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Intel 'Panther Lake' Leak Shows Top Chip Has 16 Cores, 5.1GHz Boost

The real Core Ultra 300 standouts for gaming are the X variants.

 & Jon Martindale Contributor

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Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 300, the Panther Lake generation of mobile CPUs, has been leaked, providing a glimpse into the core configuration of the chips, their boost clock speeds, thermal design power (TDP), and naming convention.

It shows the range maxing out at 16 cores—only four of those are Performance (P) cores—and a maximum boost clock of 5.1GHz. Although the CPU cores don't seem likely to be performance powerhouses, the massively upgraded graphics could make Panther Lake impressive chips for onboard GPU gaming.

This information comes from serial leaker @jaykihn0 on X. They initially posted a core and clock speed lineup for the entire range, showing that most models feature four Performance cores, with the various designs primarily differentiated by the number of Efficient (E) cores. Every chip in the range features four low-power cores, which helps boost efficiency in low-demand settings.

The flagship Core Ultra 300 388H has four Performance cores, eight Efficient cores, and four low-power cores. Its boost clock is 5.1GHz, giving it a few hundred megahertz extra over most chips in the range. All of them will get Xe3 graphics support, though core count there will vary. Entry-level models will have just two, while the rest of the lineup will have four.

The real standouts for gaming, though, are the X variants. The Core Ultra X9 388H, Ultra X7 368H, and Ultra X7 358H will have the 12-core Arc B390 Xe3 onboard GPU. The Core Ultra 5 338H will also have a 10-core variant called Arc B370, according to VideoCardz.

The high-performance H variants of the Panther Lake series will have 65W and 80W TDP modes. Jaykihn clarified in a follow-up tweet that it will be up to OEMs to decide which option for each chip they use, allowing them to tailor the design for thin and light designs or heavier and more performant systems. They also suggested that Panther Lake was tricky to cool in demanding single-threaded scenarios.

As VideoCardz notes, the naming scheme is also worth mentioning. Intel and AMD are running headlong into a confusing mess of chip names, as both will soon have their flagship lines based around the 300 moniker. Intel has the Core Ultra 300 range with chips like the Core Ultra 7 355 and 386H, while AMD's AI Max 300 range has the AI 5 330 and AI 9 HX 370.

That's confusing for us, and we write about this stuff for a living. If you or your loved ones are buying a laptop in the near future, make sure they do their research before buying.

About Our Expert

Jon Martindale

Jon Martindale

Contributor

Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He's written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he's a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas. 

Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.

Jon's gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That's all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.

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