Intel Core i9-9980HK vs Intel Core i3-1215U

Processor comparisons 20-01-2022

   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a choice after reading the full tests Intel Core i9-9980HK vs Intel Core i3-1215U and understand which is better for games or normal use for programming, machine learning, rendering, streaming, video editing. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like 3DMark, Gears 5, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, SuperPi, UserBenchmark, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Prime95, PCMark 10, PassMark, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Furmark, RealBench, 7zip, MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, WPrime, VeraCrypt, AIDA64, Handbrake, Blender.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

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

After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i3-1215U or Intel Core i9-9980HK.

Summary benchmark results

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

Core i9-9980HK

54%

Core i3-1215U

54%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i9-9980HK

54%

Core i3-1215U

53%

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

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	95.7	94.3
Valorant	108.8	107.2
Cyberpunk 2077	60.9	60.0
Apex Legends	102.2	100.8
Call of Duty Warzone	81.6	80.4
Overwatch	88.1	86.8
Red Dead Redemption 2	75.0	74.0
DOOM Eternal	54.4	53.6
Warzone	84.8	83.6
Assassin's Creed	91.4	90.0
Valheim	90.3	89.0

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 comparing 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. So 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i9-9980HK

86%

Core i3-1215U

248%

To make a finishing decision 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 i3-1215U is more energy efficient than the Core i9-9980HK since it has less power consumption: 45W vs. 15W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the processor turns on all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. 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 program 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 advantages of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i9-9980HK	Intel Core i3-1215U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	196	206
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	1607	1510
Cinbench 20 Single-core	485	495
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	3503	3429
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1186	1159
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	8370	11302

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

	Intel Core i9-9980HK	Intel Core i3-1215U
Single-Core	2657	2711
Multi-Core	15065	15823

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

	Intel Core i9-9980HK	Intel Core i3-1215U
Single-Core	1165	1117
Multi-Core	7554	6205

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in the newest games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Intel Core i9-9980HK	Intel Core i3-1215U
Announcement date	July 07, 2019	January 07, 2022
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	FCBGA1440	FCBGA1744
Core name	Coffee Lake	Alder Lake-U
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation	9	12
Turbo Frequency	5 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	2.4 MHz	1.3 MHz
Cores	8	6
Threads	16	8
Bus rate	8 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	10 nm
Transistors count	8600 millions	9800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	45 W	15 W
Memory type	DDR4-2666, LPDDR3-2133	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s Up to LPDDR5 5200 MT/s Up to LPDDR4x 4267 MT/s
Max. Memory	128 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	41.8 GB/s	45.8 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	16 MB	24 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	Expansion Options

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i9-9980HK is 45% better than Core i3-1215U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Core i9-9980HK has 2 more core than Core i3-1215U. 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 i9-9980HK is better: 21
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-1215U is better: 12
However, it should be realized that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should entirely trust a simple quantitative comparison. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i9-9980HK and Intel Core i3-1215U before making a choice which of the processors to buy for gaming.

Intel Core i9-9980HK - all data

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

• Intel Core i9-9980HK specs and review.

Intel Core i3-1215U - all data

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

• Intel Core i3-1215U specs and review.