Everything You Need to Know About Intel's Panther Lake

With the launch of Panther Lake and, in particular, the Core Ultra X9, Intel is finally delivering something many Windows users have been waiting for: strong performance and excellent efficiency in the same machine.

Why Intel’s New Core Ultra X9 Is a Big Deal

The new Core Ultra X9 combines two traits that previously felt mutually exclusive in x86 laptops:

• CPU performance on par with Arrow Lake H, the chips used in last year’s high-performance laptops like the Zephyrus G16
• Power draw comparable to Lunar Lake, which powered ultra-thin laptops known for long battery life

The result is something genuinely new for Windows laptops: powerful CPU performance, impressive integrated graphics, quiet operation, and strong battery life—all in thin and light designs.

Even more impressive is the integrated GPU. Intel’s new Arc graphics rival entry-level Nvidia GPUs at lower wattages, while remaining cool and quiet. Because the processor is so efficient, manufacturers can package this performance into laptops that stay silent and barely get warm.

What Is Panther Lake?

Intel released 14 different Panther Lake CPUs, which can be broadly divided into three categories depending on who they’re for.

1. Core Ultra X7 and X9 (H-series)

These are Intel’s highest-end Panther Lake chips.

• 16-core CPUs
• Arc B390 integrated GPU with 12 cores
• Best for users who want strong performance for productivity, gaming, and creative work

These chips replace last year’s Arrow Lake H (Core Ultra Series 2) processors, but with noticeably better efficiency.

2. Non-X H-Series Chips

These processors still use higher core-count CPUs but come with a much smaller 4-core GPU.

• Ideal for programmers, audio engineers, and students
• Designed for people who don’t plan to game or do GPU-heavy creative work

They also replace Arrow Lake H chips, offering improved battery life compared to last generation.

3. Lower-Power Core Ultra Chips (No Letter Suffix)

These are the lower core count Panther Lake processors. Either 8 or 6 cores with the same 4-core GPU.

• Designed for web browsing, office work, and studying
• Replace Lunar Lake (Series 2 “V” chips)
• Will likely offer similar performance and battery life as Lunar Lake (to be tested)

Important Naming Gotchas to Watch Out For

As usual, Intel’s naming makes things more confusing than necessary:

• Not all Core Ultra 7 chips are faster than Core Ultra 5 chips
  The letter at the end (H vs no letter) matters more than the number.
• Some Ultra 5 chips have 12 cores, while others only have 6 cores.
• One chip, the Ultra 5 338H, includes a 10-core Arc GPU, slightly cut down from the X7/X9’s 12-core version.
  This chip could end up offering excellent value if priced correctly.

CPU Performance: Strong, But Not the Strongest

In CPU benchmarks like Geekbench and Cinebench:

• The Core Ultra X9 matches or exceeds last-generation Arrow Lake H chips
• It outperforms AMD’s Ryzen 9 HX 370 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips
• Apple’s higher-end MacBook Pro chips and AMD's Strix Halo still lead in multi-core performance
• Apple leads in single-core and single-thread

CPU Efficiency: One of Intel’s Biggest Wins

Performance alone doesn’t tell the full story. Where Panther Lake really shines is efficiency.

At similar power levels, the Core Ultra X9 now delivers better performance than AMD’s Ryzen 9 HX 370, something that would have been unthinkable a year ago. Compared to Lunar Lake, the 16-core X9 delivers around 60% more performance at the same power draw.

Apple still leads in raw efficiency, especially with higher-core M-series chips, but Intel has closed the gap significantly.

Heat and Fan Noise

Thanks to improved efficiency:

• CPU temperatures remain reasonable, even under sustained load
• Balanced performance modes deliver near-peak performance while staying almost silent
• In everyday use, these laptops can be effectively fanless

This makes Panther Lake especially appealing in thin and light designs, where noise and heat are usually major compromises.

GPU Performance: A Massive Leap Forward

Intel’s Arc B390 integrated GPU is one of the most impressive aspects of Panther Lake.

• Competes with low-wattage RTX 4050 and RTX 5050 laptops
• Delivers an 86% uplift over Arrow Lake H integrated graphics
• Includes hardware ray tracing support
• Outperforms previous Intel iGPUs by a wide margin

In cross-platform benchmarks, it even edges out Apple’s base M-series GPU in some cases, which is a major milestone for Intel.

Gaming Performance

At 1080p with high settings:

• The Arc B390 consistently delivers playable frame rates in AAA games
• Easily outperforms Intel’s previous integrated graphics
• Handles esports and lighter titles especially well

Intel also introduced multi-frame generation via XeSS, allowing frame rates to increase dramatically in supported games. While average FPS improves significantly, 1% lows don’t always scale as much—something also seen with Nvidia’s frame generation.

GPU Efficiency

In terms of performance per watt:

• The Arc B390 delivers similar gaming performance to an RTX 4050 while using around 33% less power
• It draws 55% less power than RTX 5050 laptops for similar FPS
• Even compared to Apple’s M-series GPUs, Intel achieves higher FPS at similar wattage in some scenarios

This level of GPU efficiency is one of Panther Lake’s strongest advantages.

Creator Performance

For creative workloads:

• Premiere Pro performance is much improved over older Intel iGPUs
• DaVinci Resolve shows a large generational uplift, though Apple and higher-end GPUs still lead
• Blender rendering results are surprisingly strong, beating some laptops with dedicated RTX 4050 GPUs

For casual creators and lighter projects, Panther Lake is absolutely viable. For professionals exporting complex projects daily, higher-end GPUs and Macs still make more sense.

Battery Life: Another Major Win

Battery performance is one of the most impressive aspects of Panther Lake:

• Full CPU performance is maintained while unplugged
• Gaming performance on battery remains largely unchanged
• Light-use battery life can exceed even Apple’s MacBook Pro in some configurations

When normalized for battery size, Panther Lake still ranks near the top, showing that efficiency—not just big batteries—is doing the heavy lifting.

Final Thoughts

Panther Lake feels like a defining moment for Intel. While it may not match the scale of Apple’s original M1 disruption, the overall package—performance, efficiency, graphics, and battery life—represents a massive step forward.

These are laptops people are likely to keep for many years.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be reviewing more Panther Lake laptops and testing the rest of the lineup. If you’re shopping soon, this is one of the most exciting Intel generations we’ve seen in a long time.