Skip to main content

A mysterious new Intel i7 chip just showed up in tests

A mysterious new Intel Core i7-12650HX processor just showed up in a benchmark, further confirming the existence of the CPU. Intel has yet to reveal the processor or mention it at all, but based on benchmarks, the reveal of the HX-series is likely going to happen.

Thanks to the benchmark, we know more about the specifications of this new Intel Alder Lake offering.

An Intel Alder Lake mobility chip.
Image source: Intel Intel

The processor showed up in a new entry on UserBenchmark. The model in question comes with 14 cores and 20 threads, and being an Alder Lake CPU, it’s based on a hybrid architecture. There’s no confirmation as to the exact mix of cores used in this processor, but we’re most likely looking at six Golden Cove (performance) and eight Gracemont (efficiency) cores. The base clock speed was rated at 2.3GHz with a 4.05GHz turbo mode.

Recommended Videos

The platform that showed up in the benchmark came with 40GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, as well as a Samsung SSD 970 Evo Plus, but it had no discrete graphics card. As a result, it was rated really highly as a desktop, but deemed completely unsuitable for gaming. In all likelihood, a high-end CPU like this would be paired with one of the best graphics cards in order to be marketed toward gamers.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Although Intel Alder Lake processors are only really just starting to appear in laptops, the lineup is quite robust, but also potentially confusing to customers. Aside from the (still only rumored) HX lineup, Intel has released H-series processors with up to 14 cores and 20 threads. The difference between the H processors and their HX counterparts is that the Intel Core i9-12980HX would reportedly cap out at 16 cores and 24 threads, maximizing the potential of the Intel Alder Lake lineup.

Intel Alder Lake Core i7-12650HX benchmark.
Image source: UserBenchmark Image used with permission by copyright holder

Compared to Intel Alder Lake-H processors, the Core i7-12650HX doesn’t feature very high clock speeds. However, the performance improvement over H-series CPUs could also stem from the fact that this chip may feature the full Alder Lake-S silicon, complete with a 55-watt processor base power. The Core i7-12650HX is not the most powerful chip in the rumored lineup — Intel is likely to release a Core i9 version that will utilize the full capabilities presented by the die.

This processor could find its home in future Intel gaming laptops and small form-factor desktops, and as Intel has big hopes for the Alder Lake mobility lineup, it could prove to be quite impressive. It’s difficult to guess when it will appear on the consumer market, especially considering that Intel Alder Lake processors have already started popping up in laptops with a similar target audience. We’ll have to wait to hear from Intel to find out what its plans are for the Intel Core i7-12650HX and the CPUs that will likely follow it.

Monica J. White
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…
More than seven months later, Intel CPU instability issue might be over
Intel's 14900K CPU socketed in a motherboard.

We first reported on the Intel CPU instability issue in February 2024, and since then, Intel has offered various fixes that helped, but still failed to fix the problem once and for all. Now, it finally seems like the owners of Intel's best CPUs might soon be able to rest easy. Intel has shared a new update that pinpoints the four causes of Raptor Lake problems and provides a fix.

Intel's July update on the matter disclosed that the company was aware of issues within the microcode and that the problem was related to incorrect voltages. Today's update breaks this down into four operating scenarios that can cause problems. Intel now refers to these long-lasting issues as the "Vmin Shift Instability."

Read more
Intel’s CPU lineups might get even more confusing
An Intel Core Ultra Series 2 chip embedded in a piece of glass.

Intel's list of processors constantly grows, and its whole new naming scheme just got even more confusing. Today's leaks imply that Intel might be working on another Raptor Lake refresh, this time under the Core 200 name. That's right -- just Core 200, without the Ultra. We also spotted some more budget-friendly, previously unheard-of Arrow Lake chips.

With Intel Arrow Lake right around the corner and Lunar Lake CPUs freshly out and available, Intel's got a lot going on in the CPU department right now, and there's more to come. Some non-Ultra Core 200 chips appeared in various Business Applications Performance Corporation (BAPCo) benchmarks, including the Core 7 250U, the Core 7 250H, and the Core 5 220H. There's also the Core 7 Ultra 255H, which is likely an upcoming Arrow Lake-H CPU set to appear inside next-gen laptops.

Read more
Intel Arrow Lake gets possible pricing and release date
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger presents Intel's roadmap including Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake, and Panther Lake.

We haven't even gotten an official release date for Intel Arrow Lake, but the one we know of is already being pushed back. Many leaks pointed to an October 10 release, but now, one source claims that Intel won't launch its next-gen top desktop processors until October 24. This only applies to the K and KF-series CPUs -- the non-K variants won't arrive until much later. We've also gotten a peek at some of the possible pricing.

Fortunately, the delay doesn't appear to be major. According to HKEPC on X (formerly Twitter), the launch of Intel Arrow Lake-S has now been pushed back from October 17 to October 24. This is somewhat inconsistent with previous leaks, but not really -- it appears that Intel had always planned to announce Arrow Lake on October 10, with availability starting on October 17. Now, we might still hear about the CPUs on October 10, but they won't appear on the shelves until two weeks later.

Read more