Intel’s next-generation Panther Lake-H platform is beginning to surface in public benchmarks. The first PassMark entry for the flagship Core Ultra X9 388H provides an early look at Intel’s 2026 mobile strategy—one that favors sustained efficiency, parallel throughput, and dramatically stronger integrated graphics rather than chasing headline-grabbing boost clocks.
🧪 PassMark Results: Efficiency Takes Center Stage #
Unlike prior “flagship” mobile CPUs that leaned heavily on peak frequency, the Core Ultra X9 388H emphasizes balanced, real-world performance. The PassMark data highlights this shift clearly.
| Metric | Core Ultra X9 388H (Panther Lake) | Core Ultra 9 285H (Arrow Lake) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-Thread Score | 37,904 (Peak: 40,523) | 34,436 | +10.1% to +17.7% |
| Single-Thread Score | 4,451 | 4,468 | ~Parity |
| Max Boost Clock | 5.1 GHz | 5.4 GHz | -5.5% |
The numbers show that Intel is no longer defining leadership by raw frequency alone.
🧠 Fewer P-Cores, More Throughput #
One of the most surprising aspects of the 388H is its core configuration. Despite using fewer Performance cores than its Arrow Lake predecessor, it still delivers a sizable multi-thread uplift.
- Core layout: 4P + 8E + 4 LP-E
- Arrow Lake 285H: 6P + 8E + 2 LP-E
This so-called “P-core reduction” strategy points to meaningful IPC gains, improved power efficiency, and a more mature scheduler that keeps all core types busy under load. Even with a lower 5.1 GHz boost clock, single-thread performance remains effectively unchanged—evidence that each clock cycle is doing more work.
🎮 Xe3 Arc B390: Integrated Graphics Breakthrough #
The most eye-catching upgrade in the Core Ultra X9 388H is not the CPU cores, but the integrated Arc B390 GPU based on the Xe3 architecture.
Early leaks suggest a dramatic jump in iGPU capability:
- Ray tracing leap: Internal testing in Cyberpunk 2077 reportedly shows the Arc B390 delivering up to 2× the ray-tracing performance of AMD’s Radeon 890M.
- 3DMark Time Spy: Scores above 6,300, roughly 33% faster than Lunar Lake’s Arc 140V and approaching entry-level discrete GPUs such as the mobile RTX 3050.
This level of graphics density could fundamentally change expectations for thin-and-light laptops without dedicated GPUs.
💼 Built for High-End Mobile Workflows #
Intel appears to be positioning the Core Ultra X9 388H squarely at premium ultrabooks and compact mobile workstations, including upcoming refreshes of systems like the Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16.
Key platform features reinforce this direction:
- NPU performance: Up to 50 TOPS, aligning with 2026-era requirements for local AI workloads and Copilot-style experiences.
- Memory bandwidth: Support for LPDDR5X-9600, ensuring the Xe3 iGPU is not starved when handling large textures, 3D assets, or AI models.
Taken together, the PassMark appearance of the Core Ultra X9 388H suggests Panther Lake is less about chasing frequency records and more about delivering a balanced, efficient, and graphics-heavy mobile platform. If these early numbers translate into shipping systems, Intel’s 2026 laptop lineup could look very different from what came before.