Intel has officially revealed its Panther Lake processors, branded as the Intel Core Ultra Series 3, set to power Windows laptops and handheld devices in 2026. This launch is a major milestone for Intel, as the Compute tile of Panther Lake is built using Intel’s 18A process node. The success of these processors will play a crucial role in determining Intel’s position as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing.
Intel Unveils Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) Processor
Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake processors will be available in three configurations: 8 CPU cores paired with 4 Xe3 GPU cores, 16 CPU cores with 4 Xe3 GPU cores, and 16 CPU cores with 12 Xe3 GPU cores. The CPU architecture includes Cougar Cove P-cores, Darkmont E-cores, and LP E-cores. In the 8-core variant, there are 4 P-cores and 4 LP E-cores, while the 16-core version features 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and 4 LP E-cores.
Intel highlights that Panther Lake merges the power efficiency of Lunar Lake with the high-performance capabilities of Arrow Lake-H. The company claims a 10% improvement in single-thread performance compared to both Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake-H at the same power levels. For multi-threaded workloads, Panther Lake is expected to deliver over 50% higher performance without increasing power consumption.
The Xe3 GPU offers a 50% performance boost compared to Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake processors. Even though Intel removed on-board memory from the chip package, the Panther Lake series reportedly consumes 10% less power than Lunar Lake, which should translate to improved battery life over previous Intel processors.
It’s important to note that while the Compute tile is built using Intel’s 18A process node, the 12-core Xe3 GPU tile and controller tiles are produced using TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) process. The 4-core Xe3 GPU tile, on the other hand, is manufactured on Intel’s 3 process node.
Regarding the NPU, Intel has integrated the NPU 5, capable of performing up to 50 TOPS (trillion operations per second), offering greater efficiency than Lunar Lake’s NPU 4. Additionally, Panther Lake processors come equipped with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.
