Intel finally dropped its next-gen chips after months of hype. The company launched its Core Ultra Series 3 processors, codenamed Panther Lake, marking its first product on the advanced 18A manufacturing node. These chips are built with a multi-tile design, packing new performance cores, efficiency cores, and an upgraded integrated graphics unit. Intel claims major gains, stating the top model offers forty percent lower power use for similar single-threaded performance compared to the previous generation. In multi-threaded tasks, they boast a sixty percent performance jump at the same power level.
The company posted benchmarks targeting rival products from AMD and Qualcomm. Charts showed the flagship Core Ultra X9 388H beating an AMD Ryzen chip in battery life tests for video streaming and outperforming it in creative applications like Blender. For gaming, Intel says its new Arc B390 iGPU with Xe3 architecture is eighty-two percent faster on average than AMD's best mobile graphics in 1080p titles. This iGPU also supports a new multi-frame generation feature.
These processors will appear in over two hundred laptop designs and are also destined for gaming handhelds from partners like MSI and Acer. The silicon uses three main die configurations. An entry-level version combines four performance cores with four low-power efficiency cores and four graphics cores. A middle option pairs four performance cores with eight standard efficiency cores and four low-power ones, keeping the same four graphics cores. The top die configuration uses that same sixteen-core compute setup but massively boosts the graphics to twelve Xe3 cores.
Memory support scales with the design. The basic die handles up to 6800 MT/s for LPDDR5x, while the top-tier die supports speeds up to 9600 MT/s, which is critical for feeding the powerful integrated graphics. The platform controller tile providing connectivity is made by TSMC, offering a mix of PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 lanes along with Wi-Fi 7. The compute tile for all variants is made on Intel's own 18A process, while the graphics tiles use either Intel 3 or TSMC N3E technology.
A full list of processor models was revealed, with the X9 388H sitting at the top. It runs at up to 5.1 gigahertz and includes those twelve graphics cores, with a power range between 25 and 80 watts. Other models scale down from there, with some configurations dropping the standard efficiency cores entirely for lower-power devices. Systems using these new CPUs are expected to become available immediately, with pre-orders starting right away.
The company posted benchmarks targeting rival products from AMD and Qualcomm. Charts showed the flagship Core Ultra X9 388H beating an AMD Ryzen chip in battery life tests for video streaming and outperforming it in creative applications like Blender. For gaming, Intel says its new Arc B390 iGPU with Xe3 architecture is eighty-two percent faster on average than AMD's best mobile graphics in 1080p titles. This iGPU also supports a new multi-frame generation feature.
These processors will appear in over two hundred laptop designs and are also destined for gaming handhelds from partners like MSI and Acer. The silicon uses three main die configurations. An entry-level version combines four performance cores with four low-power efficiency cores and four graphics cores. A middle option pairs four performance cores with eight standard efficiency cores and four low-power ones, keeping the same four graphics cores. The top die configuration uses that same sixteen-core compute setup but massively boosts the graphics to twelve Xe3 cores.
Memory support scales with the design. The basic die handles up to 6800 MT/s for LPDDR5x, while the top-tier die supports speeds up to 9600 MT/s, which is critical for feeding the powerful integrated graphics. The platform controller tile providing connectivity is made by TSMC, offering a mix of PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 lanes along with Wi-Fi 7. The compute tile for all variants is made on Intel's own 18A process, while the graphics tiles use either Intel 3 or TSMC N3E technology.
A full list of processor models was revealed, with the X9 388H sitting at the top. It runs at up to 5.1 gigahertz and includes those twelve graphics cores, with a power range between 25 and 80 watts. Other models scale down from there, with some configurations dropping the standard efficiency cores entirely for lower-power devices. Systems using these new CPUs are expected to become available immediately, with pre-orders starting right away.
