15 specifications

Intel Core i7-14650HX vs Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX

On paper, the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX has more cores (20 against 16). Specifications describe what each chip is designed to do; how much of that either one holds under continuous load is a separate question.

12 specifications · 3 with a higher side

Full specifications

Intel Core i7-14650HX

Intel · Raptor Lake Refresh HX (14th gen mobile) · Laptop

Full specifications

Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX

Intel · Core Ultra 200HX (Arrow Lake) · Laptop

Cores and clocks

Cores

Threads

Base clock

2.2 GHz

2.4 GHz

Boost clock

5.2 GHz

Cache and power

L3 cache

30 MB

TDP

55 W

Maximum turbo power

157 W

160 W

Minimum assured power

45 W

Platform

Socket

FCBGA1964

FCBGA2114

Process

Not verified

3 nm

Integrated graphics

Intel UHD Graphics for 14th Gen Intel Processors

Intel Graphics

Launched

Q1'24 (quarter)

Q1'25 (quarter)

A check marks the higher figure only on rows where higher is unambiguously better. Rows without one are not ties; they are specifications where “better” has no meaning.

Reading the table

What the difference means.

Cores and threads

This pair splits: the Core Ultra 7 255HX has more cores (20 against 16) while the Core i7-14650HX runs more threads (24 against 20). That happens when one design runs two threads on every core and the other does not, or mixes large and small cores. A second thread on a core adds roughly a quarter to a third of a core's work, not a whole one, so 20 full cores and 24 threads on 16 cores land closer together than either number suggests. Work that spreads across everything, such as rendering, compiling and video export, is where the difference shows; which side wins it depends on how fast each core is, which a specification sheet does not say.

Power and cooling

Both are rated at 55 W, so they ask the same of a cooler and a power supply. The rating is the heat to be moved for the chip to hold its speed; both draw above it in short bursts, and either one slows down rather than fails when the cooling falls short.

Platform

Laptop processors are soldered to the board, so this is a choice between machines, not between chips you can swap. What differs between two laptops with these parts is mostly the power limit and the cooling the maker gave each one.

Which to pick, on paper

Rendering, compiling, video export: Core i7-14650HX; 24 threads against 20. Work that uses every thread scales with how many there are.

What no table says

How much of its speed a processor keeps after the first minute depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in. If you own one of these, measure it: the test is free and runs in this browser.

Free CPU stress test

Questions

Is the Core i7-14650HX better than the Core Ultra 7 255HX?: By need, on the specifications: rendering, compiling, video export: the Core i7-14650HX. No specification says how much speed either one keeps under a long load; that depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in, and it is what a sustained test measures.
Do the Core i7-14650HX and the Core Ultra 7 255HX use the same socket?: Laptop processors are soldered in place, so neither can be swapped for the other.
Does the Core i7-14650HX or the Core Ultra 7 255HX have integrated graphics?: Both do: Intel UHD Graphics for 14th Gen Intel Processors on the Core i7-14650HX and Intel Graphics on the Core Ultra 7 255HX.

More comparisons

Every figure on this table is a design target. None of it is a measurement.

Nothing above describes how a processor behaves twenty minutes into a sustained workload, which is where two chips with nearly identical specifications routinely diverge. A boost clock is a ceiling the vendor permits, not a rate the chip sustains, and whether it holds depends on the cooling, the case, the power profile and the room. None of those appear on a specification sheet.

We deliberately do not reduce these figures to a single score. A composite invented from specifications would look authoritative and measure nothing, and choosing the weights would be choosing the winner.

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