Intel Core 5 220H socket: BGA 1744

What the Core 5 220H is

The Core 5 220H is a twelve-core, sixteen-thread mobile processor that Intel released in December 2024 with Core Series 2 for performance laptops. Four Performance-cores and eight Efficient-cores give 16 threads at 2.7 GHz P-base with turbo to 4.9 GHz, while the Efficient-cores run 2.0 GHz base with turbo to 3.7 GHz. Cache totals 18 MB of Intel Smart Cache. Processor base power is 45 W with turbo up to 115 W on Intel 7.

Against the 8-core Intel Core 5 210H below it the 220H adds four Efficient-cores with more cache for heavier multitasking at matching power. Against the 10-core Intel Core 7 240H above it gives up two Performance-cores for lower cost in mainstream performance bodies. The multiplier story is undocumented for H SKUs, so this page records no unlocked claim.

Graphics come from Intel Iris Xe with 80 execution units at up to 1500 MHz, driving laptop displays with light creation and play. ECC memory is not offered on these consumer mobile parts. The 35 W minimum assured power lets thin chassis configure the chip down where cooling is limited.

Workload fit is mainstream performance laptops: development machines, engineering student laptops and creator systems where 12 cores cover compilation and multitasking inside 45 W. Buyers pick the 220H where the 210H runs out of threads but Core 7 pricing overshoots the budget for mainstream duty.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 220H fits the BGA 1744 soldered package at 50 × 25 mm with 1,744 contacts. Laptop makers solder it directly with cooling designed for the 45 W base and 115 W turbo envelope. There is no socketed market and no processor upgrade, so buyers choose the configuration once at order time.

Board designs split between DDR5 SODIMM models with later memory expansion and soldered LPDDR5X models with higher bandwidth. This SKU reaches DDR5-5200, DDR4-3200 and LPDDR5X-6400 across two channels to 96 GB. Makers aiming at thin bodies favor soldered memory while thicker workstations keep slots.

Shoppers comparing inside the Series 2 stack meet the same package from the 8-core 210H through the 14-core Intel Core 9 270H. Core count, graphics size and clocks differ while the socket idea and power class stay constant.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

DDR5-5200, DDR4-3200 and LPDDR5X-6400 support arrives over two channels to 96 GB. Dual-channel fitting feeds both the cores and the 80 EU graphics, so matched SODIMM pairs decide smoothness in integrated-graphics builds. A 2 x 16 GB kit covers development multitasking with margin for virtual machines.

PCIe 5.0 lanes number 28 in total across CPU and PCH, with 8 Gen5 lanes typically wired to graphics and Gen4 lanes to NVMe storage. A fast Gen4 SSD saturates laptop storage needs, while the Gen5 graphics link keeps discrete options open on gaming-oriented bodies with room to spare.

Cooling belongs to the laptop maker across the 35 to 115 W band, with heat pipes and fans sized for sustained 45 W operation. No cooler ships with the soldered processor. Sustained clocks under long compiles track chassis cooling more than the headline turbo figure.

Upgrade paths

No CPU upgrade exists on a soldered BGA-1744 board. The buying ladder inside Series 2 runs from the 8-core Intel Core 5 210H through this 12-core 220H to the 10-core Intel Core 7 240H and 14-core H SKUs, chosen at order time. Storage and, on SODIMM boards, memory are the only parts that change afterward.

A move beyond Raptor Lake-H means replacing the whole laptop on a newer platform such as Arrow Lake-H or Lunar Lake designs. The LGA, PGA and BGA: CPU package types explained guide explains why soldered mobile designs never offered the desktop swap path.