Intel's Next-Gen CPUs: Panther Lake

Intel is gearing up to release its latest mobile CPUs, with the Core Ultra 200 series "Lunar Lake" set to lead the way. However, just as these processors are on the brink of hitting the market, leaks have surfaced regarding Intel's plans for the upcoming Core Ultra 300 series "Panther Lake". Rumors suggest that Panther Lake will boast double the core count of Lunar Lake, which maxed out at eight cores. Various configurations of Panther Lake are in development, based on different combinations of performance (P) "Cougar Cove," efficiency (E) "Skymont," and low power (LP) cores.

One of the configurations is the PTL-U, featuring 4P+0E+4LP cores along with four Xe3 "Celestial" GPU cores, all within a 15 W power envelope. Another variant, the PTL-H, will have 4P+8E+4LP cores totaling 16 cores, along with four Xe3 GPU cores, housed in a 25 W package. Additionally, Intel will introduce PTL-P SKUs with 4P+8E+4LP cores and 12 Xe3 cores, potentially creating a strong gaming chip with 25 W of power.

Intel's Panther Lake CPU architecture employs a unique design approach, utilizing a multi-tile configuration. The processor consists of five distinct tiles, with three actively contributing to its functionality. The central compute operations are managed by the "Die 4" tile, which houses the CPU and NPU, while "Die 1" is dedicated to platform control (PCD). Graphics processing is handled by "Die 5", leveraging Intel's Xe3 technology. Interestingly, two of the five tiles serve a structural role, strategically placed to achieve a balanced, rectangular form factor for the chip.

Panther Lake is expected to offer greater versatility compared to Lunar Lake, catering to a broader range of market segments and use cases. One notable improvement is the potential for increased memory capacity, surpassing Lunar Lake's limit of 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 8533 MT/s. More details are anticipated to be revealed at Intel's upcoming Innovation event in September, with Panther Lake slated for general availability in late 2025 or early 2026.