Intel Panther Lake-H CPU hits max turbo power of 64W — mobile chips' leaked specs point to substantial power draw

(Image credit: Intel)

Hardware leaker Jaykihn has shared what's believed to be the preliminary power specifications for Intel's upcoming Panther Lake-H CPUs, which are set to be used later this year in a new slate of laptops and mobile devices, which were previously shown off at CES 2025.

The alleged preliminary spec details three variants of chips within the series, denoting performance, efficiency, and Xe3 cores. These chips are set to be based on Intel's upcoming Celestial architecture. They will likely materialize as Intel's Core Ultra 300H series, and the alleged preliminary power specifications allow some speculation about the kinds of devices the company will target.

The first variant shows off a 16-core chip with a 4+8+4 configuration. Assuming this means four performance cores, eight efficiency cores, and four GPU cores. This specific configuration will likely reside in systems alongside a dedicated GPU. PL1 (Performance Base Power - PBP) and PL2 (Maximum Turbo Power - MTP) in both baseline and performance power modes will pull 25W and 64W- respectively.

Panther Lake -H (PTL-H)Power specification update.Preliminary. pic.twitter.com/UEstu0QXyJFebruary 14, 2025

The 4+8+4 configuration has notably fewer efficiency cores than its previous-gen counterparts. The same can be said for the second variant listed, featuring a 24-core configuration split into 4+8+12. This may indicate its suitability for a higher-end device with four performance cores, eight efficiency cores, and 12 GPU cores. The PBP is listed at a baseline of 25W, with an MTP of 55W. In the 'performance' mode, this changes to 25W and 64W, respectively.

The cTDP Max headroom on both chip configurations lists higher wattages, up to 80W MTP. This might imply that both chips have some headroom built for burst-heavy tasks like rendering. However, they are also set to be more efficient than the Core Ultra 200H series, which could boost into 100W+ territory.

The final listing is for a seemingly lower-end eight-core chip with a configuration of 4+0+4. This will likely be the Core Ultra 300U chip, set to be used in entry-level devices or gaming handhelds. This configuration can run with a PBP of just 15W and an MTP of 44W under the 'baseline' power mode, while it boosts up to a similar 25W PBP and 55W MTP under the 'performance' mode.

This tells us that Intel is starting to get serious about efficiency in its mobile chips. While AMD has long held the efficiency crown for x86 mobile devices, this initial power spec may be a step in the right direction for Intel. AMD has gained ground on Intel in both the desktop and laptop CPU market, with competition fiercer than ever. Intel's Panther Lake H CPUs will be produced in volume on the company's 18A (1.8nm-class) process in 2H 2025. The products are expected to be on shelves in early 2026.

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Sayem Ahmed is the Subscription Editor at Tom's Hardware. He covers a broad range of deep dives into hardware both new and old, including the CPUs, GPUs, and everything else that uses a semiconductor.

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7 Comments Comment from the forums

usertests

Intel is throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

So Panther Lake is a sequel to Lunar Lake, a parallel effort to Arrow Lake and others, and is being broken up into multiple dies/chiplet configs unlike Lunar Lake (now with memory on package killed as Intel discussed before).

The final listing is for a seemingly lower-end eight-core chip with a configuration of 4+0+4. This will likely be the Core Ultra 300U chip, set to be used in entry-level devices or gaming handhelds. This configuration can run with a PBP of just 15W and an MTP of 44W under the 'baseline' power mode, while it boosts up to a similar 25W PBP and 55W MTP under the 'performance' mode.
It says 4+0+4Xe. Looks like a quad-core to me, not 8-core. Weird choice for Intel not to have any E or LPE cores, but it could easily be the fastest quad-core ever made.

Unless the leak is not even listing the 4x LPE cores, I guess. Which means the top 4P+8E would technically have 16 cores.
Reply
Mr Majestyk

usertests said:
Intel is throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

So Panther Lake is a sequel to Lunar Lake, a parallel effort to Arrow Lake and others, and is being broken up into multiple dies/chiplet configs unlike Lunar Lake (now with memory on package killed as Intel discussed before).

It says 4+0+4Xe. Looks like a quad-core to me, not 8-core. Weird choice for Intel not to have any E or LPE cores, but it could easily be the fastest quad-core ever made.

Unless the leak is not even listing the 4x LPE cores, I guess. Which means the top 4P+8E would technically have 16 cores.
A 4P+0E would get trashed by a Lunar Lake apu. IPC uplift is only 10% max for Cougar Cove P cores. This config would only make sense as a new low end U class apu, with there also being 4P+4E(LPE) cores offerings to match Lunar Lake.

Panther Lake isn't really a Lunar Lake sequel, as it covers U and H class and doesn't have integrated memory. Lunar Lake is a weird one off product that is too dear to keep making.

The nice thing is Panther Lake gets X3 (Celestial cores) so should absolutely demolish Arrow Lake H's weak Xe based iGPU.
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usertests

Mr Majestyk said:
Panther Lake isn't really a Lunar Lake sequel, as it covers U and H class and doesn't have integrated memory. Lunar Lake is a weird one off product that is too dear to keep making.
I think others have described it as the successor to Lunar Lake, even though it is split up into 2-3 classes. It will be the best choice for Intel handhelds. The memory on package is gone, Rest in Pat, but maybe you wouldn't even notice if Panther Lake ends up being paired with soldered memory in most ultrathin laptops anyway.

It's not taking over for Arrow Lake-H because it only has 4 P-cores. Although maybe the 4P+8E+4Xe version is intended to be paired with discrete graphics. But these chips will have to exist in parallel with Arrow Lake, and later Nova Lake-H (although one leak says only 4 P-cores for that too).

Wildcat Lake (presumed Alder Lake-N/Twin Lake successor) might end up looking more technically similar to Lunar Lake, with no E-cores and 4x LPE-cores that may not be able to access L3 cache. Wildcat Lake area/cost will be down from cutting 2x P-cores, most of the graphics, and memory on package which was said to be more expensive.
Reply
Mr Majestyk

usertests said:

It's not taking over for Arrow Lake-H because it only has 4 P-cores. Although maybe the 4P+8E+4Xe version is intended to be paired with discrete graphics. But these chips will have to exist in parallel with Arrow Lake, and later Nova Lake-H (although one leak says only 4 P-cores for that too).

It's hard to find actual details about what is replacing what with Intel. Panther Lake is IMO a Meteor Lake replacement, not Lunar Lake. A 4P + 8E + 4LPE + 12 Xe3 would be highly competitive against 6P + 8E + 2LPE config of Arrow Lake IMO in multithreading, and it would be no contest graphically. 12 Xe3 cores would probably even obliterate AMD 890M 16CU igpu IMO.
Reply
usertests

Yeah, whatever they are doing with the coars, it's nice that Intel seems to be pushing the graphics hard. AMD has gotten a little complacent with its mainstream APU integrated graphics, although Strix Halo is something else entirely (and will be priced to match).
Reply
magbarn

With only 4 performance cores I guess we'll never see a x86 mobile CPU beat the M4/M4Pro/M4Max and keep up with Apple Silicon?
Reply
Mr Majestyk

magbarn said:
With only 4 performance cores I guess we'll never see a x86 mobile CPU beat the M4/M4Pro/M4Max and keep up with Apple Silicon?
There'll be Nova Lake H/HX for that. They'll be pretty impressive I suspect
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