.0, Thunderbolt 4.

- High heat output.

- Outdated iGPU: Will struggle with modern AV1 codecs.

8. Laptop Selection Recommendations

- Type of Device:

- Workstation: Dell Precision 3510 (4 RAM slots, ECC support).

- Budget Gaming Laptop: MSI GE62 Apache Pro (with GTX 1060, often found in new stock for $700).

- What to Look For:

- SSD size (at least 512 GB NVMe).

- Ports: USB-C with Power Delivery for charging.

- Display: IPS with Anti-Glare coating.

9. Final Conclusion: Who Is the i7-6820HQ Suitable For in 2025?

This processor is suitable for:

- Budget Users looking for a Windows laptop for study and work without frills.

- Upgrade Enthusiasts: Buying a used model for $200–300 and adding RAM and an SSD can extend its life by 2–3 years.

- Corporate Clients: Where stability matters more than innovation.

Key Benefits: Low cost, proven reliability, adequate power for everyday tasks. However, if your budget allows for an additional $100–200, consider opting for a Ryzen 5 or Core i5 of the 11th generation: they will offer greater performance with less heat.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

July 2015

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.

i7-6820HQ

Code Name

SkyLake

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

2.70 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.

3.60 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.60 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.

DDR4-2133 | LPDDR3-1866 | DDR3L-1600

Max Memory Size

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

64 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).

34.1 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® HD Graphics 530

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.

4096x2304@24Hz

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.

4096x2304@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

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

1101

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

3467

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

859

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

3048

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1955

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

6822

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen Threadripper 1920X

1171 +6.4%

Xeon E5-2637 v3

1140 +3.5%

Core i7-6820HQ

1101

Core i3-8100T

1070 -2.8%

Xeon E-2276ME

1011 -8.2%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i7-6770HQ

3923 +13.2%

Core i7-6820HK

3690 +6.4%

Core i7-6820HQ

3467

Core i5-6500TE

3223 -7%

Ryzen 3 PRO 1200

3022 -12.8%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i7-4910MQ

890 +3.6%

Ryzen 5 PRO 2400GE

875 +1.9%

Core i7-6820HQ

859

Core i3-9300

841 -2.1%

Xeon E5-2669 v3

824 -4.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Bronze 3204

3293 +8%

Core i7-1060NG7

3175 +4.2%

Core i7-6820HQ

3048

Xeon Gold 6238L

2897 -5%

Xeon E3-1240L v5

2762 -9.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i7-5700HQ

2008 +2.7%

Pentium G3460

1982 +1.4%

Core i7-6820HQ

1955

Athlon PRO 300U

1931 -1.2%

Ryzen 5 1400

1900 -2.8%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i7-6920HQ

7307 +7.1%

Core i7-5850EQ

7036 +3.1%

Core i7-6820HQ

6822

Xeon E3-1290 v2

6529 -4.3%

Xeon E3-1225

6321 -7.3%