Intel launches Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, made using its long-awaited 18A process

"Like past Core Ultra generations, the Core Ultra 3 chips use a chiplet-based approach, combining several distinct silicon tiles on a foundational "base tile" using Intel's Foveros packaging technology. The compute tile houses the CPU cores and the neural processing unit (NPU), and it's the piece that's built using 18A-there are two version of this tile, one with a maximum of 16 CPU cores and one with 8."

"Intel is making big performance claims about the highest-end Core Ultra Series 3 processors: up to 60 percent faster multi-core CPU performance compared to the outgoing Core Ultra 200V chips, and up to 77 percent faster integrated GPU performance. Intel also says a "Lenovo IdeaPad reference design" using a Core Ultra X9 388H was able to stream Netflix at 1080p for 27.1 hours, though how battery life shakes out in real-world laptops is going to vary widely based on other specs and settings."

"All Panther Lake chips will also include the same neural processing unit (NPU), capable of up to 50 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This puts it well above the 40 TOPS requirement for Microsoft's Copilot+ PC label, if a bit short of the 60 TOPS that AMD is claiming for its Ryzen AI 400 series and the 80 TOPS that Qualcomm says its Snapdragon X2 chips are capable of. Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and up to four Thunderbolt"

The Core Ultra 3 (Panther Lake) family uses a chiplet-based design that mounts multiple silicon tiles onto a base tile via Intel's Foveros packaging. The compute tile contains CPU cores and a neural processing unit (NPU) built on 18A and is available in 16-core and 8-core variants. The platform controller tile and the high-end 12-core graphics tile are produced at TSMC, while a simpler 4-core graphics tile is fabricated on Intel 3. Configurations include 16+12, 16+4, and 8+4 CPU/GPU combinations and additional binned variants. Intel claims up to 60% faster multi-core CPU and up to 77% faster integrated GPU performance. A Lenovo IdeaPad reference design achieved 27.1 hours of 1080p Netflix streaming. All chips include a 50 TOPS NPU, exceed the 40 TOPS Copilot+ requirement, and support Wi‑Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and multiple Thunderbolt ports.

Read at Ars Technica