Every year at CES, Intel and AMD announce their latest processors. This year, Intel introduced its first line of chips manufactured using the 18a process technologywhich corresponds to 18 angstroms or less than 2 nm. To make it a little less nerdy, this means these chips can pack a lot of technology into a small area, meaning big performance gains.
The new lake, colloquially called “Panther Lake”. Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips targeted at laptops and mini-PCs. But that doesn't mean they don't put up some impressive numbers. During its keynote, Intel promised “77% faster gaming performance” and, for anyone who actually uses their PCs for work, “60% better multi-threaded performance.” Impressively, its new chips will also deliver “up to 27 hours of battery life,” rivaling Apple's M-series chips and other ARM chips from manufacturers like Qualcomm. Battery life has been a sore spot for both Intel and AMD for a while now, and I'm excited to get my hands on machines using Panther Lake processors.
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And then there is AI. Intel says its top-of-the-line Intel Core Ultra Series 3 models have a total of 50 NPU TOP and 180 TOPS when NPU and GPU numbers are combined. Translated, this means better AI performance for developers who don't want to tinker with the cloud and prefer the speed and privacy of a locally loaded AI model.
Speaking of this GPU, Intel has upgraded this generation's integrated graphics to the Intel Arc B390, which has twice the cache of the previous GPU and 50% more cores. I already mentioned the 77% increase in gaming performance, but AI developers will also see a 53% increase in performance compared to the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 and 2x the performance compared to the Intel Core Ultra Series 1.
So, the best computers. That's pretty normal for CES, but there's “one more thing” here. Intel is aiming for AMD's dominance in the portable gaming PC market.
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Until now, most portable gaming PCs used AMD chips, while those that did chose Intel. getting into reviews for buggy or poorly optimized performance. The Steam Deck uses an AMD chip, just like the Xbox portable. Intel says it's going to change that.
After announcing a new integrated GPU and looking at features like frame generation and ray tracing, the company said it would “launch an entire portable gaming platform with Panther Lake.”
This means big changes, and Panther Lake won't be long before they're replaced. The company didn't say anything more, but showed a slide of partners planning to use Intel chips in their handhelds, including Acer, MSI and, hey, Microsoft. I think we'll see another portable Xbox model soon.
What are your thoughts so far?
That's it for Intel this year. The new chips are smaller, stronger and more efficient, but the company also plans to use them to address its shortcomings, especially in gaming and battery life. It makes sense. With developers like Apple turning away from Intel for a decade, the company found itself in a difficult position.
According to Intel, the first machines powered by the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 will begin taking pre-orders on January 6th, with availability beginning on January 27th.
