Intel introduced its Panther Lake processors at CES 2026, positioning them to compete with discrete GPUs and AMD's Strix Point and Gorgon Point processors in terms of integrated graphics performance with lower power budgets.
The Core Ultra X9 388H configuration of Panther Lake features 16 cores: four P-cores, eight E-cores, and eight low-power E-cores. It includes an NPU rated for 50 TOPs, in addition to the integrated graphics' 120 TOPs.
The Arc B390 GPU, based on the Xe3 (Celestial) architecture, is a key component of Panther Lake. The top-end model has 12 Xe cores. Intel claims performance leads of up to 77 percent over Lunar Lake and 82 percentage points over AMD's Strix Point-based Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with Radeon 890M graphics.
Intel's Panther Lake also integrates XeSS Super Resolution and multi-frame generation technology. AMD's current higher-end integrated graphics products, based on RDNA 3.5, lack bespoke machine learning-based upscalers or frame generation, with FSR Redstone being limited to RDNA 4 and newer architectures.
Preliminary benchmarks from CES 2026 showed Panther Lake's performance. In Cyberpunk 2077 at native 1080p on ultra settings with RT reflections and shadows enabled, Panther Lake achieved 29.05 frames per second (fps) at a CPU package consumption of 58W to 64W. This represents an 85.5 percent improvement over a Strix Point mini-PC configured to 65W, which delivered 15.66 fps. The Panther Lake's performance was comparable to AMD's Radeon RX 6600, which scored 29.03 fps in the same test. When XeSS balanced mode was activated, Panther Lake's average increased to 55.96 fps, a 92.6 percent boost.
Intel aims to maintain its market position in the laptop segment with Panther Lake. The new processor is also expected to enhance Intel's presence in the handheld gaming market. Tom Petersen of Intel indicated that Panther Lake's high performance in a small form factor could enable extended gameplay of demanding titles on high-resolution displays, challenging AMD's current dominance in this area.