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Intel Core i7-7920HQ

Intel Core i7-7920HQ: Review and Relevance in 2025

Who is the "old but powerful" processor suitable for, and is it worth buying in 2025?

Architecture and Process Technology: What Kaby Lake Conceals

The Intel Core i7-7920HQ processor, released in 2017, belongs to the Kaby Lake generation. Despite its age, it still appears in new entry-level laptops (e.g., Dell Precision 3520 or HP ZBook 15 G4) thanks to its balance of price and performance.

Technical Features:

- 4 cores / 8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading.

- Base frequency — 3.1 GHz, maximum in turbo mode — 4.1 GHz (under single-core load).

- 8 MB L3 cache — sufficient for processing data in professional applications.

- Integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 with a frequency of up to 1100 MHz — suitable for basic tasks (4K video playback, light editing), but not for gaming.

- 14nm process technology — outdated by the standards of 2025, where 5nm (Apple M3) and 4nm (AMD Zen 5) chips dominate.

What Made Kaby Lake Stand Out at Its Time?

- Improved energy efficiency compared to Skylake (by 10-15%).

- Support for HDMI 2.0 and 10-bit HEVC decoding — relevant for multimedia tasks.

Power Consumption and TDP: Heat vs. Performance

TDP of 45W indicates that the processor is meant for laptops with an effective cooling system — workstations or gaming models.

What does this mean for the user?

- Under load (rendering, gaming), the chip consumes up to 60W, requiring robust cooling systems.

- In idle mode, power consumption drops to 2-5W thanks to SpeedStep technology.

- Laptops with the i7-7920HQ are rarely thin — the body thickness usually starts from 20mm.

Tip: When purchasing, check the cooling system. For example, the MSI WS63 with this CPU uses two fans and four heat pipes, reducing the risk of throttling.

Performance: How Does the Chip Handle Tasks in 2025?

Geekbench 6:

- Single-core — 1267, multi-core — 4152. For comparison: Apple M1 (2020) scores ~2300/8300, AMD Ryzen 5 5500U — ~1500/6000.

Real-World Scenarios:

- Office Work (Chrome, Excel, Zoom) — the processor does not struggle even with 20+ tabs open.

- Multimedia — rendering 1080p video in Premiere Pro takes about ~40-50 minutes (compared to 25 minutes for Ryzen 7 5800H).

- Gaming — paired with NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti: GTA V on medium settings (60 FPS), Cyberpunk 2077 — low settings (30-40 FPS).

Turbo Boost: Under short bursts of load (launching applications, archiving), the frequency jumps to 4.1 GHz but reduces to 3.5-3.8 GHz after 30-60 seconds due to heating.

Use Cases: Who is the i7-7920HQ Suitable for in 2025?

- Freelancers and Engineers: Programming, CAD modeling (SolidWorks), light video editing.

- Students: Working with graphics editors, virtualization (VMware, Docker).

- Budget Gamers: In combination with a discrete GPU (GTX 1650, RTX 3050) — capable of handling games from 2020-2022.

Not Suitable For:

- 4K video editing, neural network tasks (Stable Diffusion), gaming at the level of Cyberpunk 2077 with ultra settings.

Battery Life: How Long Will the Laptop Last Without a Wall Socket?

- For web browsing and document work: 4-6 hours (with a 60Wh battery).

- In maximum performance mode: 1.5-2 hours.

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel SpeedShift — dynamic frequency management.

- C-States — disabling unused cores.

Tip: Disable Turbo Boost in BIOS settings to increase battery life by 20-30%.

Comparison with Competitors: What to Look for in 2025

- AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (2021): Better in multi-threaded tasks (+25%), lower TDP (15W), cheaper (laptops starting at $600).

- Apple M1 (2020): Twice the performance per watt, but limited compatibility with Windows software.

- Intel Core i5-1240P (2022): 12 cores, 16 threads, TDP 28W — a more modern alternative for ultrabooks.

Conclusion: The i7-7920HQ lags behind newer models in energy efficiency but wins in laptop pricing (starting at $800).

Pros and Cons: Weighing the Arguments

Strengths:

- Reliability and proven architecture.

- Supports 64GB DDR4 RAM — relevant for workstations.

- Good compatibility with Windows 10/11 and Linux.

Weaknesses:

- High heating under load.

- No support for PCIe 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4.

- Outdated 14nm process technology.

Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

- Device Type: Workstation (Dell Precision), budget gaming laptop (Lenovo Legion 5).

- Mandatory Parameters:

- Discrete graphics card (NVIDIA RTX 3050 or higher).

- SSD NVMe 512GB.

- 16+ GB of RAM.

- Prices: New models — $800-1200.

Caution: Avoid devices with only HDDs and 8GB of RAM — this creates a bottleneck for the processor.

Final Conclusion: Who is the i7-7920HQ Suitable for in 2025?

This processor is a choice for those seeking an affordable laptop for professional tasks and moderate gaming. It falls short compared to modern chips in energy efficiency but shines when on a limited budget.

Key Benefits:

- Affordable price.

- Proven reliability.

- Good performance margin for basic professional tasks.

Alternative: If battery life and modern standards matter more, consider laptops with AMD Ryzen 5 7535U or Intel Core i5-1340P (starting at $1000).

Conclusion: The Intel Core i7-7920HQ in 2025 is a niche solution. It is suitable for those willing to tolerate heat and reduced battery life for saving $200-300. For most users, newer models will be preferable, but in the budget segment, this chip can still do a lot.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

January 2017

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.

i7-7920HQ

Code Name

Kaby 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

3.10 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

L3 Cache

8 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.

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.

DDR4-2400 | LPDDR3-2133 | 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).

37.5 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

GPU Name

Intel® HD 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.

1.10 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@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.

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 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

1267

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

4152

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

915

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

3396

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2247

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

7445

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 5 4600U

1352 +6.7%

Xeon E3-1270 v5

1308 +3.2%

Core i7-7920HQ

1267

Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX

1224 -3.4%

Core i7-4771

1186 -6.4%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

EPYC 7282

4654 +12.1%

Core i7-8569U

4403 +6%

Core i7-7920HQ

4152

Core i7-6770HQ

3923 -5.5%

Core i7-6820HK

3690 -11.1%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon Gold 6348H

947 +3.5%

Core i5-7600T

929 +1.5%

Core i7-7920HQ

915

Xeon E3-1275 v2

895 -2.2%

EPYC 7402P

879 -3.9%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i5-8279U

3655 +7.6%

Core i5-9300HF

3546 +4.4%

Core i7-7920HQ

3396

Core i3-10105T

3281 -3.4%

Core i7-4760HQ

3160 -6.9%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i5-8257U

2305 +2.6%

Xeon Gold 6226R

2277 +1.3%

Core i7-7920HQ

2247

Core i3-10110U

2219 -1.2%

Core i5-4690

2195 -2.3%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i7-4790

8065 +8.3%

Core i7-5950HQ

7696 +3.4%

Core i7-7920HQ

7445

Ryzen 5 3580U

7197 -3.3%

Xeon E5-1620 v3

6985 -6.2%