Checking how a CPU should perform on a laptop isn't as straightforward as it is on a desktop, but that doesn't mean it should be complicated.

On a desktop computer, CPU choices are not that complicated. You don't need to know much in terms of suffixes. For example, if it's a K CPU, it has an unlocked multiplier and allows overclocking, whereas if it has no suffix, it is locked.

In laptops, it's a bit more complicated. You might have seen how laptop chips come with different suffixes, and you're not quite sure what those mean. Knowing the difference can make or break your next laptop purchase.

What's the difference, exactly, between Intel's U, H, and P chips? Which one should you get?

The reason why there are so many laptop chips compared to desktop ones, and why you shouldn't just check if it's an i3 or an i5 and what generation it is, comes down to the fact that no two laptops are the same.

On desktop PCs, sure, the power consumption for some chips can, and often does, vary wildly. But the design of a PC has remained pretty much the same over the years—it's a box, and inside goes a motherboard. Depending on the case, there's ample room for cooling. As such, whenever there's a suffix on an Intel desktop chip, it usually means other things. For one, F means it has no integrated GPU, while K means it has an unlocked multiplier.

On laptops, however, you don't have the room a desktop PC has. Even the thickest laptops don't even get close to that. As such, to make it portable, sacrifices need to be made. Why are there different CPU lines, though?

It's because even a few extra watts can make a big difference in terms of thermals on a laptop, and depending on how thin or light you want your laptop, as well as what you'll use it for, you need to have different chip lineups, so you can successfully serve the needs of everyone. Currently, there are three CPU lines—the U-series, the P-series, and the H-series.

With that out of the way, if you want a thin and lightweight laptop, and you'll mostly use it for work and internet browsing purposes, it'll likely come with a U chip.

U means "ultra-low-power," and that's basically it—they're chips that aren't necessarily the very best in terms of CPU performance, but they're instead low-power designs made with efficiency in mind. They have lower clock speeds, lesser cores, and more importantly, a very low TDP. The Intel Core i5-1265U is rated for 15W, and can turbo up to 55W in brief bursts. Some U chips go as low as 9W. These chips can be cooled relatively easily, and depending on the PC's design, they could even be cooled passively.

They're relatively weak chips compared to other offerings from Intel. In order to attain that ultra-low power consumption, these PCs will take a number of steps to improve efficiency, such as taking out cores or making them run slower. This ultimately means you'll get reduced performance, but it does the trick for an ultralight laptop.

Now that you know about U chips, we can talk about the middle-of-the-road option, Intel's P-series. Like the U-series, these are parts found on thin and lightweight laptops. However, power consumption is brought up a bit, and so is performance.

P chips sip a little more power—28W, to be precise. That's almost twice (or even triple!) what a U-series chip requires. As such, power and thermal requirements for these chips are higher, and you'll need beefier cooling. But at this point, it's nothing that would make a thin and light laptop thicker than it should be, and with the right cooling, it shouldn't be a problem.

Whereas you'll normally see U-series chips on laptops between $300 and $600, P chips are present on higher-end "ultrabook" laptops like the Dell XPS 13, which cost north of $1,000. That's because the increased thermal headroom allows Intel to cram better performance on these chips.

Finally, we're getting to the top. Intel's H chips are largely regarded as the company's enthusiast lineup for laptops, and with good reason.

Unlike the P-line and U-line, the H-lineup is not made to fit into a thin, lightweight laptop. While those chips go up to 28W, an H CPU can go up to a whopping 45W. Granted, that's not even close to a desktop CPU (the Core i9-12900K sips 125W), but for a laptop, that's actually a lot—remember, they have enclosed, tightly-fitted spaces where internal components don't have a lot of room to breathe. That doesn't mean they're not good. In fact, they're pretty much as good as it gets for laptops.

Another advantage H chips have is that they're very close to their desktop counterparts as well. While the Intel Core i9-12900K is kicking in desktop PCs, the i9-12900H is instead made only for the very best laptops out there.

Of course, when we say H chips can't fit into thin and light PCs, we mean it. These parts normally go inside gaming-oriented laptops, which are physically larger and thicker than other laptops since they need to be packed with better cooling to compensate for the heat the internals will put out. If you try to put one in an ultra-light PC, it'll thermal throttle over most of its lifespan.

It largely depends on how much you're looking to spend on a laptop and what you want to do with it.

As we mentioned, U chips are present on thin laptops with price tags between $400 and $700. These PCs are good for office work, browsing the internet, installing essential programs, and other things without involving games or heavier work. If you want to do heavier work on your PC, you'll probably shift your sights to ultrabooks over $900, which will, most certainly, come with a P chip.

Finally, if you buy a gaming laptop, chances are it comes with an H chip if it's Intel-powered.

Different Intel laptop chip lineups exist because no two laptop users are the same. Some might not care about performance and prefer a thin laptop that works amazingly for work/studying purposes. Others might want something incredibly powerful, even if it comes at the expense of portability.

Hopefully, now you know the difference.

Arol is a tech journalist and Staff Writer at MakeUseOf. He has also worked as a news/feature writer at XDA-Developers and Pixel Spot. Currently a Pharmacy student at the Central University of Venezuela, Arol has had a soft spot for everything tech-related since he was a child. When not writing, you'll either find him nose-deep into his textbooks or playing video games.

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