Intel's "Arrow Lake" architecture has returned for a redemption tour on laptops with the debut of Intel Core Ultra 200H and Intel Core Ultra 200HX chipsets.
Intel began CES 2025 with a series of laptop and Edge chip launches. On the mobile computing front, Intel launched the Intel Core Ultra 200H and HX "Arrow Lake" processors alongside the vPro commercial line of Intel Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" chips.
So, what makes these chips worth caring about?
Intel Core Ultra 200H
It's the best choice for high-performance thin and light laptops... 200H is the triple-threat
Jim Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Intel
The Intel Core Ultra 200H series is designed for thin and light laptops with a need for increased performance, so you'll likely see these processors in pro-consumer and professional computers.
The Core Ultra 200H series features upgraded Intel Arc integrated GPUs with XMX, much like the Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V series. Intel reports that this updated iGPU offers more than 15% better graphics than the Meteor Lake-H series processors.
The Core Ultra 200H series also features the same Lion Cove and Skymont CPU cores we saw in Lunar Lake which, per Intel, offer more than 15% better single-thread and multi-thread CPU performance over the Meteor Lake generation.
Intel's VP of AI and Technical Marketing, Robert Hallock confirmed that Arrow Lake 200H offers on average, a 22% increase in iGPU gaming compared to the Meteor Lake Core Ultra 100H chipsets. Arrow Lake-H is also about 55% better than the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (XIE-84-100) chip when it comes to iGPU gaming.
The Intel Core Ultra 200H series features up to 99 TOPS of AI performance across the whole chipset, though much of that AI performance will come from the GPU. The Intel Core Ultra 200H "Arrow Lake" series has a smaller NPU than the "Lunar Lake" variant, with just 13 TOPS of NPU performance.
The chips in the H series are as follows:
Intel Core Ultra 200HX
It is our ultimate mobile processor... this product stops at nothing
Jim Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Intel
The Intel Core Ultra 200HX "Arrow Lake" chips are built with gamers and PC enthusiasts in mind. These more powerful processors are likely to be seen in gaming and professional workstation laptops.
The Core Ultra 200HX processors feature up to 8 Lion Cove P-cores and up to 16 Skymont E-cores. Intel claims that the 200HX processors should offer more than 5% single thread and 20% multithread performance gains over the 14th-generation "Raptor Lake Refresh" HX processors.
Intel's VP of AI and Technical Marketing, Robert Hallock confirmed that the Arrow Lake HX processors will outperform the other HX processors on the market, including the latest AMD "Strix Point" and "Dragon Range" chips based on Intel's internal testing. "You basically get a desktop in a laptop," Hallock enthused to the audience.
The Arrow Lake HX processors will have additional overclocking features and more data lanes, much like the desktop Core Ultra 200S and 200K variants.
The chips in the Core Ultra 200HX series are as follows:
Intel Core Ultra 200V vPro
I think we have finally busted the myth that x86 can be power-efficient
Michelle Johnston Holthaus, Intel Co-CEO
Intel is also releasing a vPro professional variant of the Intel Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" series of AI PC chips.
The vPro line of Intel Core Ultra 200V processors features increased security with up to 7x improved memory scanning performance, better threat detection, a powerful NPU for local AI and AI-based fleet insights, and an all-day battery life for increased productivity potential.
This is to say that the vPro line has all the benefits of the consumer version of Intel's Lunar Lake processors, with enhanced security for commercial and business users.
Intel "Panther Lake"
Intel's leading 18A chip, Panther Lake, is already in testing. "2025 is and will be a pivotal year for Intel," Co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus said while confirming the chip's future availability.
Panther Lake chips can be expected to be released in the second half of 2025.
This confirms rumors that the chips would be inbound later this year, and with systems already in testing, it seems unlikely the launch will be pushed back but, anything is possible. That said, this confirmation from Johnston Holthaus is a good sign.
Intel "Arrow Lake" needs a good redemption story
To say that the "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra 200S and K desktop launch was scuffed is, perhaps, putting it lightly. Initial reviews of the chipsets criticized the chips for offering similar or lower performance to the 14th generation "Raptor Lake" Intel processors thanks to Intel's decision to remove hyperthreading from the Core Ultra 200 series and lower the turbo boost clock, which limits overclocking potential.
The "Arrow Lake" laptop chips are aimed at performance users, including gaming enthusiasts. Intel appears confident that Arrow Lake will perform well on laptops, but we'll need to wait on our own hands-on experiences and testing to know for sure if Arrow Lake will get the redemption it needs.
That said, Intel has done quite a bit to turn around the Arrow Lake desktop experience with microcode patches so there is some hope for a solid laptop launch for the Core Ultra 200H and HX chipsets.
"To build a great AI PC, first you have to know how to build a great PC", Intel Co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus stated at the Intel Keynote, "and Intel knows how to do just that."
Systems featuring the new Intel chipsets will be available starting Q1 2025 with the Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200H and Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V vPro. Enthusiast and gaming platforms with the Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200HX processor and discrete GPUs are expected later in the first quarter.
