Intel has unveiled its new top-end Core Ultra Series 3 mobile processors at CES 2026, built around the Panther Lake 18A generation and pitched as a significant step for gaming-focused laptops. The company is touting up to a 77 percent increase in integrated graphics performance versus the Lunar Lake-based Core Ultra 9 288V, a bold claim that sits at the heart of its CES presentation. Intel publicly stressed gaming capabilities during the event, with Dan Rogers, the company’s VP of PC products, dedicating a large portion of the talk to the architectural and practical gains for iGPU-powered machines. The emphasis is not just raw numbers; Intel is also promising a notably improved GPU driver stack that could help slim-and-light laptops play newer titles more convincingly, even before any discrete GPU is added.
The flagship of the lineup is the Core Ultra X9 388H, which pairs a substantial integrated GPU with a full 16-core package. The top-end iGPU is the Intel Arc B390, described as a Battlemage-branded solution built on Xe3 cores and capable of real-time ray tracing. In practice, this variant is listed as 16 total cores with four Performance cores, eight Efficient cores, and four Low Power Efficient cores. The X9 388H carries a 5.1 GHz P-core max turbo, 18 MB of L3 cache, and an NPU TOPS figure of 50. The graphics block hosts 12 Xe cores on the B390, with 12 PCIe lanes, support for up to 96 GB of system memory (LP5/X, and up to 9600 MT/s), and power envelopes of 25 W base, stepping to 65–80 W under turbo. These numbers are positioned to deliver what Intel describes as a meaningful uplift for gaming workloads on thin and light devices.
The non-X variant of the Ultra 9, the Core Ultra 9 386H, retains the same core count but re-allocates iGPU resources and PCIe lanes. It uses a four Xe-core iGPU configuration and bumps PCIe lanes to 20, while keeping a 16-core core count overall. The 386H runs at a slightly lower P-core max turbo—4.9 GHz—but still targets a similar 25 W base with 65–80 W turbo power. The L3 cache remains at 18 MB, and the platform uses the Arc B390 GPU with 12 Xe cores for the iGPU, alongside the same memory and speed brackets as the X9 family. Maximum memory remains 96 GB on LP5/X, or 128 GB with DDR5, and the memory speed scales up to 9600 MT/s in LP5/X or higher with DDR5. Intel continues to emphasize the flexibility of its 18A tile-based packaging, including the possibility of pairing these chips with discrete GPUs in certain configurations.
The next tier brings the Core Ultra X7 368H and Core Ultra 7 366H, which again keep the split between a higher-end X variant and a more mainstream 7-series variant. The X7 368H carries the Arc B390 GPU with 12 Xe cores, while the 7 366H uses a more modest Intel Graphics configuration with four Xe cores. In both cases, the 16-core envelope is present, supported by a 5.0 GHz (368H) or 4.8 GHz (366H) P-core max turbo, 18 MB L3 cache on the X7 and 12 MB on the 7, and a similar memory and PCIe lane setup—12 lanes for the X7, 20 lanes for the higher-end variant. Power envelopes sit in the same league, with base performance at 25 W and turbo up to 65–80 W for the X7 368H, and a matching 65–80 W for the 366H. The 7-series chips are positioned as a strong fit for ultraportables that want some extra graphical headroom without tipping into higher TDPs.
The Core Ultra 7 line continues with further options, including the 358H, 356H, and 365, all of which round out the more affordable segment. The 358H continues the Arc B390 iGPU configuration with 12 Xe cores and PCIe lanes in the 12–20 range, while the 356H and 355 provide similar matrix options but with varying clock speeds, PCIe lanes, and memory capabilities. The 365 is notable for packing 16 total cores into a config that’s still friendly to mobile power envelopes; however, it uses a different iGPU configuration and a lower L3 cache (12 MB) compared with the X7s. Across these models, base power is pegged at 25 W, with turbo power stretching to 65–80 W depending on the SKU.
On the lower end of the scale, Intel’s Core Ultra 5 family—represented by the 338H and 336H—introduces the Arc B370 iGPU with 10 Xe cores (for the 338H) or a four Xe-core Intel Graphics design (for the 336H). The 338H provides 12 total cores with a P-core max turbo of 4.7 GHz, 18 MB of L3, and PCIe lanes at 12 for the CPU plus 20 for the platform. Memory speeds extend up to 9600 MT/s in LP5/X or 7467–7200 MT/s with DDR5 for higher-end cap configurations, while the 336H follows a similar memory pattern but with four Xe cores for its iGPU. Both chips sustain 25 W base power and 65–80 W turbo power, matching the overall family’s emphasis on efficiency alongside performance. The entry-grade 335, 325, 332, and 322 variants extend the same core philosophy into 8-core packages with two Xe-core iGPUs in some configurations, maintaining 12 PCIe lanes for the CPU and up to 128 GB of DDR5/LP5 memory support where applicable.
The broader takeaway is that Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 deploys a mix of 18A-based tile designs, with redesigned P-cores and E-cores anchored to a significantly beefier integrated GPU stack in the higher tiers. The Arc B390 is a key differentiator, offering real-time ray tracing and Xe3 cores in the top SKUs, and the company is promising a notably improved GPU driver stack alongside back-end power and performance optimizations. Intel is positioning these chips as capable enough to punch above their weight in slim and light gaming laptops, and potentially handhelds, especially when combined with XeSS multi-frame generation in supported titles.
Demos shown during CES included titles like Battlefield 6 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which Intel used to illustrate the iGPU performance gains in real-game scenarios. While the company did not disclose every core split for every SKU, it did emphasize the 16-core X-series and the 12 Xe-core iGPUs as the architectural backbone for the strongest models. The practical upshot is a broad 14-SKU lineup designed to cover everything from ultraportables to more capable gaming notebooks, with a potential path toward handheld form factors as the year unfolds. For readers seeking deeper architectural context, Intel’s Panther Lake breakdown—covering RibbonFET, PowerVia, and other nanoscale innovations that enable the claimed battery life and performance advantages—has been explored separately in related coverage.
Availability for the new Core Ultra Series 3 chips is slated for preorder starting January 6, with the broader ecosystem of laptops and handheld devices expected to follow in the coming months. Intel also signaled that it has more to show in the handheld space, though specifics remain under wraps for now. As with any CES reveal, a number of performance claims remain dependent on driver optimization and real-world power tuning, but the initial figures and on-stage demonstrations put the Core Ultra Series 3 squarely in the center of the conversation about gaming-capable laptops on a thinner, lighter chassis. If the promised gains hold up against Lunar Lake and the XeSS stack scales well in real-world titles, Intel could deliver a compelling option for players who want capable portable gaming without resorting to traditional discrete-GPU-heavy designs.
For readers who want a deeper dive into Panther Lake’s architectural shifts and the nuances of the Arc B390/Arc B370 iGPUs, additional analysis and a detailed SKU-by-SKU breakdown are available from our coverage team. The CES 2026 period continues to unfold with more hardware motherships and handhelds likely to surface in the weeks ahead, and Intel’s mobile family could reshape how developers optimize for integrated graphics in the near term. In the meantime, the 14-chip lineup and the promise of a stronger driver stack give the PC gaming community a reason to watch closely as preorder windows approach.
As a final note, a second image from the show provides a broader look at the platform context and the scale of the Panther Lake rollout as it moves from keynote slides toward real-world devices.
With hands-on time anticipated in the near term, the industry will be watching closely to see how these chips perform in more demanding titles and how the driver improvements translate to sustained gaming experiences on slim machines. The CES showcases have set a high bar for Intel’s 18A-era mobility ambitions, and the Core Ultra Series 3 is positioned to be a major talking point as the year unfolds.
