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Intel Core i9-9980HK

Intel Core i9-9980HK: The Power of the Past in an Era of New Technologies

An analysis of the relevance of the flagship CPU from 2019 in 2025

Architecture and Process Technology: Coffee Lake on 14nm

The Intel Core i9-9980HK, released in 2019, became one of the last representatives of the Coffee Lake lineup on a 14nm process technology. Despite its age, it set performance standards for laptops at the time.

- Cores and Threads: 8 cores and 16 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading. This allowed it to compete with desktop CPUs.

- Frequencies: Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz for a single core and up to 4.5 GHz under full load.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 with a base frequency of 350 MHz and dynamic boost up to 1.2 GHz. For light tasks (office work, 4K video), it was sufficient, but for gaming, a discrete graphics card was required.

The Coffee Lake architecture is optimized for multitasking, but the 14nm process technology appears archaic in 2025. Modern equivalents from Intel (such as the Core i9-14900HX on 7nm) and AMD (Ryzen 9 7940HS on 5nm) are more energy-efficient and cooler.

TDP 45W: The Cost of Performance

The nominal TDP of the processor is 45W, but in turbo mode, power consumption could reach 90–100W. This created several issues:

- Heat Dissipation: Without an effective cooling system (such as dual fans and copper heat pipes), laptops would overheat, resulting in throttling.

- Power Balance: Such a CPU was rarely found in ultrabooks—it was typically installed in bulky gaming laptops and workstations.

In 2025, 45W processors are considered "moderate," but for the i9-9980HK, it was the minimum. Modern models with similar performance (such as the Apple M3 Pro) fall within 30W.

Performance: Turbo Mode and Real-World Tasks

Geekbench 6 (2025):

- Single-Core Test: 1422 points.

- Multi-Core Test: 6285 points.

For comparison, the Ryzen 9 6900HX (2022) scores ~1600/9000 points, and the Apple M2 Pro scores ~1950/12500. Nonetheless, the i9-9980HK still manages tasks effectively:

1. Office and Multitasking: Dozens of tabs, rendering presentations, streaming video—without lags.

2. Multimedia:

- Premiere Pro: Rendering 4K video takes 25–30 minutes (compared to 15 minutes for Ryzen 9 7940HS).

- Blender: BMW scene—~7 minutes (for Ryzen 9 6900HX—~5 minutes).

3. Gaming:

- Paired with an RTX 3080 (laptop version): Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra (1080p)—55–60 FPS.

- Using integrated graphics: CS2 on Low—40–50 FPS.

Turbo Mode: Maximum frequencies are maintained for 10–15 seconds, after which they drop to 4.0–4.2 GHz due to overheating. In laptops with advanced cooling systems (like the MSI GT76 Titan), throttling is minimal.

Use Cases: Who Needs the i9-9980HK in 2025?

1. Professionals: Video editors, 3D designers, engineers working with AutoCAD. The CPU can handle heavy applications, but rendering times will be longer than with modern equivalents.

2. Gamers: Only in combination with a discrete GPU (RTX 3070 and above). The i9-9980HK does not limit FPS in games of 2025.

3. Enthusiasts: Those buying used or discounted laptops. New devices with this CPU are rarely found in 2025.

Everyday Tasks: Excessive. For web surfing and document work, a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 is sufficient.

Battery Life: Sacrificing for Power

Under load (gaming, rendering), a laptop with the i9-9980HK lasts 1–1.5 hours on battery. In office mode, it can last up to 4–5 hours (e.g., Dell XPS 15 7590 with a 97Wh battery).

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel Speed Shift: Dynamic frequency management.

- C-States: Disabling unused cores.

- Turbo Boost Management: Manual frequency limiting to save charge.

Tip: Set the OS to "Power Saver" mode and disable Turbo Boost to extend battery life by 30–40%.

Competitors: AMD, Apple, and Previous Intel Generations

- AMD Ryzen 9 4900H/5900HX: Better multi-core performance (+20–30%), PCIe 4.0 support, but higher prices in 2022–2023.

- Apple M2/M3: Apple Silicon dominates the energy efficiency segment in 2025. The M3 Pro in the MacBook Pro lasts twice as long and runs cooler.

- Intel Core i9-12900HK: 14 cores (6P + 8E), 20 threads, 5.0 GHz. At the same 45W, it is 30% faster in multitasking.

Conclusion: The i9-9980HK falls behind modern counterparts but has an advantage in price on the secondary market.

Pros and Cons: Is It Worth Getting in 2025?

Strengths:

- High multi-core performance.

- Unlocked multiplier support (overclocking).

- Compatibility with Windows 10/11 and Linux.

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 14nm process technology.

- Heat generation and the need for robust cooling systems.

- No support for PCIe 4.0/5.0 and DDR5.

Laptop Selection Recommendations

If you are considering a used device with the i9-9980HK in 2025:

1. Device Type:

- Gaming Laptop: ASUS ROG Zephyrus S, MSI GS75 Stealth. Ensure it has an RTX 3070/3080.

- Workstation: Dell Precision 7730, HP ZBook 17 G6.

2. Cooling: At least two fans and copper heat pipes.

3. Battery: At least 90Wh for good longevity.

4. Price: $800–1200 for used models. New devices with this CPU are no longer sold.

Important! Compare with new laptops featuring Ryzen 7 7840U or Core Ultra 7 155H—prices start at $1300, and performance is higher by 40–50%.

Summary: Who Still Finds the i9-9980HK Relevant?

This processor is suitable for:

- Budget Professionals: If you need power for editing or 3D work and your budget is limited to $1000.

- Gamers: Paired with a discrete GPU, it won’t be a bottleneck.

- Enthusiasts: For experimenting with overclocking and upgrading older systems.

Key Benefits:

- Low price on the secondary market.

- Proven reliability (assuming adequate cooling).

- Compatibility with modern software.

However, remember: buying a 6-year-old laptop sacrifices battery life and support for new technologies (Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 5). Weigh all the pros and cons!

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

April 2019

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.

i9-9980HK

Code Name

Coffee 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.

5.00 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

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.

DDR4-2666 | LPDDR3-2133

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).

41.8 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 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.

1.25 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.

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

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.

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 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

1422

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

6285

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1129

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

6853

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2546

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

14188

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Xeon W-11865MLE

1530 +7.6%

Xeon W-1290E

1475 +3.7%

Core i9-9980HK

1422

Xeon W-2155

1377 -3.2%

Core i5-9600T

1344 -5.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Ryzen 7 PRO 5750GE

7072 +12.5%

Xeon E5-2683 v3

6651 +5.8%

Core i9-9980HK

6285

Xeon E-2146G

5851 -6.9%

Core i3-1215UE

5531 -12%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

EPYC 9554

1192 +5.6%

Xeon W-10885M

1162 +2.9%

Core i9-9980HK

1129

Xeon Silver 4309Y

1113 -1.4%

Xeon Gold 5220T

1089 -3.5%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Silver 4116T

7655 +11.7%

Core i5-12500H

7229 +5.5%

Core i9-9980HK

6853

Xeon E5-1680 v4

6479 -5.5%

Ryzen 7 2700

6108 -10.9%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon W-3323

2617 +2.8%

Xeon W-3245

2572 +1%

Core i9-9980HK

2546

Xeon E3-1280

2504 -1.6%

Core i3-10305T

2457 -3.5%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Ryzen 5 PRO 7530U

15284 +7.7%

Xeon E5-2678 v3

14687 +3.5%

Core i9-9980HK

14188

Xeon E-2374G

13607 -4.1%

Core i3-13100T

13073 -7.9%