Intel’s new ‘Panther Lake’ CPU: 11 important info you must know

Panther Lake, the subsequent technology of Intel’s Core Extremely collection of laptop computer processors, is sort of right here. However what’s it, precisely?

Intel spent a number of days explaining the advantageous particulars of Panther Lake to journalists at a current press occasion, together with its new compute cores, graphics cores, NPU AI, and wi-fi. In case you’re , PCWorld has a deep dive into the entire applied sciences. However for those who simply need the fundamentals, keep right here. Right here’s what it’s essential learn about Intel’s “Panther Lake” chip, briefly.

1) Count on Panther Lake in 2026

Intel executives talked about a number of the particulars of Panther Lake themselves. However the particulars that matter to laptop computer consumers (velocity, worth, and which laptops can have them) should await CES 2026 in Las Vegas this coming January. The precise laptops will ship quickly after, maybe even in January itself.

2) Three chip households, three CPUs

Every Panther Lake chip consists of three doable varieties of compute cores: a “Cougar Cove” efficiency core, a “Darkmont” effectivity core, and a Darkmont low-power effectivity core. Efficiency cores deal with duties like video games; effectivity cores course of much less difficult duties like e mail and Microsoft Groups.

Laptop computer makers will embody one in every of these three Panther Lake chips inside their merchandise:

• An 8-core chip, with 4 efficiency (P-cores), 4 low-power efficiency-cores (LP E-cores); 4 Xe3 GPU cores and 4 ray-tracing models
• A 16-core chip, with 4 P-cores, 8 effectivity cores (E-cores), and 4 LP E-cores; 4 Xe3 GPU cores and 4 ray-tracing models
• A 16-core chip, with 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and 4 LP E-cores; 12 Xe3 GPU cores and 12 ray-tracing models.

3) Who’s every Panther Lake chip for?

The 8-core chip will in all probability be for low-end PCs, although it’s not fairly clear how every little thing will break down. In case you’re searching for a gaming laptop computer with a Panther Lake chip inside, it’s possible you’ll be stunned to study that the center 16-core/4 Xe3 chip would be the candidate right here.

The 16-core/12Xe3 chip sounds prefer it may very well be used as Intel’s reply to AMD’s Strix Halo or Ryzen AI Max: designed for gaming, native AI, and presumably handheld PCs as properly.

4) A modular CPU, once more

Intel has constructed its processors from modular chiplets, or tiles, for a number of generations now. In Panther Lake, there’s a compute tile, a GPU tile, a platform controller tile, and a “base tile” that the opposite tiles are mounted upon. All the tiles are related collectively by way of a second-gen scalable I/O material and use Intel’s Foveros know-how to stack them.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Intel constructed its GPU tile as a separate tile, which apparently allowed for flexibility in its graphics choices. Ultimately, Intel might use this disaggregated GPU tile as a method to deliver the Nvidia RTX GPU tiles into its chips, however this looks like it’s a methods off for now. Nonetheless, a number of tiles are constructed at TSMC, not Intel, though the U.S. authorities has invested within the firm to encourage home chipmaking.

5) Intel’s Xe3 GPU gives a pointy bounce in efficiency

Built-in graphics regularly improves, and Intel believes that the Xe3 GPU core is 50 p.c sooner on common than Lunar Lake simply by itself. The Xe3 core now helps multiframe technology, too — in all probability its most controversial function.

6) Multiframe technology: The ‘faux frames’ debate involves laptops

Maybe crucial addition to PC graphics know-how previously decade — much more than ray tracing — has been a transition from rendered frames to AI-generated frames. It’s a bit like how your thoughts processes cartoon animations: It sees a nonetheless picture after which one other nonetheless picture, and blurs them collectively. On this case, it’s the GPU doing the work, making a “made up” body between two “precise” frames.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

With Panther Lake, multiframe technology provides three of those interpolated (some name them “faux”) frames. Beneath the proper circumstances, it may possibly look incredible, and drive up body charges to make video games look silky clean. Beneath the fallacious circumstances, it may possibly really make a slowly rendered recreation look considerably worse. We don’t know the way it will all play out.

7) Early efficiency estimates are optimistic

In comparison with predecessors Lunar Lake and Meteor Lake, Intel’s Panther Lake presents greater than 50 p.c higher multithreaded efficiency, Intel says. In single-threaded efficiency (usually described as how “snappy” Home windows feels) Panther Lake needs to be 10 p.c higher than Lunar Lake on the identical energy. 

Intel can be claiming that the entire Panther Lake system-on-chip will eat 10 p.c much less energy than Lunar Lake, and demonstrated a trio of laptops working a Core Extremely chip from every technology to again that up.

Sadly, we don’t have any “actual world” gaming or utility benchmark outcomes but. Count on these in January, or after our personal exams.

8) Panther Lake’s NPU energy is essentially unchanged

TOPS is how chipmakers measure AI efficiency. At 50 TOPS, Panther Lake isn’t rather more highly effective than its predecessor, Lunar Lake — although it pales compared to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite. What Intel and different chipmakers are hoping for is “agentic AI”: little unbiased AI brokers all roaming although your PC and the online, performing duties that may suck up these obtainable TOPS. Will it occur? Who is aware of.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

9) Thunderbolt 4, once more!

For no matter cause, Intel selected once more to not combine Thunderbolt 5 know-how into its cell processor. As a substitute, it’s utilizing Thunderbolt 4 and leaving laptop computer makers to combine discrete Thunderbolt 5 chips themselves. Appears to be like like we’ll be prioritizing Thunderbolt 4 inside our suggestions for the perfect Thunderbolt docks for one more 12 months.

10) Panther Lake will preserve you trying good

Intel’s built-in laptop computer processors embody what’s referred to as an “picture processing unit” that interacts along with your webcam. The IPU 7.5, as Intel calls it, contains improved HDR capabilities in addition to noise discount for improved low-light efficiency. Tone mapping will enhance how every little thing seems to be, through the use of both the NPU’s AI or GPU.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

By the way, Intel’s picture processing will work with both your built-in webcam or standalone webcam.

11) Some unexpectedly cool wi-fi applied sciences

I don’t often consider my laptop computer’s wi-fi capabilities as something particular. Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, yawn. Not this time.

Panther Lake helps Auracast, which principally outputs to 2 units, not only one. Need to watch a YouTube video with a pal, however quietly? Now you don’t need to share earbuds. A method referred to as platform sounding additionally gives much more correct distance modelling, so for those who’ve misplaced your laptop computer (or, conversely, your earbuds) you need to use the onboard Bluetooth to shortly discover them.

Intel’s Wi-Fi 7 even helps some unreleased options, which ought to enhance the efficiency and vary of your wi-fi Panther Lake machine.

We’ve now heard from Intel and Qualcomm about their upcoming laptop computer processors for 2026. Now AMD, what do you could have for us?