Skip to main content

Intel is bringing back one of its most frustrating types of CPUs

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 Lunar Lake chipset.
Intel

Intel’s new Arrow Lake CPUs are a big deal. They utilize an entirely new architecture and come with a new socket, which will help them compete for a spot among the best processors. However, it looks like some upcoming Core 200-series CPUs (the non-Ultra versions) might not use the Arrow Lake/Lunar Lake architecture at all — they might be rebranded CPUs sporting older CPU tech.

The assumption comes from results in the Crossmark benchmark that were posted to Bapco and first pointed out by Everest on X (formerly Twitter). The result shows the Core 5 210H, but it’s not the performance that’s interesting. It’s the specs. The result shows that the CPU comes with eight cores and 12 threads. That’s the rub. Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake don’t come with Hyper-Threading, so each core only comes with a single thread.

Recommended Videos

Core 5 210H 😭https://t.co/5g3tpIWxRQ pic.twitter.com/vtfBcNBvxS

— Everest (@Olrak29_) October 15, 2024

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

This isn’t new for Intel. The company rebranded Raptor Lake (13th-gen) processors under its Meteor Lake branding with the Core-U (Series 1) lineup, and it looks like we’ll see something similar happen again here. As pointed out by Tom’s Hardware, the performance of the Core 5 210H in this benchmark is actually a bit lower than the Core i5-12450H, so it’s definitely possible that Intel will use branded Alder Lake and Raptor Lake chips for the non-Ultra Core 200 range.

It’s important to highlight that this only applies to laptops, at least right now. Although the desktop Arrow Lake and mobile Lunar Lake chips use the same architecture, Intel divides them up in different ways. A Core Ultra 200S processor is Arrow Lake for desktops, while a Core Ultra 200V is Lunar Lake for mobile. Intel also says it plans to release higher-end Arrow Lake chips for laptops using the H or HX suffix.

The ones you need to watch out for are the non-Ultra chips like the Core 5 210H. Based on this benchmark, it looks like these CPUs are using an older architecture, just with a new name. Intel will likely launch these CPUs without much fanfare and target them at budget laptops over the next several months.

Arrow Lake CPUs aren’t here yet, but Intel is releasing them on October 24 for desktop — the mobile range should arrive shortly after, likely targeting high-end gaming laptops where Lunar Lake might not make sense. Once it’s here, it’ll be tough to know what CPU you’re getting, at least in a laptop. If Intel is indeed using both repurposed Alder Lake and Raptor Lake designs for the non-Ultra Core 200 series, you’ll have to do some digging on the individual CPU model to see what you’re really getting.

Jacob Roach
Lead Reporter, PC Hardware
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
Intel’s next laptop chips may have a secret weapon
Intel Core Ultra Series 2 Lunar Lake chipset.

An upcoming Intel graphics solution, namely the Intel Arc 140T, has recently been spotted on GFXBench. The most interesting bit is that it offers a noticeable performance advantage over the Xe2-based Arc 140V iGPU that recently made its appearance on Intel’s latest Lunar Lake mobile CPUs.

A post by X (formerly Twitter) user Michael (@miktdt) compares GFXbench scores of the Arc 140T with two Arc 140V SKUs—one with 16GB memory and the other with 8GB. The 8GB Arc 140V reached 6,613 frames with an average of 106.7 framers per second (fps), while the 16GB version achieved 6,839 frames at 110.3 fps. However, the Intel Arc 140T, equipped with 16GB of memory, excelled with 11,056 frames at an average of 178.3 fps, surpassing the 16GB Arc 140V by 62%, despite both GPUs sharing eight Xe cores.

Read more
Qualcomm counters Intel about its performance claims
Qualcomm's CEO presenting Snapdragon X Elite CPUs at Computex 2024.

In the year since Qualcomm first debuted its Snapdragon X Elite, the competition hasn't been silent. Intel released both Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake chips, the latter of which felt like a legitimate response to Qualcomm's advances in battery life and efficiency.

But Qualcomm isn't impressed by Intel's latest offerings.

Read more
Intel’s new Arrow Lake CPUs can still consume a ton of power
Pins on Core i9-12900K.

Intel has made a big deal about the efficiency of its upcoming Arrow Lake CPUs, which are looking to earn a spot among the best processors when they release later this week. Some early benchmark results HXL on X (formerly Twitter) show that the CPUs can still draw a ton of power if you stray from Intel's default power settings, however.

The post, which you can see below, shows the Core Ultra 9 285K peaking at 370 watts of power draw in Cinebench R23's multi-core test. The CPU itself is blacked-out, but you can tell it's the Core Ultra 9 285K from the 24 cores picked up by Cinebench. The Core Ultra 9 285K has a maximum turbo power of 250W, according to Intel, and a base power of 125W.

Read more