Intel Arrow Lake-U, H and HX chips for laptops are coming in Q1, 2025

Intel introduced a line of Arrow Lake-S processors for desktop computers in Octoberand now the company implementation of Arrow Lake architecture in laptops and mini-PCs with a new line of mobile processors of the U, H and HX series.

The Arrow Lake-H family delivers CPU and graphics performance gains of up to 15 percent over Meteor Lake-H chips, while the new Arrow Lake-HX processors deliver even more CPU performance but hold back graphics a bit since they’re chips designed for gaming laptops and mobile workstations, where they will most likely be paired with discrete graphics processors.

Arrow Lake-H

The first five Intel Arrow Lake-H processors are expected to appear in products released early this year, and they feature a combination of processor cores with performance, efficiency and low power consumption much like the 12th generation Alder Lake-U and H processors – series chips.

Although these processors have the same 11 TOPS NPU as the Intel Core Ultra 100 series “Meteor Lake” chips, rather than the 45+ NPU TOPS found in the new Intel Core Ultra 200V series “Lunar Lake” processors, Intel says that they can deliver performance up to Meteor Lake processor AI performance is increased by 250% thanks to a significant increase in graphics performance.

The new models feature Intel Arc graphics with XMX cores that can deliver up to 77 TOPS of AI performance, while the flagship Core Ultra 9 285H processor delivers up to 99 TOPS of total AI performance using both CPU and GPU.

All of these chips support up to 96GB of DDR5-6400 memory, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x-8400 memory, and have built-in support for:

• Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
• 8 PCIe Gen 5 lanes for discrete graphics
• 8 PCIe Gen 4 for up to two SSDs
• 3×4 PCIe Gen 4 (lanes)
• HDMI 2.1
• DisplayPort 2.1

They also have built-in support for up to four Thunderbolt ports, as well as support for a discrete Thunderbolt 5 port.

The TDP for each processor can be configured at 28-60W or 45-115W.

Arrow Lake U

Intel is also introducing new lower-power chips based on the same architecture but with slightly less everything.

These Arrow Lake-U processors have fewer CPU performance cores, fewer GPU cores, and consume less power. Designed for thinner, lighter laptops and mini PCs with lower power consumption, they have a base processor power of 15W and support a maximum turbo power of up to 57W.

Interestingly, these are the only Arrow Lake chips that support more threads than cores—they’re all 12-core, 14-thread chips, which suggests the two Performance cores support hyperthreading.

Arrow Lake HX

On the other hand, we have the new Intel Arrow Lake-HX chips, which are expected to go on sale later in the first quarter of 2025. Designed for laptops with discrete graphics, Intel only equipped these chips with 4-core integrated graphics, but the processors feature more CPU cores, support for higher frequencies, and more PCIe lanes.

These chips are essentially stripped-down versions of Intel’s Arrow Lake-S desktop processors, offering many of the same capabilities. And while Intel says users will see a single-core performance boost of about 5 percent over Raptor Lake-H processors, multi-core performance should be as much as 20 percent higher.

Among other things, these chips support:

• Built-in Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7
• 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes for discrete graphics
• 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes or 4 PCI 5.0 lanes for SSDs
• Memory DDR5-6400
• DisplayPort 2.1
• HDMI 2.1
• 2 built-in Thunderbolt 4 ports + discrete Thunderbolt 5 support

The Intel 800 series chipset also supports up to 10 USB 3 ports, 14 USB 2 ports, 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes, 12 PCIe 3.0 lanes, and up to 8 SATA 3.0 drives.

Since these chips don’t need to dedicate as much power to the iGPU as the Arrow Lake-H chips, they are actually designed to operate in the same power range as the U-series, with a base CPU power of 15W and a power output of 57W. Maximum turbo power level watts. Just keep in mind that since these chips will likely be paired with discrete GPUs, you’re unlikely to get the same battery life from an Arrow Lake-HX laptop as you would from an Arrow Lake-U system.

Other new Intel processors (Core 200H, Intel Core 3 and Intel processor)

Intel has also finally confirmed that Twin Lake Processors this is a thing.

Mini PC production begins delivery of small desktop computers with a 6W quad-core Intel N150 processor in late 2024, although Intel has not yet officially announced this processor. So we had to rely on leaks and third-party testing to determine that it was, in fact, just Alder Lake-N processors with slightly higher processor frequencies.

While Intel didn’t spend much time discussing these new chips in its CES pre-briefing, the company notes that they will be available with 2 to 8 processor cores, consume as little as 6 watts, and will be available for up to 10 years for business and enterprise customers. that rely on long-term availability.

Entry-level processors will be sold at Intel processor trademark, and higher performance chips will be called Intel Core 3 processors. So while the highest performing Alder Lake-N chip launching in 2023 is the Core i3-N305, the new low-power performance champion is the Core N355, with a new name to match the company’s updated nomenclature.

The company also introduces new Intel Core 100U, 200U And Intel Core 200H the chips are based on the company’s legacy Raptor Lake architecture (although some have been re-coded “Bartlett Lake”). These processors should be cheaper than the Core Ultra 200 series chips and will soon appear in low-cost laptops and mini PCs.