Intel Rumors: Eight-Core CPU for Budget PCs and Core Ultra X for Notebooks

An update for the diagnostic tool CPU-Z brings support for some upcoming Intel processors that the manufacturer has not yet officially announced. Among them are the presumed complete Panther Lake series for notebooks and the desktop model Core Ultra 3 205 (Arrow Lake).

New budget processor with double the core count

The Core Ultra 3 205 could replace the Core i3-14100 for affordable desktop PCs. As early as September, a South Korean YouTube channel published a presumed test of the processor. According to this, it combines four performance cores with four efficiency cores. That would be two fewer performance cores than the current cheapest processors in this series, the Core Ultra 5 225 and its F-version without integrated graphics. A small GPU and AI unit are still expected to be included with the Core Ultra 3 205. The Core i3-14100 is only a quad-core processor, but still with Hyper-Threading (eight threads).

The channel tested the Core Ultra 3 205 in the older render benchmark Cinebench R23, among others. In the single-threading test, it was about ten percent faster than the Core i3-14100. In the multi-threading test, the newcomer positioned itself between the Core i3-14100 and Core Ultra 5 225 – with a proud 48 percent advantage over its predecessor.

In terms of price, the Core Ultra 3 205 could compete with the Core i3-14100 (starting from 117,90 €), while the Core i3-14100F without GPU (starting from 85,90 €) is likely to remain unchallenged.

New naming scheme with Core Ultra X9, X7, and X5

Intel has already announced the Core Ultra 300, also known as Panther Lake for early 2026, but has not yet provided specific names itself. According to CPU-Z, there will be twelve models in the U, H, and H sub-category X classes. U processors typically consume 15 to 30 watts of electrical power for lightweight ultrabooks. H models with 45 watts are intended for more powerful notebooks.

The spearhead is expected to be the four models: Core Ultra X9 388H, Core Ultra X7 368H and 358H, and Core Ultra X5 338H. The names were partially revealed by "金猪升级包" on Chinese-language platforms. In previous years, this account has already provided several accurate leaks.

According to him, the X models will use the larger of the two CPU dies from Panther Lake and the large integrated graphics unit with up to 12 Xe cores. The X9 and X7 variants are said to have four performance cores, eight efficiency cores, four low-power efficiency cores, and twelve Xe cores. They would only differ in clock frequencies and caches. The X5 processor allegedly has four fewer efficiency cores and two fewer Xe cores.

The X types should not be confused with the previous HX processors, such as the Core Ultra 9 275HX. These are derived from desktop models and have more CPU cores for high-end devices than the actual mobile chips.

All standard Core Ultra 300 models are expected to feature the smaller GPU with four Xe cores. The CPU is said to be scaled down in the cheapest model, the Core Ultra 3 320U, to two performance cores and four low-power efficiency cores.

(mma)