AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS vs Intel Core i9-11950H Comparison

The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS and Intel Core i9-11950H are both 8-core, 16-thread mobile processors aimed at professional laptops, yet their benchmark profiles reveal distinctly different personalities. The AMD part, built on a newer 6 nm process, takes a commanding lead in the majority of tests, winning 15 of the 17 head-to-head comparisons, while the Intel chip, a Tiger Lake-H part, secures only two victories. This is a story of generational efficiency versus raw legacy strengths, where the AMD silicon consistently outpaces its rival in rendering, encryption, and general compute, but the Intel chip fights back in two specific, niche workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most decisive victory for the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS comes in the PassMark data encryption test, where it scores 17,350 against Intel’s 12,658, a massive 37.1% advantage. This suggests a significantly stronger cryptographic engine, likely benefiting from the newer Zen 3+ architecture’s integrated security features. Similarly, in integer math, the AMD chip posts 85,459 points versus 74,649 for the Intel, a 14.5% lead that indicates superior general-purpose arithmetic throughput. The data compression test also favors AMD, with a score of 272,838 compared to 246,195, a 10.8% difference that points to better memory efficiency and cache handling.

Across the Cinebench suite, the AMD processor is consistently ahead by roughly 10% in both single-core and multi-core workloads. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the AMD scores 18,980 versus Intel’s 17,279 (9.8% higher), and in single-core, it posts 2,679 against 2,439 (9.8% higher). These results are mirrored in older versions: R20 multi-core shows 7,971 for AMD against 7,257 (9.8%), and R15 multi-core shows 1,913 against 1,741 (9.9%). The consistency of this ~10% margin across generations of the Cinebench test indicates a fundamental architectural advantage in both thread scaling and per-core efficiency, rather than a workload-specific fluke.

The Intel Core i9-11950H’s two wins are narrow but intriguing. In PassMark’s find prime numbers test, Intel scores 93 versus AMD’s 58, a 37.6% advantage that suggests a highly optimized branch predictor or integer division unit for this specific mathematical operation. The other Intel win is in random string sorting, where it scores 29,375 against 28,693, a slim 2.3% edge. This points to slightly better memory access patterns for sorting algorithms, though the margin is small enough to be within run-to-run variance in real-world applications. Beyond these two, the AMD chip also wins the remaining PassMark tests: floating point math (46,706 vs 44,137, 5.8% higher), extended instructions (18,091 vs 16,361, 10.6%), multi-threaded performance (22,330 vs 20,900, 6.8%), physics (1,065 vs 1,013, 5.1%), and single-thread (3,301 vs 3,141, 5.1%).

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in multi-core rendering workloads?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS wins all Cinebench multi-core tests, with a 9.8% lead in Cinebench R23 (18,980 vs 17,279) and a 9.9% lead in Cinebench R15 (1,913 vs 1,741). PassMark multi-thread scores confirm this, showing AMD ahead by 6.8% (22,330 vs 20,900).

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-11950H better in any compute task?

A: Yes, the Intel chip wins two specific PassMark tests: find prime numbers by 37.6% (93 vs 58) and random string sorting by 2.3% (29,375 vs 28,693). These are isolated wins; the AMD processor wins the other 15 head-to-head benchmarks.

Q: How do the single-core performances compare?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS has a consistent advantage in single-core tests. It leads by 5.1% in PassMark single-thread (3,301 vs 3,141) and by 9.8% in Cinebench R23 single-core (2,679 vs 2,439). The R15 single-core test shows a 10.2% lead for AMD (270 vs 245).

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two?

A: The largest delta is in PassMark data encryption, where the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS scores 17,350 against Intel’s 12,658, a 37.1% advantage. This is followed by the Intel win in find prime numbers, where it is 37.6% ahead of AMD.

Q: Does the Intel chip have a higher boost clock, and does it matter?

A: The Intel Core i9-11950H has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz versus AMD’s 4.70 GHz, yet it still loses most single-core tests. This indicates that AMD’s Zen 3+ architecture delivers more instructions per clock, overcoming the raw clock speed deficit.

Q: Which processor has a higher average benchmark score overall?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS has an average benchmark score of 28,549, while the Intel Core i9-11950H sits at 28,332. Both are in the 80th percentile of all CPUs, indicating they are closely matched in overall standing despite the AMD chip’s win count.

Architecture Differences

The two processors are built on fundamentally different process technologies and microarchitectures. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS uses a 6 nm process node from TSMC, with a die size of 208 mm², and employs the Zen 3+ architecture under the codename Rembrandt. In contrast, the Intel Core i9-11950H uses Intel’s 10 nm process, with a slightly smaller die size of 190 mm², and is based on the Tiger Lake architecture under the codename Tiger Lake-H. This process difference is a key factor in the AMD chip’s efficiency and performance consistency, as the smaller node allows for better power scaling within the same 35 W TDP.

Cache configurations also differ significantly. The AMD chip has a per-core L1 cache of 64 KB and L2 cache of 512 KB, with a shared 16 MB L3 cache. The Intel chip provides a larger per-core L1 cache at 80 KB and a much larger per-core L2 cache at 1.25 MB, with a shared 24 MB L3 cache. Despite Intel’s larger cache hierarchy, the AMD processor still wins most memory-sensitive tests like data compression, suggesting that the Zen 3+ cache design is more effective at utilizing its smaller pools. Memory support further separates them: the AMD chip uses DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 76.8 GB/s, while the Intel chip uses DDR4 with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This 50% bandwidth advantage for AMD likely contributes to its wins in encryption and integer math, which are memory-intensive.

The integrated graphics also differ: the AMD chip features a Radeon 680M, while the Intel chip has UHD Graphics 750. Both are mobile processors on proprietary sockets (AMD Socket FP7 for the former, Intel BGA 1787 for the latter), and both support PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU. Neither processor supports ECC memory, and both have locked multipliers. Production status is another differentiator: the AMD chip is marked as Active, while the Intel chip is End-of-life, suggesting that the AMD part has a longer support horizon.

Specification Differences

The most striking specification difference is the base clock: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS runs at 3.20 GHz, while the Intel Core i9-11950H starts at a much lower 2.10 GHz. However, the Intel chip boosts higher, reaching 5.00 GHz versus AMD’s 4.70 GHz. Both have 8 cores and 16 threads, and both are rated at a 35 W TDP. The memory support differs as noted, with DDR5 for AMD and DDR4 for Intel, leading to the bandwidth gap. The cache hierarchy is also distinct, with Intel having larger per-core caches and a larger L3 pool. The process nodes differ (6 nm for AMD, 10 nm for Intel), and the die sizes are close but not identical (208 mm² vs 190 mm²). The release dates are roughly a year apart, with the Intel chip launching on 2021-05-10 and the AMD chip on 2022-04-18. The Intel chip has a launch MSRP of $556, which is mentioned here as the only pricing reference. The AMD chip has no listed launch MSRP. Both are mobile segment parts with locked multipliers, and neither supports ECC memory.

The Verdict

The data overwhelmingly favors the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS for general-purpose computing. It wins 15 of 17 benchmarks, including all Cinebench tests, and holds a 0.8% lead in average benchmark score (28,549 vs 28,332). The AMD chip’s advantages are particularly pronounced in data encryption (37.1% faster), integer math (14.5% faster), and data compression (10.8% faster), making it the better choice for developers, data analysts, and anyone running multi-threaded productivity applications. The Intel Core i9-11950H retains value only for niche workloads: prime number calculation and string sorting, where it beats AMD by 37.6% and 2.3% respectively. Given that the Intel chip is also end-of-life, the AMD processor is the more future-proof option.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS wins in the vast majority of scenarios. It is the superior choice for video rendering, 3D modeling, and any Cinebench-based workflow, with leads of 9.8-9.9% across all versions. Its encryption performance (17,350 vs 12,658) makes it ideal for security-related tasks like VPN processing or disk encryption. The 14.5% lead in integer math benefits scientific computing and financial modeling. The 10.8% advantage in data compression improves archive creation and database operations. The 5.8% and 10.6% wins in floating point math and extended instructions, respectively, cover most engineering and simulation software. For general multi-threaded use, the 6.8% lead in PassMark multi-thread confirms broader applicability.

The Intel Core i9-11950H wins in two specific areas. The prime number test result (93 vs 58) suggests a potential edge in cryptography-related algorithms that rely on prime generation, though this is a narrow application. The random string sorting win (29,375 vs 28,693) indicates slightly better performance in certain data ordering tasks, such as log file processing or text index building. Outside these two workloads, the Intel chip consistently trails, making it a less versatile option for most mobile users. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850HS is the clear all-rounder, while the Intel Core i9-11950H is a specialist with a very limited portfolio of strengths.