At CES 2025, Robert Hallock presented the non-K SKU lineup of Arrow Lake processors sharing details across desktop and mobile platforms with the new Arrow Lake H and HX processors. The new Arrow Lake series focuses on improving performance, energy efficiency, and AI capabilities for a range of use cases. Here is a technical breakdown of the key announcements:
Mobile Lineup: Arrow Lake-H and HX Series
Arrow Lake-H: Balancing Portability and Performance
The Arrow Lake-H series, branded as the Intel Core Ultra 200H family, targets the 28-45W TDP segment and emphasizes portability with robust performance metrics. These processors are designed for ultrathin laptops and feature the following updates:
- Cores: Updated with Skymont and Lion Cove cores, offering a 20% improvement in multi-threaded workloads compared to the previous generation.
- Integrated Graphics: Based on Intel’s Alchemist architecture with enhanced XMX engines, delivering over 20% better raster performance at 1080p.
- AI Performance: Features an NPU 3 architecture with 13 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second), optimized for tasks like image classification and voice enhancement.
- Connectivity: Thunderbolt 4 support and 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes for discrete GPUs and NVMe storage.
Configurations and Features: The top-tier configurations include up to 6 performance cores (P-cores) and 8 efficiency cores (E-cores), providing up to 16 threads. Notably, AI and graphics performance remain consistent across the stack to ensure uniformity in user experiences.
Gaming and AI Use Cases:
- Gen-over-gen improvements of 22% in gaming performance, with titles like Cyberpunk 2077 seeing gains of up to 36%.
- Integration with Intel’s XeSS 2 technology for AI-based upscaling, enabling features like ray tracing in thin-and-light designs.
- AI acceleration for image generation tasks, including Stable Diffusion.
Arrow Lake-HX: High-Performance Mobile Solutions
The HX series is positioned for high-power mobile platforms, with TDPs starting at 55W and scaling beyond 150W in OEM configurations. Intel’s Core Ultra 200HX processors aim to provide desktop-class performance in a mobile form factor.
- Core Counts: Flagship model Core Ultra 285HX features 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores, achieving up to 24 threads.
- Performance: Offers 5.5 GHz clock speeds and a 40% increase in power efficiency compared to Raptor Lake HX.
- Expansion: Supports up to 44 PCIe lanes, Wi-Fi 6E, and dual RAM configurations (SO-DIMM and CSO-DIMM).
Benchmarks and Scaling:
- Multi-core performance shows a 35% advantage over AMD’s Strix Point HX and a 50% improvement over Qualcomm’s best offerings.
- Capable of handling up to 150W TDP for workloads like Blender, Cinebench, and SPEC Workstation.
Desktop Expansion: Arrow Lake-S Non-K Processors
Intel also announced the expansion of its desktop lineup with non-K variants of Arrow Lake-S CPUs. These models cater to users prioritizing energy efficiency and affordability without compromising performance.
- Core Configurations: Up to 17 SKUs ranging from Core Ultra 5 to Core Ultra 9.
- TDP Variants: Options starting at 35W to address low-power desktop builds.
- New Chipsets:
- B860: Four DIMM slots, Thunderbolt 4, and 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes for GPUs and storage.
- H810: Entry-level chipset with two DIMM slots (64GB max) and 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes.
Pricing:
- H810 motherboards start at $100, while B860 boards are priced from $130.
| Chipset | DIMM Slots | Max RAM | PCIe Gen 5 Lanes | Thunderbolt Ports | Starting Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B860 | 4 | 192 GB | 20 | 1 (Thunderbolt 4) | 130 |
| H810 | 2 | 64 GB | 16 | 1 (Thunderbolt 4) | 100 |
Recurring Highlights
AI Integration: The Arrow Lake series integrates XMX extensions to boost AI workloads on GPUs, with 77 TOPS of AI performance on the 200H family. Applications span from webcam enhancements to generative AI.
Energy Efficiency:
- Arrow Lake-H offers 20% better performance per watt compared to AMD and Qualcomm.
- HX processors deliver significant power efficiency improvements, allowing higher GPU power budgets in gaming laptops.
Graphics Enhancements:
- The inclusion of XeSS 2 enables AI-driven performance scaling and improved visual fidelity in gaming.
- Double the ray-tracing capabilities over Meteor Lake HX, supported by expanded L2 cache and updated process technology.
Intel’s Arrow Lake-H and HX series aims to compete at clear performance in their respective segments, leveraging updated architectures, enhanced AI capabilities, and robust platform connectivity.
| Core Ultra 9 285 | Core Ultra 9 285T | Core Ultra 7 265 | Core Ultra 7 265F | Core Ultra 7 265T | Core Ultra 5 245 | Core Ultra 5 245T | Core Ultra 5 235 | Core Ultra 5 235T | Core Ultra 5 225 | Core Ultra 5 225F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cores | 24 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
| Performance Cores | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Efficient Cores | 16 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Total Threads | 24 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
| Max Turbo Frequency | 5.6 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 5.1 GHz | 5.1 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 4.9 GHz |
| Performance-core Base Frequency | 2.5 GHz | 1.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz | 2.4 GHz | 1.5 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 2.2 GHz | 3.4 GHz | 2.2 GHz | 3.3 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Efficient-core Base Frequency | 1.9 GHz | 1.2 GHz | 1.8 GHz | 1.8 GHz | 1.2 GHz | 3.0 GHz | 1.7 GHz | 2.9 GHz | 1.6 GHz | 2.7 GHz | 2.7 GHz |
| Cache | 36 MB Smart Cache | 36 MB Smart Cache | 30 MB Smart Cache | 30 MB Smart Cache | 30 MB Smart Cache | 24 MB Smart Cache | 24 MB Smart Cache | 24 MB Smart Cache | 24 MB Smart Cache | 20 MB Smart Cache | 20 MB Smart Cache |
| Base Power | 65 W | 35 W | 65 W | 65 W | 35 W | 65 W | 35 W | 65 W | 35 W | 65 W | 65 W |
| Maximum Turbo Power | 182 W | 112 W | 182 W | 182 W | 112 W | 121 W | 114 W | 121 W | 114 W | 121 W | 121 W |
| Memory Types | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s | Up to DDR5 6400 MT/s |
| Max # of PCI Express Lanes | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
