Panther Lake (microprocessor)

Panther Lake
Launched	January 2026
Designed by	Intel
Manufactured by	Intel;
Fabrication process	Intel 18A; Intel 3; TSMC N3E; ;
Codename(s)	PTL;
Platform(s)	Mobile;
; Branding
Brand name(s)	Core Ultra
Generation	Series 3
Socket(s)	FCBGA 2540;
; Instructions and architecture
Instructions set	x86-64
Instructions	x86, IA-32, x86-64
Extensions	SSE4, AVX, AVX2, AVX-VNNI, AVX-IFMA; AES-NI, SHA-NI, RDRAND, SM3, SM4; VT-x, VT-d;
P-core architecture	Cougar Cove (P-cores)
E-core architecture	Darkmont (E-cores and LP E-cores)
; Cores
Core count	Up to 16 cores (high power, 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 4 LP-cores), or; 8 cores (low power, 4 P-cores, 4 LP-cores)
P-core L0 cache	48 KB data (per core)
P-core L1 cache	256 KB (per core): ; 64 KB instructions; 192 KB data;
E-core L1 cache	96 KB (per core): ; 64 KB instructions; 32 KB data;
P-core L2 cache	2.5 MB (per core)
E-core L2 cache	4 MB (per cluster)
P-core L3 cache	3 MB (per core)
; Graphics
Graphics architecture	Xe3-LPG (Battlemage)
Model(s)	Intel Graphics, Arc B370, Arc B390;
Xe cores	Up to 20 Xe Cores
Peak graphics clock	2.5 GHz
NPU
Architecture	NPU 5
TOPS	Up to 50 (int8)
; Memory support
Type	LPDDR5X-9600; DDR5-7200;
Memory channels	2 channels
Maximum capacity	Up to 128 GB
; I/O
PCIe support	PCIe 5.0
PCIe lanes	Low power and Arc iGPU processors, 12 lanes: ; 4 PCIe 5.0 lanes; 8 PCIe 4.0 lanes; ; H series processors, 20 lanes: ; 12 PCIe 5.0 lanes; 8 PCIe 4.0 lanes;
; History
Predecessor	Lunar Lake; Arrow Lake
Successor	Nova Lake

Panther Lake is the codename for Core Ultra Series 3 mobile processors developed by Intel.^[1] The architecture was launched in January 2026 at CES 2026.^[2]^[3] It succeeds and extends Lunar Lake and is designed as a scalable mobile platform spanning a wider range of power and performance targets, from thin-and-light laptops to higher-performance mobile systems.

Architecture

Panther Lake combines a heterogeneous CPU core tile manufactured on Intel's in-house 18A process with an integrated graphics tile based on the Arc Xe3 architecture,^[4] which is derived from the earlier Xe2 (Battlemage) design, and an I/O tile manufactured on TSMC's N6 process.

The clusters vary in size: The big 4+8+4 core tile is used in the H series, and the small 4+4 core tile is used in the low-power processors. Non-Arc H series CPUs also are the only processors in this lineup to utilize the larger I/O tile, while Arc H series and low-power CPUs use the smaller core tile. Said tiles both support DDR5 and LPDDR5X memory, however, the larger tile has more PCIe lanes, whereas the smaller tile has fewer PCIe lanes. Arc H series CPUs use a binned version of the smaller I/O tile that doesn't support DDR5. There are also smaller GPU tiles which have up to 4 Xe cores, and larger GPU tiles which have up to 12 Xe tiles. The latter being branded and labeled as Arc B390/B370 If the machine using it reaches memory speeds of at least LPDDR5X-7467, otherwise they will be labeled as just Intel Graphics^[5]. Some models with the larger GPU tile continue to rely on TSMC manufacturing for the GPU on its N3E process, possibly due to budget concerns.^[6]

Rather than introducing a fundamentally new CPU or GPU architecture, Panther Lake focuses on higher core counts, better graphics configurations, and increased power budgets enabled by a newer manufacturing node and modular tile-based design

Furthermore, instead of developing a more capable NPU, Intel has opted for an optimized, smaller and more efficient NPU that delivers about the same performance as the previous generation's NPU.

Reception

Panther Lake has been widely praised for its power-efficiency and integrated graphics performance, having been noted as a "return to form" for Intel.^[7]^[8]^[9]

List of Panther Lake processors

Panther Lake CPUs omit hyper-threading support, so they can run the same number of threads as they have cores.

Mobile

Panther Lake High Power


Core Ultra		X9	9	X7	7	X7	7	5
Model		388H	386H	368H	366H	358H	356H	338H	336H
Cores	P	4
	E	8						4
	LP-E	4
Base clock rate (GHz)	P	2.1		2.0		1.9
	E	1.6				1.5
	LP-E	1.6				1.5
Turbo Boost (GHz)	P	5.1	4.9	5	4.8		4.7		4.6
	E	4.0	3.9	4.0	3.8	3.7		3.6
	LP-E	3.7	3.5	3.6	3.4	3.3			3.2
Graphics	Name	Arc B390	Intel	Arc B390	Intel	Arc B390	Intel	Arc B370	Intel
	Xe cores	12	4	12	4	12	4	10	4
	Max Turbo (GHz)	2.5					2.45	2.4	2.3
NPU (int8 TOPS)		50						47
Intel vPro		Yes				No		Yes
Smart Cache		18 MB
TDP	Min	15 W
	Base	25 W
	Turbo	80 W

Panther Lake


Core Ultra		7		5
Model		365	355	335	332	325	322
Cores	P	4			2	4	2
Cores	LP-E	4
Base clock rate (GHz)	P	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.5	2.1	2.5
Base clock rate (GHz)	LP-E	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.9	1.6	1.9
Turbo Boost (GHz)	P	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.4	4.5	4.4
Turbo Boost (GHz)	LP-E	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.3	3.4	3.3
Graphics	Name	Intel Graphics
	Xe cores	4			2	4	2
	Max Turbo (GHz)	2.5		2.45	2.3	2.45	2.3
NPU (int8 TOPS)		49		47	46	47	46
Intel vPro		Yes	No	Yes		No
Smart Cache		12 MB
TDP	Min	12 W
	Base	25 W
	Turbo	55 W

References

^ Grimm, Sunny (January 6, 2025). "Intel shows off working Panther Lake systems at CES — Xe3 GPU cores power Intel sneak peek". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
^ Morescalchi, Daniela (January 5, 2026). "CES 2026: Intel Core Ultra Series 3 Debut as First Built on Intel 18A". Newsroom. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
^ Cunningham, Andrew (January 6, 2026). "Intel launches Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, made using its long-awaited 18A process". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
^ Jeffrey Kampman (October 9, 2025). "Intel's Xe3 graphics architecture breaks cover — Panther Lake's 12 Xe Core iGPU promises 50+% better performance than Lunar Lake". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
^ Nasir, Hassam (February 2, 2026). "Intel mandates at least 7,467 MT/s RAM speed for Panther Lake — Slower memory will relabel the Arc B370 & B390 iGPUs as generic "Intel Graphics" in Task Manager". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
^ Hardwidge, Ben (January 26, 2026). "Club386 | Intel Core Ultra Series 3 review: Panther Lake benchmarks". Club386. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
^ Larsen, Luke. "Intel Panther Lake Is the Answer to Apple Silicon We've All Been Waiting for". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
^ "I Tested Intel's Flagship 'Panther Lake' Laptop Chip: The Graphics Are the Real Upgrade". PCMag Australia. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
^ "I tested Panther Lake. You're going to want this". PCWorld. Retrieved January 27, 2026.

[:1-1] Grimm, Sunny (January 6, 2025). "Intel shows off working Panther Lake systems at CES — Xe3 GPU cores power Intel sneak peek". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved July 2, 2025.

[:0-2] Morescalchi, Daniela (January 5, 2026). "CES 2026: Intel Core Ultra Series 3 Debut as First Built on Intel 18A". Newsroom. Retrieved January 6, 2026.

[3] Cunningham, Andrew (January 6, 2026). "Intel launches Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, made using its long-awaited 18A process". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 6, 2026.

[4] Jeffrey Kampman (October 9, 2025). "Intel's Xe3 graphics architecture breaks cover — Panther Lake's 12 Xe Core iGPU promises 50+% better performance than Lunar Lake". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved January 9, 2026.

[5] Nasir, Hassam (February 2, 2026). "Intel mandates at least 7,467 MT/s RAM speed for Panther Lake — Slower memory will relabel the Arc B370 & B390 iGPUs as generic "Intel Graphics" in Task Manager". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved February 5, 2026.

[6] Hardwidge, Ben (January 26, 2026). "Club386 | Intel Core Ultra Series 3 review: Panther Lake benchmarks". Club386. Retrieved January 27, 2026.

[7] Larsen, Luke. "Intel Panther Lake Is the Answer to Apple Silicon We've All Been Waiting for". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved January 27, 2026.

[8] "I Tested Intel's Flagship 'Panther Lake' Laptop Chip: The Graphics Are the Real Upgrade". PCMag Australia. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 27, 2026.

[9] "I tested Panther Lake. You're going to want this". PCWorld. Retrieved January 27, 2026.

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