Intel Core i9-10980HK vs Intel Core i5-10500

Processor comparisons   24-03-2021
   If you are thinking about choosing a CPU, you will be able to make a choice after reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i9-10980HK vs Intel Core i5-10500 and see which is better for games or normal use for rendering, programming, streaming, machine learning, video editing. Here is all information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as Prime95, PassMark, VeraCrypt, SuperPi, PCMark 10, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Handbrake, WPrime, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Gears 5, Dolphin Emulator, Furmark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, RealBench, UserBenchmark, MATLAB, Blender, GeekBench 6, 5.2, AIDA64, Blender, 3DMark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Rainbow Six Siege
Red Dead Redemption 2
Grand Theft Auto V
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Valorant
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Cyberpunk 2077
Watch Dogs Legion
Fortnite
Apex Legends
Valheim
Death Stranding
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Overwatch
Borderlands 3
Last Man Standing
DOOM: Eternal
Fallout 76
Halo Infinite

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-10500 or Intel Core i9-10980HK.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Core i9-10980HK

55%

Core i5-10500

54%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i9-10980HK is 1% better than Core i5-10500. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-10980HK

55%

Core i5-10500

54%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a little game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Control, Forza Horizon 4, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Hitman 3, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), League of Legends (LOL), Microsoft Flight Simulator, Ghostrunner, DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Metro Exodus, Monster Hunter World.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	97.2	95.4
Valorant	110.5	108.4
Cyberpunk 2077	61.9	60.7
Apex Legends	103.9	101.9
Call of Duty Warzone	82.9	81.3
Overwatch	89.5	87.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	76.2	74.8
DOOM Eternal	55.2	54.2
Warzone	86.2	84.5
Assassin's Creed	92.8	91.0
Valheim	91.7	90.0

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i9-10980HK

106%

Core i5-10500

61%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i9-10980HK is more energy efficient than the Core i5-10500 since it has less power consumption: 45W vs. 65W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to count so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for streaming, programming, video editing or video rendering, machine learning, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the processor turns on all threads and cores that it has. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to work, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i9-10980HK	Intel Core i5-10500
Cinbench 15 Single-core	219	201
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1627	1491
Cinbench 20 Single-core	507	467
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3643	3392
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1136	1082
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	11013	8209

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i9-10980HK	Intel Core i5-10500
Single-Core	2913	2743
Multi-Core	16588	13414

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i9-10980HK	Intel Core i5-10500
Single-Core	1437	1196
Multi-Core	9056	7233

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The savings are obvious!

	Intel Core i9-10980HK	Intel Core i5-10500
Announcement date	April 01, 2020	April 01, 2020
Type	Laptop	Desktop
Socket	FCBGA1440	FCLGA1200
Core name	Comet Lake	Comet Lake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	10	10
Turbo Frequency	5.3 MHz	4.5 MHz
Frequency	2.4 MHz	3.1 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	12
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2100 millions	4800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	45 W	65 W
Memory type	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2666
Max. Memory	128 Gb	128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	45.8 GB/s	41.6 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	16 MB	12 MB
Overclocking	No	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-10500 is 22% better than Core i9-10980HK in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-10980HK has 2 more core than Core i5-10500. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i9-10980HK is better: 27
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-10500 is better: 3
However, it should be understood that all the data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of of people who bought Intel Core i9-10980HK and Intel Core i5-10500 before making a selection which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Intel Core i9-10980HK - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i9-10980HK specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-10500 specs and review.