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Intel Core i5-11500H

Intel Core i5-11500H: A Balance of Power and Mobility in 2025

April 2025

Despite being released back in 2021, the Intel Core i5-11500H remains a relevant option for budget and mid-range laptops in 2025. This processor offers sufficient performance for most tasks, moderate power consumption, and an affordable price. Let’s explore who it is suitable for today and how it stands against modern competitors.

Architecture and Process Technology: 10 nm SuperFin and Hybrid Technologies

The Intel Core i5-11500H belongs to the Tiger Lake-H generation, which marked an important step for the company in the fight for energy efficiency.

Key Specifications

- Process Technology: 10 nm SuperFin – an improved version of the 10-nanometer technology that has reduced power consumption and increased clock speeds.

- Cores and Threads: 6 cores, 12 threads. Unlike the top models in the H45 series (e.g., i7-11800H), it lacks additional efficient cores — all cores are identical (monolithic architecture).

- Clock Speeds: Base – 2.9 GHz, maximum in Turbo Boost – 4.6 GHz. In multi-threaded tasks, the processor reliably maintains around 4.2 GHz with good cooling.

- Cache: L3 – 12 MB, which is sufficient for data processing in games and professional applications.

Integrated Graphics

The integrated GPU is Intel UHD Graphics for the 11th generation (Xe-LP with 32 EUs). This is a significant step forward compared to previous generations:

- Support for DirectX 12, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4.

- Capability to output to 4K monitors at 60 Hz.

- Gaming performance: CS:GO – 50-60 FPS on medium settings (1080p), GTA V – 30-40 FPS (low settings).

Architectural Features:

- Support for PCIe 4.0 (up to 20 lanes) – relevant for fast NVMe storage.

- Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) – standards that remain in demand in 2025.

Power Consumption and TDP: A Balance of Power and Longevity

The nominal TDP of the processor is 35 W, but in reality, it can consume up to 45-50 W under peak loads (for example, during gaming or rendering). This imposes demands on the laptop's cooling system:

- Thin Ultrabooks (e.g., Dell XPS 15 9520) with passive cooling may limit performance to reduce temperature.

- Gaming and Work Laptops (Acer Nitro 5, Lenovo Legion 5) with active coolers allow the processor to operate at maximum frequencies for longer.

Tip: When purchasing, pay attention to the thickness of the chassis and the number of ventilation holes. For example, laptops with the i5-11500H in a chassis less than 18 mm thick often overheat.

Performance: From Office to Gaming

Office Tasks and Multimedia

- Geekbench 6: 1894 (single-core), 6388 (multi-core). This level is sufficient for working with large Excel spreadsheets, Photoshop, and 4K video in Premiere Pro (with discrete graphics).

- Real Tests:

- Rendering a 10-minute video in DaVinci Resolve (1080p): ~12 minutes.

- Running 20 tabs in Chrome + streaming YouTube: without lags.

Gaming

With a discrete graphics card (e.g., NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti or AMD RX 6600M):

- Cyberpunk 2077: 50-60 FPS on medium settings (1080p).

- Elden Ring: 45-55 FPS (high settings).

Turbo Boost: In turbo mode, the processor maintains frequencies around 4.4–4.6 GHz for up to 30 seconds, which is useful for short bursts of load (level loading in games, opening heavy applications). However, in prolonged tasks (e.g., rendering), frequencies drop to 3.8–4.0 GHz.

Use Cases: Who is the i5-11500H Made For?

1. Students and Office Workers – multitasking, working with graphics and databases.

2. Budget Gamers – paired with a GPU like the RTX 3050.

3. Freelancers – video editing, 3D modeling (Blender, AutoCAD).

Example: The HP Victus 16 laptop (priced $700–800 in 2025) with an i5-11500H and RTX 3050 handles gaming and editing excellently.

Battery Life: How Long Does the Charge Last?

At a TDP of 35 W, battery life significantly varies with tasks:

- Web Browsing: 6–7 hours (brightness 50%, Wi-Fi).

- Gaming: 1.5–2 hours.

Power-saving Technologies:

- Intel Speed Shift – dynamic frequency management.

- Adaptix Dynamic Tuning – machine learning for load optimization.

Tip: In Windows settings, switch to “Battery Saver” mode to extend battery life by 20–30%.

Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (Zen 3, 7 nm)

- Pros: Better multi-threaded performance (~10% in Cinebench R23).

- Cons: Weaker in single-threaded tasks (Geekbench 6 Single Core – ~1700).

Apple M1

- Pros: Battery life (up to 15 hours), cool operation.

- Cons: Limited compatibility with Windows programs.

Conclusion: The i5-11500H excels over AMD in gaming due to its high single-threaded performance, but falls short in battery life.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- Excellent performance in games and single-threaded tasks.

- Support for modern standards (PCIe 4.0, Thunderbolt 4).

- Affordable laptop prices ($600–900).

Weaknesses:

- High power consumption under load.

- Integrated graphics are weaker than those of the Ryzen 5 5600H (Vega 7).

Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

1. Gaming Laptop: Look for models with RTX 3050/3060 and a 144 Hz display (e.g., Lenovo Legion 5 – $850).

2. Workstation: At least 16+ GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD (MSI Creator M16 – $950).

3. Versatile Option: Laptops with a 15–16 inch screen and a 70+ Wh battery (Asus VivoBook Pro 15 – $750).

Important: Ensure the laptop has at least 2 fans and 3 heat pipes.

Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i5-11500H in 2025 is an excellent choice for those seeking an affordable yet powerful laptop for gaming, work, and creativity. Its key advantages include:

- Strong single-threaded performance.

- Support for current connectivity standards.

- Optimal pricing.

It's suitable for:

- Gamers with a budget under $1000.

- Freelancers working with graphics.

- Students needing a versatile device.

If battery life is more important to you than power, consider laptops with the Apple M2 or AMD Ryzen 7 6800U.

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.

i5-11500H

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.

4.60 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

12 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.

100°C

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 Image Processing Unit

6.0

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 | Intel® AVX-512

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.

12 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 High Definition Audio

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 Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost)

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

1894

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

6388

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1365

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

5001

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

3085

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

16171

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 9 5900

2080 +9.8%

Xeon w7-2475X

1994 +5.3%

Core i5-11500H

1894

Ryzen 7 7736U

1768 -6.7%

Ryzen 7 5800HS

1684 -11.1%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon Platinum 8164

7212 +12.9%

Xeon E-2374G

6846 +7.2%

Core i5-11500H

6388

Ryzen 7 4800HS

5983 -6.3%

Ryzen 5 PRO 5655GE

5594 -12.4%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Ryzen 9 6900HX

1498 +9.7%

Core i3-12100E

1433 +5%

Core i5-11500H

1365

Ryzen 5 3600X

1314 -3.7%

Ryzen 3 3300X

1272 -6.8%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E5-4617

5530 +10.6%

Xeon E-2324G

5252 +5%

Core i5-11500H

5001

Ryzen 7 3780U Microsoft Surface Edition

4762 -4.8%

Xeon E5-2665

4519 -9.6%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i7-13700TE

3228 +4.6%

Ryzen 3 PRO 7330U

3183 +3.2%

Core i5-11500H

3085

Ryzen 3 7330U

3005 -2.6%

Core i5-11260H

2932 -5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Ryzen 7 2700

17552 +8.5%

Xeon E-2336

16768 +3.7%

Core i5-11500H

16171

Xeon E5-4667 v3

15397 -4.8%

Ryzen 5 PRO 5675U

14719 -9%