The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is showing great improvement over its predecessor, but will we see it performing similarly in other real-world applications? We will wait and see.
Intel Core Ultra X9 388H Comes Out as Fast As Flagship Strix Halo in Single-Core, and Multi-Threaded Performance Remains Ahead of Core Ultra 9 285H
We finally have some benchmark numbers for the flagship Intel Panther Lake chip, which gives us some idea of where to put the Ultra X9 388H in the CPU hierarchy. While Geekbench scores usually vary from test to test, it's a great start for Intel, at least on the mobile platform, where it appears to trade blows with the fastest AMD mobile chips. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H was recently benchmarked on Geekbench, and even though it is an early engineering sample, the CPU did great in single-core tests.
The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H scored a good 3,057 points in single-core and 17,687 points in multi-core tests. For comparison, the single-core score is nearly 15% better than its predecessor, the Core Ultra 9 285H, and as good as the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 CPU, which is a flagship and the fastest mainstream mobile chip.
Remember that while the Strix Halo CPU works in a TDP range of 45W-120W and has a default TDP of 55W, the Core Ultra X9 388H works at a default TDP of 45W. We don't know its TDP range yet, but it should be somewhat closer to its predecessor, i.e., 45W-115W (with the latter being the maximum turbo power rating).
Geekbench 6 (Higher is Better)
In the multi-core test, despite a different core configuration than the Core Ultra 9 285H, the X9 388H manages to outperform it by nearly 21%. This looks decent, but keep in mind that this may or may not translate exactly to other real-world applications or in gaming. The X9 388H adopts a hybrid layout with 4 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores, and 4 low-power efficiency cores, bringing the total to 16 cores. You will see this core configuration on numerous Panther Lake SKUs as well, including the X7 variants.
However, the Core Ultra X9 388H can boost up to 5.1 GHz, as leaked on the Geekbench page. It's great to see Intel's mainstream SKUs now delivering great results in both CPU and iGPU benchmarks. Previously, we saw this CPU benchmarked in Time Spy, where its iGPU, Arc B390, reportedly delivered 50% higher score than Arc 140V. We have also seen numerous Arc B390 benchmarks, which reportedly deliver RTX 3050 laptop-equivalent performance.
News Source: @BenchLeaks
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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