This might be the most powerful Chromebook ever created, but the question is: how is one going to push the CPU to its limits?
Panther Lake Chip with 12 Xe3 Core GPU on Chromebook Felino Leaked in NBD Shipping Logs; Time For a 16-Core PTL-H for Chromebook?
It's not usual to see high-end CPUs getting deployed in Chromebooks since there is no need. Even a quad core CPU is more than sufficient since ChromeOS doesn't need a lot of juice and users have to rely on web-based applications. We do see Chromebooks getting Core i5s and i7s, but those are usually from the ultra-power-efficient lineup, which are often comprised of a lot of efficient cores, as there isn't a huge need for several performance cores.
More performance cores certainly won't hurt, but they would mainly add to the cost without delivering substantial performance gains. However, one of the upcoming Chromebooks appears too OP, so much so that it seems that this device is aiming to compete with high-performance laptops. In a NBD shipping manifest, a laptop maker is apparently testing one of the Panther Lake SKUs with Stepping Code: Q7AP. The prototype Chromebook is using the new Felino base board, which indicates that the laptop maker is likely Acer, as was reported by Chrome Unboxed earlier this year.
From the shipping logs, we can see that this is a Chromebook 16 (featuring 16-inches of display), which is one of the largest form factors used on Chromebooks. It will utilize a Panther Lake SKU as spotted by @x86deadandback, featuring 12 Xe3 GPU cores. It's unusual to see such a powerful processor being utilized by a Chromebook, and while one would assume the Chromebook Felino 16 would utilize a PTL-U processor with 6 or 8 core configuration rated at 15W, this one is not from the PTL-U since they all boast 4 Xe3 GPU cores alongside the two variants in PTL-H.
From the recent reports on Panther Lake, only the top SKU in the PTL-H boasts 12 Xe3 cores for the iGPU, which means the Chromebook is going to feature a whopping 16-core CPU, boasting a hybrid configuration of 4-P Cores + 8-E Cores + 4-LPE Cores. We recently saw one of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy notebooks testing a Panther Lake chip, but it was likely the PTL-U. PTL-H, especially the 16-core variant, is reserved for premium offerings, and we don't know how exactly so many cores will be beneficial for a Chromebook.
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