Have you heard about Intel’s new powerful processors that came out this year? Take some time to familiarize yourself with some of the details during Intel gamer days. That’s right, Intel gamer days are here again with great savings on Intel powered laptops and desktop computers that’ll make everything you do go more smoothly: school, work, and especially gaming! Learn some facts about Intel’s new processors, then enter for a chance to win an amazing Intel powered laptop.

Which Intel processor will you choose

Shopping for a laptop isn’t easy for most of us. Part of the problem is that Best Buy has an incredibly large selection. A good first step is to read the Laptop buying guide and narrow down your choices a little. You can also narrow it down by deciding what kind of processor you want: on the Best Buy laptops page you will see a set of facets on the left hand side of the page for processor type. If you want one of the new Intel processors, then you would select one with “Intel” at the beginning. After that, you’ll want to choose the processor that matches your needs and budget. Here is a short primer that should help:

  1. i5 vs i7 vs i9: this is the first main differentiator for Intel processors where a higher number means better performance and usually a higher price too. If you are doing basic computing tasks (for work or school) and play simple games then an i5 may be perfect for your needs and will likely save you some money. If you want a laptop capable of playing complex games, processing large video files, or other demanding tasks then pay a little extra for a machine with a higher numbered processor.
  2. 11th gen vs 12th gen: as with most technologies, newer will be faster and more versatile. This is especially true for Intel processors released this year. We discussed the 11th generation processors in last year’s Intel gamer days article. They are still amazing processors, capable of handling the most complex tasks and demanding games very well. This year Intel released a major leap in processor design with the 12th gen processor as we discussed in an article last spring. Read that article and you’ll understand why “11 is good, but 12 is a lot better.” Again, if you want to save money, then last year’s model will be excellent for your needs. If you want maximum flexibility and performance then you’ll be leaning toward the newest models.
  3. H vs K vs HK: Intel model numbers have a suffix and two of the most important ones for fast laptops are H and K. H means the processor is optimized for high performance in laptops. Most of the fastest laptops have this suffix. The other suffix, K, is especially useful for very serious gamers or computing enthusiasts who want to push their machines to their absolute limits. The K means the processor is unlocked, and can be configured to go beyond the fastest specifications set by the manufacturer: the term for this is overclocking. People who desire an extra edge in gaming, or want to process very demanding computing task will often turn to a K processor.

What questions do you have about Intel processors

Those three points above will likely help most computer buyers but I know they won’t answer all of your questions. Intel actually has a quite a range of processors and it can be confusing. One of the things I hope you get out of Intel gamers days is a little more knowledge that will help you make a more informed decision on your next laptop purchase. As such, the methods of entry for this contest are designed to help. And just by asking or answering a question below, you’ll have a chance to win a great prize from one of the sponsors of this contest. Carefully read the instructions below for the best chance. You never know, you might win one of these four amazing laptops.

We will also give away a digital code for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PC) to each prize winner because from August 25th, you will also receive a copy of the game if you purchase a qualifying device equipped with Intel i7 or i9 processor at Best Buy!

How to enter

Entering this contest is easy and you can enter in two different ways

  1. In comment below, help our readers learn about Intel processor by either
    1. asking a question about one thing you don’t understand about Intel processors; or
    2. answering a question that someone else posted in these comments about Intel processors; or
    3. telling us one thing you just learned about Intel processors that you think is interesting.
  2. For up to two (2) additional entries, create a public post on a social media channel (one entry per channel!) sharing with your friends and followers one thing you like about Intel Core 12th Gen processors; include the hashtag #BbyIntelgamerdaysContest, so we can find your post, and include one of the pictures showing on this article. Then return here and tell us in a comment below on which channel you posted it and the name of your channel (since many people use pseudonyms) so that we can check and verify your entry. You can use any two social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.), but the post must be public so we can verify it is there.

What you can win

At the end of this contest we will randomly select four winners from all eligible entries to win one of these prize bundles: HP OMEN 16″ gaming laptop and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PC), Acer Nitro 5 15.6″ gaming laptop and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PC), Dell Alienware m15 R7 15.6″ gaming laptop and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PC), Gigabyte Aero 16 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (PC).

This contest runs from August 25th until Sept 4th. 

Remember you can enter in two different ways. Everyone needs a great computer so you know many people who would benefit from the information in this article, and would love to win a new Intel powered laptop. Share this article with all your friends and family!

Win a laptop during Intel Gamer Days Contest Rules and Regulations

Good Luck

Martin Renaud
Martin Renaud
Editor in Chief
Martin loves working with the talented editors and writers on the Best Buy Blog as Editor-in-Chief. During his spare time he is either working on his next novel, cooking up a masterpiece in the kitchen, or adding some smart tech to his new home on Mayne Island in British Columbia.
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651 COMMENTS

  1. I didn’t know the difference was between the H and K in the suffix….this is good to know….thank you

  5. Here’s something I found interesting about these Intel 12th-gen processors — they use a Performance Hybrid Architecture that combines Performance-cores (P-cores) and Efficient-cores (E-Cores) to deliver balanced single-thread and multi-threaded real-world performance. They will also deliver tasks to the cores that are most efficient for the specific process.

  7. I learned the difference between “H” and “K” and what they correspond to “H” for high performance, “K” for overclocking.

  14. The post teaches about H, K, and HK, but I’ve seen it end in KF, for example, 12900KF. What does the F mean?

    • Hi, good question. When there is an F in the suffix, it means that the processor does not come with an integrated graphics card. 12900KF would mean it’s a 12th gen processor that is overclockable but doesn’t have integrated graphics, which makes it slightly cheaper than a HK for example.

  16. I learned that K means the processor is unlocked, and can be configured to go beyond the fastest specifications set by the manufacturer.

  17. I learned the difference between H and K and what they correspond to. H for high performance, K for overclocking.

  18. The H K and HK abbreviations are very interesting. Thank this is going to help my research for a new gaming laptop.

  21. Learned the difference in nomenclature of the processors. What H, K, and HK is. This help me better understand what process I should look for because I’m a gamer and want maximum performance.

  22. Thanks for the chance to win this amazing prize BestBuy! Being a computer programmer myself, I still learned a lot from this fascinating article, including the speed and reliability differences between newer models, and the benefits with upcoming i12 processors I think we can all be excited for. Keep up the great work Intel

  23. The architecture of the 12th gen processors is interesting, especially from the point of context of a gaming laptop that you might want to use for less intensive workloads some of the time to benefit from the better battery life.

  25. I just learned what K, H and HK mean in the model numbers.
    H – optimized for laptops
    K – unlocked (good for gamers)
    HK – both

  27. Which processor is better for everyday use + using an app like photoshop? I do some edits for my photography and light graphic design for web. Would i5 do the trick or I should upgrade?

    • From my own personal experience (if price is an issue) an i5 processor should be fine for editing photos and light graphic design for the web. Where you may find issues are with large video files, etc. If I had to do one or the other I would get more ram and go with an i5 rather than go with an i7 and have less ram.

    • Main difference is how powerful the gpu (Graphics processing unit) is. A gaming laptop will usually have a dedicated gpu separate from the cpu to handle 3d tasks which ups the cost and will require better cooling then what most regular laptops have.

  30. I learned that the h is for high performance and the k means it is unlocked to go beyond the manufacture spec

  31. Why do the Intel CPUs only use Odd numbers? i5, i7, i9? What’s the reason behind avoiding even numbers? Is there one?

    • The number of CPU cores is generally even (2, 4, 8, 16). Intel didn’t want to confuse the brand number (i3, i5, i7) with the number of cores, so they used odd numbers only.

    • Not normally.All chips in the same series are the same, but are tested and sorted by performance. They have the iGPU on the chip, but sometimes it is disabled.

  34. Honestly never fully understood the Skus naming of the cpu’s intell now, (haha get it). I’d watched a few videos on YouTube to see if they could help but none of them had a diagram as helpfull as the one in the blog. Now I fully understand why the core i9 12000K is king.

  35. I’ve been hearing great things about gaming laptops for mobile/online businesses, because they can handle anything you throw at them. At which ‘power’ level would it stop being beneficial for mobile entrepreneurs and just be overkill? Thank you!

  36. How important is the number of cores the processor has? Is more always better or is it not worth it after a certain point.

    • Very important, it will determine how your applications run depending if you need the fastest cpu or something more moderate. In my experience a 6 core 12 thread CPU is a happy medium for gaming and productivity.

  38. Like most people here, I didn’t realize H and K referred to how powerful your laptop could be. Really good knowledge for when myself or someone I know will need to purchase a laptop in the future!

  39. Never new about the H&K suffixes and how it signifies what the computer processors are tailored for from a performance standpoint.

  41. I know they are different Intel core, but does the generation affects the performance, i.e does i3 10th generation perform better than i5 5th generation.

  42. I never realized Intel model numbers have a suffix including H and K. H meaning the processor is optimized for high performance in laptops, and, K, meaning the processor is unlocked, and can be configured to go beyond the fastest specifications set by the manufacturer (i.e. overclocking)!

  43. Never really followed how they created their skus in terms of the Gen-Sku-Locked/Unlocked. That’s pretty useful to know.

  44. I didn’t know that Intel started using these new p cores and e cores on the new processors. I think it’s pretty brilliant. I wonder if 12th gen CPUs allow for better cooling because of the e cores?

  45. I never knew about the H, K & HK abbreviations. Especially how K in unlocked and you can speed it up!

  47. Why does the AMD chipset dominate the High-end CPU Benchmarks compared to Intel? Is there technology in Intel CPU’s that AMD doesn’t have?

    • Honestly, it all depends on what make/model your mother board is. From my experience, most i7 to i9 cpu upgrades are fine/compatible with the same motherboard as long as is not a low end kind. If you drop your make and model of the mother board I can check for you.

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