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Intel Core i9-10885H

Intel Core i9-10885H: The Power of Comet Lake in the Age of New Technologies

April 2025

Despite the emergence of 5nm and 3nm processors, some solutions from previous years remain relevant due to their balance of price and performance. One such example is the Intel Core i9-10885H, released in 2020. Let's explore who in 2025 should pay attention to this CPU and what tasks it can handle.

Architecture and Process: 14nm, 8 Cores, and Turbo Modes

Comet Lake-H: The Final Push of 14nm

The Core i9-10885H belongs to the Comet Lake-H family, which represents the pinnacle of Intel's 14nm technology development. This is an 8-core processor with 16 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading. The base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with a maximum in turbo mode of 5.3 GHz (for a single core).

Architecture Features:

- 16MB L3 Cache — enhances the performance of multi-threaded tasks (rendering, encoding).

- Integrated Intel UHD Graphics for 10th Generation — 24 EU (Execution Units), frequency up to 1.2 GHz. Suitable for basic tasks: office applications, 4K video, casual gaming (e.g., CS:GO on low settings).

- Supports DDR4-2933 Memory — relevant for workstations.

Why 14nm is Not a Sentence?

Although the 14nm process lags behind modern 7nm (AMD) or 5nm (Apple) in energy efficiency, Intel has optimized the architecture for maximum performance at high frequencies. This makes the i9-10885H competitive in tasks where single-core speed is crucial.

Power Consumption and TDP: 45W and Cooling Realities

TDP of 45W: What Does It Mean in Practice?

The nominal TDP of 45W is an average figure. In turbo mode, power can reach 100-120W, requiring an efficient cooling system. In laptops, this means:

- A thick chassis (20-25 mm) with large heatsinks.

- Noisy fans under load.

- The risk of throttling (frequency reduction) in compact devices.

Example: The MSI GE66 Raider laptop with the i9-10885H and RTX 3080 demonstrates stable performance in games, but during prolonged rendering, the CPU temperature reaches 95°C, which is typical for Comet Lake.

Performance: Gaming, Editing, and Office Work

Geekbench 6: 1539 (Single-Core), 6521 (Multi-Core)

These results show that the i9-10885H still outperforms many budget modern CPUs in single-threaded tasks.

Real-World Scenarios:

1. Office and Multimedia:

- Running 50+ tabs in Chrome + streaming 4K video — no lag.

- Photoshop, Lightroom: processing RAW files at 30MP takes 1-2 seconds per operation.

2. Gaming:

- In combination with a discrete GPU (e.g., RTX 4070): Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra (1080p) — 75-90 FPS.

- Turbo mode supports high frequencies during short loads (level loading, shooter skirmishes).

3. Professional Tasks:

- Premiere Pro: rendering a 10-minute 4K H.264 video — about 8-10 minutes.

- Blender (BMW scene): 4 minutes 20 seconds — worse than the Ryzen 9 5900HX (3 minutes 50 seconds), but better than the i7-10750H.

Turbo Boost Max 3.0 Mode:

This technology automatically boosts the most powerful cores. For example, in games, 2-4 cores can operate at 5.1-5.3 GHz, ensuring smooth FPS.

Use Cases: Who Should Choose the i9-10885H in 2025?

1. Budget Gamers. Laptops with this processor now cost $1200-$1700 (new models are rare, but stock remains). A good choice for gaming with an RTX 4070 or similar GPU.

2. Engineers and Designers. Support for Thunderbolt 3 and 64GB DDR4 is relevant for CAD software.

3. Users Who Value Compatibility. Windows 11 and older enterprise applications run more reliably than on ARM processors.

Who Should Avoid It:

- Those who value battery life (less than 4 hours with active use).

- Fans of thin ultrabooks (chassis thickness from 20 mm).

Battery Life: A Compromise Between Power and Runtime

80-90 Wh Battery: Realities of 2025

Even with modern energy-efficient displays and SSDs, laptops with the i9-10885H rarely last more than 5-6 hours in web browsing mode. The reason is the high power consumption of the CPU.

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel Speed Shift — fast frequency adjustment to reduce power consumption.

- Adaptix Thermal Framework — dynamic cooling management.

- Windows "Battery Saver" mode — caps frequencies at 1.5 GHz.

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

Comparison with Competitors: AMD, Apple, and Previous Generations

1. AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (Zen 3, 7nm):

- Better in multi-threaded tasks (+15% in Cinebench R23).

- Worse in single-threaded (-8% compared to the i9-10885H).

- TDP of 45W, but more efficient due to 7nm process.

2. Apple M2 Pro (5nm):

- Twice the battery life.

- Incompatibility with Windows and many games.

3. Intel Core i7-13700H (Raptor Lake, 10nm):

- +20% in multi-threaded performance.

- Laptop prices starting from $1800.

Conclusion: The i9-10885H is a choice for those who prioritize price and single-threaded performance.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- High turbo frequencies for gaming and demanding applications.

- Support for Thunderbolt 3 and Wi-Fi 6.

- Affordable price in the used and new leftover device segment ($1000-$1500).

Weaknesses:

- Heat and noise from the cooling system.

- No support for PCIe 4.0.

- Inferior performance to Ryzen in multi-threading.

Recommendations for Laptop Selection

1. Type of Device:

- Gaming Laptop (ASUS ROG Strix, MSI GP66) — focus on cooling.

- Mobile Workstation (Dell Precision 7550) — support for ECC memory.

2. What to Look For:

- Number of heat pipes (at least 3).

- Battery capacity of at least 80Wh.

- Thunderbolt 3 ports for external GPUs or storage.

Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i9-10885H in 2025 is a choice for:

- Gamers who want to save money but are not ready to upgrade to the 13th generation of Intel.

- Professionals working with applications sensitive to frequency (e.g., AutoCAD).

- Users who require maximum compatibility with Thunderbolt 3 peripherals.

Key Benefits: Power in single-threaded tasks, affordable price, and proven reliability. However, these advantages come at the cost of battery life and compactness.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

April 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.

i9-10885H

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).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

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.

5.30 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

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency

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. Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 frequency is the clock frequency of the CPU when running in this mode.

5.10 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Yes

L3 Cache

16 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.

DDR4-2933

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.

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.

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.

1.25 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.

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

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.

16 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

1539

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

6521

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1113

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

5835

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2770

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

15244

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Pentium Gold G7400TE

1652 +7.3%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX

1596 +3.7%

Core i9-10885H

1539

EPYC 7F72

1483 -3.6%

Core i9-9940X X-series

1432 -7%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2699 v3

7380 +13.2%

Xeon E7-8857 v2

6952 +6.6%

Core i9-10885H

6521

Xeon E5-2666 v3

6173 -5.3%

Xeon E-2226G

5735 -12.1%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon E3-1240 v6

1163 +4.5%

Xeon W-2245

1131 +1.6%

Core i9-10885H

1113

Pentium Gold 7505

1090 -2.1%

Xeon E3-1230 v6

1068 -4%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2618L v4

6391 +9.5%

Xeon E5-2695 v4

6042 +3.5%

Core i9-10885H

5835

Xeon Silver 4214R

5525 -5.3%

Core i7-8750H

5247 -10.1%

Passmark CPU Single Core

EPYC 9654

2922 +5.5%

Core i7-1185G7

2836 +2.4%

Core i9-10885H

2770

Core i9-10920X

2737 -1.2%

Ryzen 7 PRO 4750GE

2690 -2.9%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E5-2698B v3

16633 +9.1%

Xeon E5-2660 v4

16070 +5.4%

Core i9-10885H

15244

Ryzen 7 2700E

14657 -3.9%

14156 -7.1%