Intel’s Panther Lake CPU Benchmark Results Spark Concerns

UPDATE: Intel’s highly anticipated Panther Lake CPU has surfaced in the Geekbench results, revealing 2,849 single-core points and 15,434 multi-core points. The early performance metrics, released just today, prompt questions about its competitiveness in the market.

The featured model, the Core Ultra 9 386H, is a mobile CPU set to launch in January 2024. While the single-core score is notable for comparisons across Intel’s Performance core generations, the multi-core results are muddled by the varied configurations of Performance, Efficient, and Low Power Efficient cores.

Intel’s performance gains appear minimal when pitted against existing models. For instance, the Core Ultra 9 285H scored 2,608 in single-core and 14,812 in multi-core tests. Comparatively, the new Panther Lake CPU only shows incremental improvements, raising concerns as it lags behind competitors like Apple’s M5 chip, which boasts over 4,000 single-core points, and Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2.

In light of these figures, questions arise about whether Panther Lake can compete effectively in the high-performance CPU landscape. Industry experts note that while Geekbench provides a snapshot of capabilities, it doesn’t account for real-world performance or power efficiency. As a mobile CPU built on Intel’s new 18A process node, efficiency and battery life are crucial factors that remain unaddressed until the product launch.

Intel’s performance challenges are compounded by the presence of advanced Arm CPUs, such as AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, which also scores around 2,800 points in single-core tests. With these results in hand, it seems Panther Lake may not be the performance powerhouse Intel hoped for.

As the tech community awaits more comprehensive insights into power consumption and efficiency, all eyes will be on the official launch at CES in January. Until then, the early benchmarks suggest Intel has significant ground to cover to reclaim its standing in the competitive CPU market.

Stay tuned for further updates as more details emerge, and share this story to keep others informed on the latest developments in tech!