Best Intel 12th gen laptop in 2023 – our top picks
If you are looking for the best Intel 12th gen laptop, then we have you covered right here.
The 12th gen processors, also known as the Alder Lake series, were released in January 2022. This lineup by Intel was the first one to feature a hybrid architecture with efficiency cores and performance cores, which are optimized for single-threaded, partially-threaded, and multithreaded applications.
Now, the Intel 12th gen CPUs may not be the most powerful ones on the market, as we have the more recent ones – Intel 13th gen and newly unveiled Intel 14th gen processors, which come with more computing power. However, not everyone needs a powerful CPU or so much computing power – especially when the last gen processors now have a more reasonable price tag.
With that being said, there are a lot of laptops available on the market that run on Intel the 12th gen processor. To make shopping quicker for you, we have rounded up what we think are the best Intel 12th gen laptops.
Products at a Glance
How we picked
Best Intel 12th gen laptop in 2023 – our top picks
- Intel Core i9-12900H processor
- NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti graphics card
- 360Hz refresh rate
- No G-Sync
If you want the best Intel 12th gen laptop for general use, then the MSI Vector GP66 might be a good fit – and we think it should be one of the best laptops for programming.
The laptop sports a 15.6-inch FHD display, which should deliver clear and detailed for your games if you’re gaming at 1080p settings. Plus, the display offers a 360Hz refresh rate, which should be sufficient even for competitive gaming.
On the inside, the laptop runs on a 12th gen Intel Core i9-12900H processor, which was released in 2022. The processor is built on the Alder Lake architecture and has 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, all of which should give you faster performance.
Further, the MSI laptop has an NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which should be able to run most games smoothly, especially if you’re playing with FHD or QHD resolution. Overall, with this CPU and GPU combination, you should be able to run resource-intensive applications without a hitch.
- The highest TGP graphics card options you'll find in a laptop
- MUX Switch
- Great optomechanical keyboard & trackpad
- No G-Sync
If you want a laptop with a 12th gen i7 processor, then we think that the Dell XPS 15 will be a good fit. Plus, we think the Dell XPS series deserves to be on the best business laptops list.
The laptop sports a 15.6-inch display with 4-sided InfinityEdge, which has narrow bezels, so you should be able to get more viewing space. Further, the laptop has a 1080p resolution, which should deliver clear and detailed visuals. You also get a 16:10 aspect ratio that makes the screen appear “taller” compared to a 16:9 aspect ratio.
On the inside, the laptop has a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H mobile processor, which is built on the Alder Lake-H architecture. The processor has a base speed of 2.3GHz and can peak at 4.7GHz, which should be sufficient for handling your demanding tasks.
Another notable feature here is that this Dell XPS model is a “creator edition,” which means that the GPU has Studio Drivers – so the creative applications are optimized for the best experience.
As far as security is concerned, this laptop comes with a facial recognition feature, fingerprint reader, as well as Windows Hello, which should ensure the safety of your device and data – especially if you’re planning to use it for business or work.
- NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU
- 144Hz refresh rate
- Budget-friendly
- Mediocre display
If you want a laptop with a mid-range CPU, like the Intel Core i5-12450H processor, then the Gigabyte G5 laptop might be suitable for you. In fact, considering the price tag, it deserves to be one of the best budget gaming laptops out there.
The Gigabyte laptop sports a 15.6-inch screen with a 1080p resolution, so you should be able to get clear visuals for your FHD gaming. Plus, the laptop offers a 144Hz refresh rate, which should give you smooth gameplay.
Under the hood, the laptop packs in a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12450H processor, which has a max boost speed of 4.5GHz, so you can expect the CPU to cut through demanding tasks effortlessly. Further, the CPU is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card, which should give you realistic-looking graphics while playing games or media consumption.
- 12th Gen Intel i7-12700H processor
- NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti graphics card
- 16-inch QHD display
- Heavy
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that features a 12th Gen Intel CPU, then you should check out the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro laptop – and we think it deserves to be one of the best Lenovo laptops.
The laptop features a 12th Gen Intel i7-12700H processor, which has 14 cores and a max boost speed of ABC, so you can expect your laptop to run through demanding tasks like gaming, video editing, and 3D rendering. Plus, paired with it, you have the NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which should give you slightly better performance than the RTX 3070.
On the outside, the laptop has a 16-inch display, which should give you a bit more room than a standard 15.6-inch display. Further, much like some of the best 16-inch laptops, this one, too, has a QHD display, which should deliver sharper visuals than a 1080p display. Further, you get a 165Hz refresh rate, which should eliminate screen-tearing while playing fast-paced games or videos.
The Lenovo laptop also offers a 100% sRGB color gamut, which should give you high color accuracy – something that content creators will find useful. Plus, the display has 500 nits of brightness, which should make it suitable for use in well-lit rooms.
- Intel Core i5-12500H processor
- NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU
- Budget-friendly
- Average battery life
If you want a powerful laptop with an Intel 12th gen processor with a reasonable price tag, then you should check out the HP Victus gaming laptop.
The HP laptop comes with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H processor that has a max speed of 4.5GHz, so you should be able to run demanding tasks without a hitch. Paired with it, you have the RTX 3050 GPU, which should let you play most games at 1080p and 1440p settings.
The model we have selected comes with 16GB RAM, which should be sufficient to run most games. Plus, you get 512GB SSD, which should be enough for storing files. However, depending on your budget and requirements, you can go for a different combination.
Much like some of the best HP gaming laptops, this one, too, has a 15.6-inch display with FHD resolution. Considering that the RTX 3050 is best for 1080p gaming, this display should let you game smoothly.
How to pick the best Intel 12th gen laptop?
Here’s how you can narrow down your search –
Processor – i3, i5, i7 and i9
When you browse through the available laptops, you will find different processors – i3, i5, i7, and i9. In this section we will be talking about the Core processors and not the entry-level Celeron and Pentium ones. To know which one is right for you, we will explain each type in brief.
- Core i3 – These are entry-level processors, which usually have fewer cores and less max boost speed. As you can guess, these are meant for basic tasks that do not need much computing power.
- Core i5 – These CPUs are slightly more powerful than the i3 ones. They have higher average speeds and more cores. For instance, the 12th gen i5 CPUs have 6 to 12 cores, which makes them capable of handling demanding tasks.
- Core i7 – For the 12th gen, the i7 processors have up to 16 cores and max clock speeds of 4.7GHz, which makes these processors capable of executing resource-intensive tasks like gaming and video editing. You can expect the performance to be better than the i5 processors.
- Core i9 – The i9 processors are meant to be the most powerful ones here, compared to the i3, i5, and i7. The i9 processors, like the i9-12900H, have a max speed of up to 5.0GHz, which makes it a faster CPU than i7.
Now, this is just a quick overview of the situation to help you gain understanding. There are more technical differences among the processors, like cache and hyperthreading capabilities. So you can do a deep dive on the subject if you want before deciding on a processor.
Graphics card
If you are not planning to use your laptop for gaming or tasks that require graphics power, then you can go for a laptop with integrated graphics card. This card should be enough for media consumption and casual, light gaming.
However, if you want a gaming laptop, then you can consider going for one with a dedicated GPU. Most of the Intel 12th gen laptops are paired with an NVIDIA RT 3000-series graphics card, which are powerful enough to run most of your games.
Best Intel 12th gen laptop FAQs
Are there laptops with Intel 12th gen?
There certainly are laptops with Intel 12th gen CPUs, in fact they represented the most powerful laptop CPUs of 2022 overall: representing a massive jump in performance over the previous generation.
Although they’re no longer the latest tech, the difference between them and the Intel 13th generation wasn’t as big, so they’re still very viable options, now available at a more affordable price.
What year did 12th gen laptops come out?
12th gen laptops first arrived in 2022; specifically they were announced and revealed in January 2022 and first hit the shelves at the end of February. The most powerful Intel HX series within the 12th gen range came out in May 2022.
What are the 12th gen Intel HX series processors?
The Intel HX series of CPUs are a sub-range of the Intel 12th gen line, which came out later in the year than the main line (towards the end of May, 2022). Whereas previously Intel 12th gen laptop CPUs topped out at 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores (20 threads all told) as in the i9-12900K, the i9-12900HX comes with a total of 16 cores (8 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores) equating to a total maximum 24 threads. These beastly processers extended the performance lead of Intel even more in 2022
Intel 12th gen laptops vs Ryzen 6000 series laptops - which ones are better?
In comparison to their big rival AMD, Intel won the battle of the most powerful laptop CPUs in 2022 with the Intel 12th gen series – outperforming in both single-core and multicore performance on the top-end SKUs. This is not to say that the AMD Ryzen 6000 series laptops aren’t worth buying – AMD still kept the edge in the market for lower-powered laptops, plus all Ryzen 6000 series laptop CPUs had excellent battery life – better than the Intel 12th gen options by a considerable margin.
Our Verdict
If you want a laptop with the Intel 12th gen processor for general purpose, then we think that the MSI Vector GP66 might be a good choice. The laptop comes with a 12th gen Intel Core i9-12900H processor, which is the most powerful CPU in the H-series lineup. Plus, you get an RTX 3070 Ti GPU, which should be sufficient for demanding tasks like video editing, programming, and gaming. Further, the laptop has a standard 15.6-inch FHD display with a 360Hz refresh rate, which should be sufficient even for competitive gaming.