A complete list of Intel Core i9 (i9-8950HK, i9-9880H, i9-9980HK) portable laptops and full-size notebooks

As of the second part of 2019, you can buy quite a few performance laptops with Intel Core i9 processors, mostly the Core i9-8950HK, part of the Intel Coffee Lake platform, but also the newer Core i9-9880H and i9-9980HK (9th gen Coffee Lake-R platform) and the Core i9-9900K 9th gen desktop processor.

We’ll cover the desktop processor in a different article, as in this one we’ll tell you what to expect from the mobile Core i9 CPUs, how they compare to the mainstream Core i7s available in most multimedia and gaming notebooks these days, and whether (or rather when) these processors are worth your money, considering you’ll have to pay a significant premium for i9 configurations.

We’ve also compiled a complete list of the notebooks built on Core i9 platforms, both portable and full-size models, and we’ll update it in the months to come with new SKUs as they’re announced. You can jump straight to our list via this link, or follow this link for another selection of Core i9 laptops available in stores right now.

Of course, it comes to no surprise that most of these computers are hefty full-size desktop replacements, but there are also a few portable options to consider. Just make sure to read proper reviews before taking the plunge on any of those, so you’ll find out if their cooling implementations are actually capable of keeping the i9 at bay, as otherwise you’re not going to get much in terms of performance and it would probably be smarter to just stick with the more affordable i7 configurations.

The Core i9-8950HK, i9-9880H and i9-9980HK mobile processors

The i9-8950HK is the top-tier CPU in Intel’s Coffee Lake H line of performance processors for mobile computers. It gets 6 cores, 12 threads, 12 MB of cache memory, a standard frequency of 2.9 GHz and a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 4.8 GHz (we’ll get to that in a bit), and supports up to 64 GB of DDR4 2666 MHz of dual-channel RAM.

The K at the end of the name means this processor gets an unlocked multiplier and is thus, overclockable, which means that if the cooling implementation allows, it can be setup to run at higher than stock speeds.

The i9-9880H and i9-9880HK are the newer Coffee Lake-R launched in 2019, and we’ve added their technical specs in the table down below, next to the mainstream Coffee Lake i7s and the Kaby Lake i7-7820K these i9s succeed. In very few words, though, you should know that Coffee Lake-R is just a minor refinement of the existing Coffee Lake generation, with CPUs potentially able to reach slightly higher Turbo Boost clock speeds, but only if allowed by the thermal implementation.

Aside for the increased amount of cache compared to the i7s, the i9 Core HK processors also get Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB), which in Intel’s words “opportunistically and automatically increases clock frequency by up to 200 MHz if the processor temperature is low enough and turbo power budget is available”. Hence the 4.8/5.0 GHz maximum Turbo Boost (*).

According to Intel’s slides though, the “low enough temperature” is of only 50 C, which means the i9 would only clock to their max 1-Core Turbo sporadically and for very short bursts at the beginning of complex loads, otherwise maxing out at 4.6/4.8 GHz. Even so, the i9s can run faster than the i7s in their generations, as long as the implementation keeps temperatures and throttling at bay.

The big change with the 2019 Core i9s is the addition of two more cores and threads, which pushes the performance gap from the i7-9750H significantly, given that’s only a 6-Core CPU running at lower clocks. Of course, the performance is going to vary between implementations and SKUs, but the table below gives you a ballpark idea of what to expect:

These results are based on our findings, as well as on average scores from Notebookcheck.net, which have a larger pool of reviewed notebooks. We’ve yet to review and 9980HK portable laptop, and we couldn’t find a proper review from someone else either, so we’ll update that part in the near future.

Portable Core i9 laptops

This section includes a list of the portable notebooks that can be configured with a Core i9 mobile processor.

There’s a lot of hype around the i9s not performing as well as expected inside these thin and light laptops, and for the most part that’s true and should come as no surprise.

If you’ll look into the MacBook Pro, XPS 15 or the Zenbook Pro reviews, you’ll see that the i9 cannot maintain its high Turbo Speed frequencies with continuous demanding loads in these computers. For the most part, though, the i9 offers a performance boost over the i7, especially the 2019 8-Core i9-9880HK and 9880H models, but you’re still not going to get their full potential inside these thinner computers.

So while it would be a mistake to draw any general conclusions on this matter, I would suggest carefully considering if the i9 configurations are worth the significant premium OEMs ask for in these ultraportables, as well as carefully looking into detailed reviews that take a close look at the performance in the scenarios you’re planning to use the notebooks yourselves. For the most part, there’s a very good chance you’ll get better value with the i7s, but there are of course exceptions where the i9s might be better suited for your needs.

Anyway, here are the i9 thin-and-light notebooks, with links towards our detailed reviews and updated prices and configurations.

Full-size Core i9 notebooks

This section includes the full-size Core i9 notebooks. There are some mid-range laptops with similar traits to the ultraportables above, but thicker builds and improved cooling, and there are also the no-compromise desktop replacements.

Expect most of these to be hefty and heavy, come with two bulky power-bricks (with some exceptions), but at the same time, also expect to squeeze the most out of the hardware inside and allow for tweaking and overclocking. Most of these laptops run cooly, but also noisy with gaming and demanding loads, to the point where you’ll need headphones for comfortable use.

Keep in mind that we’re not including laptops based on the desktop-grade Core i9 9900K processors in this list, like the Alienware Area 51m or the MSI GT76 Titan, we’ll cover these in a separate future article.

That’s about it for now, but we’re constantly updating this list of Core i9 performance laptops, so make sure to check back from time to time for the latest additions. And get in touch in the comments section if you have any questions, or if you spotted a notebook that should be in here and we haven’t yet added.