Intel's Panther Lake chips could finally beat AMD in graphics
Intel's Panther Lake processors, expected to ship later in 2025, promise major upgrades for thin-and-light laptops—think maintain strong battery life, faster performance, and smoother graphics.
The new design separates the GPU from the CPU for smarter communication, taking direct aim at AMD's recent graphics improvements.
The new design separates the GPU from the CPU
Built on Intel's advanced 18A (3nm) tech, Panther Lake includes at least three versions, with detailed configurations featuring 8 or 16 cores (a mix of performance and efficiency).
The upgraded Xe3 GPU can hit up to 12 cores and 12 ray tracing units, delivering up to 50% better graphics than last year's Lunar and Arrow Lake chips.
The chip as a whole is expected to offer the same power as Arrow Lake-H chips while using up to 40% less wattage.
It will support up to 96GB of speedy LPDDR5 RAM
You'll get support for up to 96GB of speedy LPDDR5 RAM, Bluetooth 6, Wi-Fi 7, and improved webcam processing for clearer video calls.
Expect around a 10% boost in single-thread speed and a big jump (50%) in multi-thread performance.
While Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite chips are strong on battery life and AI, they sometimes struggle with app compatibility due to their ARM base.
Intel's x86 approach should make things smoother for most apps—so if you want a future-proof laptop, Panther Lake is shaping up to be a strong contender.