This $510 laptop has a CPU that’s almost as powerful as the Apple M5

The star of the show: desktop-class CPU power

The real magic of this deal lies entirely under the hood. The Hasee X5 is powered by the Intel Core i9-12900H — a 14-core, 20-thread behemoth. While it originally debuted a few years ago in premium workstations and high-end creator laptops, its performance remains absolutely formidable today.

To put its power into perspective:

• Outpaces the latest tech: With a CPUBenchmark score of nearly 26,800, it actually outperforms the cutting-edge AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 launched earlier in 2026.
• Rivals Apple’s best: It falls just short of the mighty Apple M5 chip found in the 14-inch MacBook Pro (2025).

Paired with 16GB of snappy DDR5 RAM and a 512GB Foresee PCIe 4.0 SSD (plus an open M.2 slot for easy storage expansion), this machine is tailor-made for heavy-lifting workloads like coding, data analysis, engineering software, and complex mathematical tasks.

Premium touches on a budget

Hasee didn’t just throw a powerful CPU into a cheap plastic shell. The X5 boasts several surprising design choices usually reserved for much pricier machines:

Premium Chassis: Unlike most $500 laptops that use plastic for their outer shell, it features a sleek, durable metal body.

Upgrader-Friendly: The bottom plate can be easily removed, giving you quick access to the internals.

Insane Connectivity: It features a total of eight ports plus a dedicated card reader — a rarity in the modern dongle-heavy era.

User Comforts: Includes a physical webcam privacy shutter, a backlit keyboard, and a dedicated numeric keypad.

My verdict

At $510, compromises are inevitable. Before you hit the “buy” button keep these trade-offs in mind:

• Graphics & AI Limits: The integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics is no match for a dedicated GPU (it performs similarly to a 2020 GeForce MX350). While it can easily handle casual gaming like Minecraft or Roblox, it isn’t meant for modern AAA gaming. Furthermore, the lack of a dedicated NPU means local AI processing is limited.
• Battery Life & Power: Combining a power-hungry, 45W high-end CPU with a relatively small battery means you will want to stay close to a wall outlet.
• Display & Ports: The screen quality is sub-optimal for professional color work, and the USB-C port is strictly for data (no video output or power delivery).
• Brand & Logistics: Hasee lacks the household “street cred” of brands like Dell or HP. Additionally, this specific deal is fulfilled via the Newegg Marketplace rather than Newegg direct, so you’ll want to verify the specific seller’s ratings.

If you can live with its shortcomings, the X5 is going to be a fantastic compute powerhouse as you simply cannot find a portable laptop with more oomph than this one.