Intel Core i5-10200H

Intel Core i5-10200H

Intel Core i5-10200H in 2025: Is it Worth Buying a Laptop with This Processor?


Introduction

In 2025, the laptop market is filled with processors based on 5nm and 3nm technology, integrated neural networks in chips, and AI optimization. However, even under such circumstances, models with the Intel Core i5-10200H continue to be sold as a budget solution. Let's explore who might find this CPU suitable in the era of Ryzen 8000 and Intel Core Ultra dominance.


Architecture and Process Technology: The Legacy of the 14nm Era

Comet Lake-H is the codename for the processor released back in 2020. Its architecture is based on the outdated 14nm technology that Intel has been using since 2014. This generation marked the last before the company transitioned to more efficient 10nm and 7nm processes.

- Cores and Threads: 4 cores, 8 threads (Hyper-Threading).

- Clock Speeds: Base — 2.4 GHz, maximum in Turbo Boost — 4.1 GHz.

- Cache: L3 — 6 MB.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics for the 10th generation (24 EU, frequency up to 1.05 GHz).

Architecture Features:

- No support for PCIe 4.0 — only PCIe 3.0.

- No hardware acceleration for AI tasks (unlike Core Ultra).

- The iGPU is weaker than AMD Vega and RDNA 2: suitable only for 4K video playback and simple games at 720p (e.g., Dota 2 at low settings — 30-40 FPS).


Power Consumption and TDP: The Cost of Performance

A TDP of 45W was standard for gaming and work laptops from 2020-2022. However, in 2025 this seems excessive. For comparison:

- AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (4nm) shows 30% higher performance at a TDP of 28W.

- Apple M3 (3nm) in the MacBook Air requires no active cooling at all.

Heat Output:

Even in laptops with dual fans (e.g., Acer Nitro 5), the Core i5-10200H heats up to 85-90°C under load. This leads to throttling — a 10-15% reduction in clock speeds after 20-30 minutes in Turbo mode.


Performance: The Reality of 2025

Office Tasks:

- Running 20+ tabs in Chrome, Microsoft 365, Zoom — the processor manages but can experience lag with Excel macros during heavy usage.

- Geekbench 6: 1316 (Single-Core) / 3860 (Multi-Core). For comparison: Ryzen 5 5500U — 1450/4500.

Multimedia:

- Video conversion using HandBrake (1080p → 720p): ~12 minutes (compared to 8 minutes for Ryzen 5 7530U).

- Editing in Photoshop: filters apply with a delay of 1-2 seconds.

Gaming:

- Paired with GeForce GTX 1650: Fortnite at medium settings in 1080p — 50-60 FPS.

- On iGPU: Genshin Impact at 720p — 25-30 FPS.

Turbo Boost:

The maximum frequency of 4.1 GHz is achieved only on 1-2 cores and lasts no longer than 3-4 minutes. In multi-threaded tasks (rendering), the frequency stabilizes at 3.2-3.5 GHz.


Use Scenarios: Who is the i5-10200H Suitable For in 2025?

1. Students: For studying (Word, PowerPoint, online courses) and light entertainment (Netflix, indie games).

2. Office Workers: Working with email, documents, CRM systems.

3. Budget Gamers: Paired with a discrete GPU like the GTX 1650 or RTX 3050 (though such laptops are rare in 2025).

4. Windows 10 Users: The processor does not support Windows 12 and its AI features.

Who It Isn’t Suitable For:

- Video editors (slow rendering in Premiere Pro).

- Streamers (poor multi-threading for simultaneous gaming and streaming).

- Battery life enthusiasts (laptops with this CPU rarely last longer than 5 hours).


Battery Life: How to Extend Battery Life

At a TDP of 45W, even a large 60Wh battery provides only 4-5 hours of work in web browsing mode.

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel Speed Shift: Dynamic frequency switching to reduce power consumption.

- C-States: Disabling unused cores.

Tips:

- Reduce screen brightness to 50%.

- Disable Turbo Boost in power settings.

- Use the "Battery Saver" mode in Windows.


Comparison with Competitors: What to Buy Instead of the i5-10200H?

1. AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (Zen 3, 6nm):

- Pros: +25% multi-threaded performance, PCIe 4.0 support, iGPU Radeon RX Vega 7 (twice as fast as UHD).

- Cons: More expensive by $70-100. Laptops starting at $650.

2. Apple M1 (2020):

- Pros: 18 hours of battery life, silent operation, performance comparable to Core i7-11800H.

- Cons: macOS, limited upgradeability. MacBook Air M1 — from $799 (new).

3. Intel Core Ultra 5 120U (Meteor Lake, 7nm):

- Pros: AI accelerator, Wi-Fi 7 support, AV1 decoding.

- Cons: High price (laptops from $900).


Pros and Cons of the Core i5-10200H

Strengths:

- Low price: laptops from $500.

- Adequate performance for basic tasks.

- Compatibility with Windows 10 and Linux.

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 14nm process technology.

- High power consumption.

- No support for DDR5 and PCIe 4.0.


Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

1. Device Type:

- Budget Gaming: ASUS TUF Gaming F15 (with GTX 1650) — $600-700.

- General Purpose: HP Pavilion 15 — $550.

2. What to Look For:

- Cooling: 2 fans + 3 heat pipes.

- RAM: Minimum 16GB DDR4.

- Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD.

3. What to Avoid:

- Laptops with TN panel screens.

- Models with HDD instead of SSD.


Final Conclusion

Intel Core i5-10200H in 2025 is a choice for those who need an inexpensive laptop ($500-700) for basic tasks. It falls short against modern counterparts in energy efficiency and AI capabilities but remains a workhorse for office and study tasks. If your budget is tight and hardware demands are minimal, this processor is still relevant. However, for future-proofing, it’s better to consider Ryzen 5 or Core Ultra 5.

Basic

Label Name
Intel
Platform
Mobile
Launch Date
September 2020
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.
i5-10200H
Code Name
Comet 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).
4
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
8
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 2.0 Frequency
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
Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0
?
Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.
No
L3 Cache
6 MB
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.
16
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.
DDR4-2933
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.
2
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).
45.8 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.
No

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 10th 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.
1.05 GHz
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.
12
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.
12
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
Number of Displays Supported
3
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 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 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
1316
Geekbench 6
Multi Core Score
3860
Geekbench 5
Single Core Score
954
Geekbench 5
Multi Core Score
3015
Passmark CPU
Single Core Score
2453
Passmark CPU
Multi Core Score
8172

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core
1389 +5.5%
1274 -3.2%
1232 -6.4%
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
4315 +11.8%
4090 +6%
3615 -6.3%
3399 -11.9%
Geekbench 5 Single Core
1001 +4.9%
935 -2%
920 -3.6%
Geekbench 5 Multi Core
3258 +8.1%
3150 +4.5%
2859 -5.2%
2726 -9.6%
Passmark CPU Single Core
2546 +3.8%
2504 +2.1%
2425 -1.1%
2390 -2.6%
Passmark CPU Multi Core
9008 +10.2%
8496 +4%
7770 -4.9%
7483 -8.4%