Intel’s cheaper Panther Lake chips are for budget-friendly laptops

Intel is announcing a family of cheaper Panther Lake laptop processors called the Core Series 3 line. They’re built on the same Intel 18A process as the higher-end Core Ultra Series 3 family of chips, but they have less of just about everything spec-wise.

The Core Series 3 (non-Ultra) line encompasses six different chips, with the highest end being a six-core Intel Core 7 360 and the low-end model being a five-core Intel Core 3 304. Compared to their Ultra counterparts, the Core Series 3 across the board have fewer CPU cores, Xe graphics cores, and PCIe lanes. They’re capable of less TOPS, a lower TDP wattage, and are limited to two Thunderbolt 4 ports instead of four. All of that should translate to lower prices, but we’ll have to see just how low once Intel partners like Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and others start selling Core Series 3 laptops.

There’s some overlap in the chip names between the Core Series 3 and the pricier Core Ultra Series 3 processors, which could make things a little confusing once they’re all in the market. For example, at the botom of the Core Ultra Series 3 line is a Core Ultra 5 322 chip, and in the middle of the Core Series 3 line there’s now a Core 5 330. The 330 could sound like the better chip, since it’s a higher number than 322, but it’s got two fewer cores, half the cache, about a third of the AI TOPS, and the same amount of Xe graphics cores. So, when in doubt, look for the “Ultra” moniker or lack of one to know if you’re in budget land or not.

Even if these new Core chips are a little bit of a bore, it’s good to see more affordable Panther Lake options coming. The flagship Intel Core Ultra X9 388H I tested in the Asus Zenbook Duo was excellent, with solid battery life and even strong graphics performance, but that’s a $2,300 laptop. How much of that core experience can trickle down to much cheaper Panther Lake laptops?