Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra X9 388H performance analysis - Outpaces Arrow Lake and exceeds Zen 5 in efficiency

[ye]

(we're talking CPU here as the iGPU is produced by TSMC) versus the Ryzen that still uses an old 4nm process.

According to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_Lake_(microprocessor), Panther Lake is using TSMC N3E and it may not the best available node, this may go to N3P (Apple is supposedly using it for its M5 series chips). (currently best available is prob TSMC 2N, but of course, everyone would be surprised if it was used for Panther Lake)

and perhaps update or remove the outdated comparative charts that are still present, for example in this one.

(the rest of the text seems mostly about the price, which is fair enough (you say 2500 is too much? I say 1300 is still too much)) Which ones?

[Diaryfine]

Prices aren't relevent when nothing is going to be available for another 5 months.

strix halo is in approximately 0 consumer laptops. (Z13 is a tablet, zbook ultra g1a is business)

I dislike Asus so the tuf A14 does not an option for me at all. The first real halo laptop for me will be in the upcoming Lenovo legion, but afaik, that's not launching for at least another 8 months.

So both are pretty much paper launches as far as I'm concerned.

What people see in retail shops in the streets is LNL, ARL-H/HX and KRK.

Also, it's difficult to compare nodes when the numbers are all marketing and they're all so highly specialised. 18A seems better than 4nm but by how much we don't really. Could be more like a 3.5nm or 3nm or 2.5nm..which is why I try to avoid the nm discussion entirely.

[ChaliEx]

The same iGPU in the flagship Core Ultra X9 388H at 35W and above is even beaten by itself when paired with the smaller 358H. The 358H with exactly the same iGPU is faster.

If it's true, it's a pro-B390 point.

For me, it means that the B390 requires significantly more watts to function optimally. When paired with a more powerful CPU that consumes additional watts, the CPU and iGPU struggle to share the power. In my opinion, this indicates that, in order to showcase low power consumption for the 388H, Intel set a limit on the maximum power, which is too low as the main goal was to demonstrate an efficiency that is not actually the story they want to sell us. In fact, the updated benchmarks reveal that the reality is quite different, as added later.

For these reasons a laptop that uses them costs about $2,600

I think the cheapest B390 APU-only laptop so far is roughly 1300 + taxes? (which is too much, if you ask me)
Indeed, in the end, the price to performance will decide. Cheapest 4050 laptop is like 700-800 bucks.

But here, the article is about the X9 388H, not the less powerful variants that have a very weak iGPU. They used the ZenBook Duo UX8407 for tests with the X9 388H. According to the article on this website, 'In Germany, the new ZenBook Duo UX8407 can be pre-ordered from Asus for an RRP of 2,599 euros (approximately $3,080 based on late January 2026 exchange rates). Deliveries commence on February 18.'

This means the price is even worse for the X9 388H, not around $2,500, but closer to $3,100.

[ChaliEx]

(we're talking CPU here as the iGPU is produced by TSMC) versus the Ryzen that still uses an old 4nm process.

According to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_Lake_(microprocessor), Panther Lake is using TSMC N3E and it may not the best available node, this may go to N3P (Apple is supposedly using it for its M5 series chips). (currently best available is prob TSMC 2N, but of course, everyone would be surprised if it was used for Panther Lake)

Panther Lake combines hybrid CPU cores manufactured using Intel's in-house 18A process with integrated graphics based on the Arc Xe3 architecture. However, it's important to note that some models, particularly the 12-core iGPUs, continue to rely on TSMC manufacturing for the GPU, utilizing the N3E process.

Moreover, both Strix Halo and Strix Point CPU and iGPU are produced with TSMC's N4P fabrication process.

This raises significant concerns. As I have mentioned, Intel utilized the best resources they have for the CPU, the 18A node about which they've been telling "stories" for years and which has often felt like unobtanium (because it wasn't functioning, and in reality, it's still not ready even now after years, as it still has very low yields). For the iGPU, they opted for the most recent manufacturing process available at TSMC (excluding those that are already fully booked). Yet, the results are what we see today.

I want to emphasize that this CPU family was launched now, not a year ago. It was supposed to be competitive in future perspective. More advanced fabrication processes should enable greater performance if the chip design is good. However, it seems that the best they could achieve is only this. For me, this is a disappointing outcome.

[ye]

But here, the article is about the X9 388H, not the less powerful variants that have a very weak iGPU. They used the ZenBook Duo UX8407 for tests with the X9 388H.

All 3 (as of this posting) Arc B390 iGPUs are about equally fast (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_Lake_(microprocessor)#Panther_Lake). The Duo just makes getting a Arc B390 APU quite a bit more expensive. Also, the title is "Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra X9 388H performance analysis - Outpaces Arrow Lake and exceeds Zen 5 in efficiency" and nothing with Duo in it. Doesn't matter what they used, all B390 will be about equally fast. So, again, the cheapest B390 will be 1300 + taxes AFAIHaveSeen. The 32 GB soldered RAM, even if it's 9600 MT/s, is a downer tho, so I'm only interested if it's like no more than 700 bucks..maybe in 2-3-4 years it will be like that, used. The cheapest (used) RTX 4060 laptop (not 4050 laptop, so it's faster than the Arc B390), can be get for 700 bucks.. But an iGPU-only laptop may be lighter than a 4050 laptop.

Panther Lake combines hybrid CPU cores [..]

Not sure on what [Intel] node the predecessor CPU part is made on, but Panther Lake has not improved on the CPU front, if I saw it correctly, at least not in power efficiency, but it's fine, for me the iGPU performance matters much more and here Panther Lake delivered, but price is the elephant in the room.