[CES 2026] Intel Reveals Core Ultra 300 (Series 3) Processor Lineup Based On Panther Lake Architecture

This CES 2026, Intel didn’t have much to show in desktop CPU and GPU segments, but one thing the Chipzilla always remain dominant is the laptop market. Enter Intel Core Ultra 300 (Series 3) processors, which is officially unveiled in full at this event, including a full list of models and some extra first-party benchmarks to go along. If you want the full rundown on the Panther Lake architecture, click this text.

Intel Core Ultra 300 (Series 3) Unveiled

As announced previously, Panther Lake is built primarily using Intel’s in-house 18A process, which is the most advanced node currently used in consumer hardware (TSMC’s equivalent, N2, is currently only deployed to AMD’s next-gen Zen 6-based EPYC processor for datacenters). Since Intel adopts modular tile-based design, several process nodes were involved to build the entire chip, including external fabs (i.e. TSMC).

Originally, there were three chiplet configurations announced, which was 16-core (4P+8E+4LPE) + 12-core Xe3, 16-core (4P+8E+4LPE) + 4-core Xe3, and the 8-core (4P+4LPE) + 4-core Xe3. Intel also announced on CES 2026 the fourth configuration designed for lower-end parts, featuring only 6 CPU cores (2P+4LPE), and two Xe3 cores for graphics and display duties.

Above is the full list of SKUs announced, the naming convention of which has been reworked slightly. The biggest change comes down to new Core Ultra X7/9 designations, which indicates a more powerful 12-core Xe3 GPU that Intel officially named it Arc B390. Oddly, Intel didn’t apply this logic to the Core Ultra 5 338H with the 10-core Xe3 GPU named Arc B370, so the only clue you get will be the number ‘8’ in its model name.

On that note, the third digit in the SKU number can be further decoded: number ‘6’ indicates 16-core or 12-core SKU depending on segment, and they usually share the same core count as the ones with ‘8’, sans Arc-branded GPUs; number ‘5’ simply indicates 8-core models, while number ‘2’ – only reserved to Core Ultra 5s for now – is for 6-core / 2-core Xe3 SKUs. Those with ‘H’ suffix will get 65W or 80W MTP, whereas those without a letter suffix are locked at 55W peak; all models maintain the same 25W PBP for long-term sustained workloads.

Here are some of the numbers claimed by Intel to showcase Panther Lake’s performance and efficiency superiority against two of its main rivals, AMD’s Zen 5-based Ryzen AI 300 series processors, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chipset with Oryon cores. Intel gets a convincing win this time as AMD didn’t make any significant updates to its laptop processors, effectively putting its laptop CPUs a generation behind Intel’s latest-and-greatest. In terms of battery life, Intel only claims leadership against AMD, its only x86-based rival – while the Snapdragon still has better power efficiency with battery capacity normalized.

On the GPU side of things, the new 12-core Arc B390 packs a powerful punch by integrated graphics standards, approaching discrete GPU territory as its first-party benchmarks show equivalent performance to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU at 60W TGP (while itself operates at 45W TDP). This level of performance hugely outruns AMD and Qualcomm’s offerings, and Intel also boasts Multi Frame Generation capabilities on the new Arc GPU, meaning 120FPS+ gaming is achievable even in some demanding titles (with trade-offs in latency and image quality, of course).

Intel says over 200+ systems in various form factors will be available, with some models now available for pre-orders. Retail rollout begins on 27 January 2026, which will cover laptops and systems in all kinds of form factors – ultrathins, gaming laptops, NUCs, mini-PCs, all set to be gradually released throughout the first half of 2026. For embedded and edge systems featuring the Core Ultra 300 processors, they will be available starting Q2 2026.

Pokdepinion: Arc B390 is legit – although I highly doubt laptops with this chip will be any cheaper than the ones using RTX 4050.