We tested 3 generations of Intel CPUs in the same laptop. Should you upgrade?

Whereas it’s simple sufficient to test desktop processors from era to era, as long as the remainder of the system stays the identical, it isn’t really easy with laptops. Producers will usually redesign the motherboard — on the very least — yearly, creating a number of various variables. That makes it impractical, typically inconceivable, to have a really honest check of even very comparable designs from one yr to the subsequent.

However because it occurs, PCWorld’s labs crew has a uncommon alternative to just do that. MSI’s GE76 Raider laptop, a large 17.3-inch gaming mannequin, has been manufactured with choices for Intel Core processors from the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth generations, with different adjustments saved to a minimal. That gave PCWorld’s Gordon Mah Ung an opportunity to instantly examine them, exhibiting the enhancements constructed from one processor revision to the subsequent (to the subsequent).

With the identical set of specs throughout three machines, Gordon acquired to check the top-of-the-line processors for 2020, 2021, and 2022. That’s the Core i7-10870H, Corei9-11900HK, and Core i9-12900HK. For a whole breakdown of the benchmarks and the smaller variations between them (like DDR5 reminiscence on the 2022 mannequin), watch our exhaustive YouTube video above. It’s a protracted watch, however properly price it if you happen to prefer to dive into the crunchy particulars of processor tech.

If this sort of factor is your jam, make sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube! We’re doing this sort of nerdy stuff on a regular basis.