Intel would not suck anymore. It is redemption time
Abstract created by Sensible Solutions AI
In abstract:
- PCWorld reviews that Intel’s upcoming Core Extremely Sequence 3 ‘Panther Lake’ processors mark a big comeback, combining over 50% higher multithreaded efficiency than earlier generations with spectacular Arc B390 built-in graphics.
- Intel is returning to in-house manufacturing on its 18A course of after outsourcing Lunar Lake to TSMC, whereas eradicating pricey on-package reminiscence to assist management PC costs.
- The brand new chips goal gaming handhelds and laptops with enhanced effectivity, assembly Microsoft’s NPU necessities because the business shifts away from AI PC obsession.
I’ve reviewed tons of laptops powered by Intel CPUs during the last yr, and I’ve had gripes. The Core Extremely Sequence 2 technology was a branding mess with its mixture of Lunar Lake, Arrow Lake, and Meteor Lake architectures. However at CES 2026, Intel turned a nook. Intel Core Extremely Sequence 3—codenamed Panther Lake—appears to be like prefer it’s really a coherent platform to go toe-to-toe with AMD and Qualcomm.
Intel appears to have its swagger again, too. Intel had TSMC manufacture its Lunar Lake CPUs final technology, however Intel is now again to manufacturing its personal CPUs once more. This yr, Intel struck an enormous cope with Nvidia and the US authorities turned a big shareholder in its operations. Regardless of latest struggles, the massive chipmaker shouldn’t be written off but.
I didn’t have the chance to benchmark any of those new Panther Lake-powered machines at CES, so keep tuned for that after we get our fingers on evaluation models. However I’m nonetheless impressed—and right here’s why.
Battery life and efficiency in a single
Intel’s Lunar Lake was a wierd beast. Made by TSMC as a substitute of Intel, it was Intel’s try to leap on board the power-efficient laptop computer revolution, full with onboard reminiscence that couldn’t be upgraded, a speedy NPU for working overhyped Copilot+ PC AI options, and a surprisingly succesful built-in GPU.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
However Lunar Lake’s large limitation was multithreaded efficiency. It got here far behind Arrow Lake and even Meteor Lake CPUs in our Cinebench and Handbrake benchmarks. That’s why most laptops I reviewed all year long finally went with Arrow Lake or Meteor Lake chips. But, whereas these provided stronger efficiency, they sacrificed battery life and likewise ran hotter than Lunar Lake.
With Panther Lake, Intel says we must always anticipate greater than 50 % higher multithreaded efficiency over Lunar Lake and Meteor Lake, with 10 % much less energy utilization than Lunar Lake. Intel additionally claims that Panther Lake’s efficiency is much like Arrow Lake.
This time round, it feels like we’re getting each battery life and stable multithreaded CPU efficiency in the identical {hardware} package deal. (Need to dive deeper? Study extra about Panther Lake’s technical particulars.)
New built-in GPUs look spectacular
Intel has been exhausting at work on upgrading its built-in graphics over the previous couple of years, and it’s now advertising and marketing its new Arc B390 iGPU as being on par with Nvidia’s RTX 4000-series discrete graphics playing cards. We benchmarked the {hardware} at CES 2026… and it’s shut!
With Lunar Lake, Intel delivered severely spectacular built-in Arc graphics—however Lunar Lake wasn’t the place for critical iGPU upgrades. Lunar Lake was targeted on battery life and never CPU efficiency, which meant Intel’s best-performing built-in graphics was paired with a CPU platform that struggled in multithreaded efficiency. Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake had even worse iGPUs.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
By bringing Intel’s quickest iGPUs along with a good quicker CPU, Panther Lake guarantees to energy laptops with spectacular gaming efficiency on built-in graphics.
That’s one thing just a few PC producers had been keen to inform me about at CES 2026. Intel’s new Core Extremely Sequence 3 {hardware} may energy PC gaming experiences and not using a discrete GPU. Corporations like HP had been displaying off demos of PC video games working on Intel’s new iGPUs.
Competing with AMD in handhelds
With Panther Lake, Intel is speaking about bringing extra competitors to the gaming handheld house. Steam Deck-style handheld gaming PCs largely use AMD processors, and there’s hypothesis that firms like Valve might launch {hardware} with Arm chips sooner or later.
Intel had a lot swagger that one government even talked smack at CES 2026, accusing AMD of “promoting historic silicon” for handhelds. Intel is promising customized Panther Lake {hardware} for the gaming handheld market—one thing that might be severely spectacular, contemplating how good Intel’s built-in graphics are getting.
AMD disagreed (naturally), saying Panther Lake would include a bunch of luggage and be a foul match for handhelds. We’ll see who’s proper after the {hardware} is launched. I’m simply excited to see extra competitors.
NPUs that catch as much as Home windows 11’s minimal specs
Whereas a lot of PC producers are nonetheless keen to speak about Copilot+ PCs and AI laptops, Microsoft appears to be like prefer it’s shifting on from its NPU obsession. Corporations like Dell are shifting away from AI laptops, too.
The NPUs Intel has been transport for the previous couple of years have been far under Microsoft’s minimal specs. After Microsoft introduced again in Might 2024 that Copilot+ PCs would require an NPU with at the least 40 TOPS of efficiency, Intel has principally been transport laptop computer {hardware} with 13 TOPS NPUs—far wanting Microsoft’s minimal goal.
Solely Lunar Lake and now Panther Lake cleared the ground for Copilot+ PC options. In the meantime, all Qualcomm Snapdragon X {hardware} met the minimal, and AMD’s Ryzen AI CPUs delivered stable efficiency on a conventional x86 platform with the NPU specs Microsoft requested for.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
It’s been a giant black eye for Intel that the majority Intel CPU-powered laptops nonetheless don’t meet Microsoft’s minimums for these hyped AI options, over 18 months after Microsoft’s announcement.
The excellent news? Most PC consumers don’t care a lot about Copilot+ PC options, and Microsoft now seems to be deemphasizing them. However at the least Intel has lastly caught as much as Microsoft’s minimal specs.
Renewed give attention to manufacturing course of
Intel’s option to outsource Lunar Lake manufacturing to TSMC was an enormous shift in its priorities. Up till then, the corporate had at all times manufactured its CPUs in its personal foundries.
Intel even threatened to desert manufacturing going ahead. Again in July 2025, Intel mentioned it will surrender on its next-generation 14A manufacturing course of if it couldn’t discover a buyer, and a few speculated that Intel may abandon its personal chip fabrication processes.
The US authorities took a stake in Intel just a few weeks later, and I’ve at all times questioned if that dire announcement to shareholders was a negotiation transfer. Intel signaled that its US-based manufacturing enterprise was struggling and shortly after landed the federal authorities as a shareholder. Now, Intel’s CEO mentioned at CES 2026 that it’s very enthusiastic about investing in its 14A course of. It’s an enormous shift from how the corporate was appearing simply final summer time.
Panther Lake is the primary product constructed on Intel’s 18A manufacturing course of, and Intel is not relying on TSMC. Intel can be abandoning a few of the weirder selections of Lunar Lake. For instance, Panther Lake not has on-package reminiscence. In a world the place RAM is driving up the value of PCs, that’s precious.
Will Intel’s “Core Extremely Sequence 3” be watered down, too?
Whereas Intel is cleansing up its naming a bit, I’m somewhat involved about one factor: does “Core Extremely Sequence 3” imply something this time round? A yr in the past, “Core Extremely Sequence 2” meant “Lunar Lake”… till Intel launched a bunch of Arrow Lake and Meteor Lake chips with Core Extremely Sequence 2 branding, muddying the model.
Now, at CES 2026, everybody appeared to be utilizing “Core Extremely Sequence 3” as a stand-in for “Panther Lake.” However will Intel as soon as once more launch older architectures with Core Extremely Sequence 3 branding within the coming yr? Will we get one other spherical of rebranded Meteor Lake chips? Or Lunar Lake chips? If that’s the case, “Core Extremely Sequence 3” won’t imply something.
Both manner, Intel’s {hardware} platform feels prefer it’s getting the place it must be. The corporate is combining efficiency with battery life, delivering critical built-in graphics energy, making its personal CPUs, and not issuing dire warnings that it might abandon its future manufacturing processes.
I look ahead to reviewing Panther Lake-powered PCs as a result of they sound spectacular. Extra competitors is at all times good for PC customers.
