Intel Launches Core Ultra 200HX Plus Laptop CPUs: Tuned For Higher Performance With Binary Tool Optimizations, 290HX Plus Flagship

Intel has introduced its brand new Core Ultra 200HX Plus "Arrow Lake Refresh" CPUs for laptops, offering higher performance & capabilities.

Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus & Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus CPUs Boost Laptop Performance Further

Intel's Core Ultra 200HX Plus family is designed to offer a soft refresh to the Arrow Lake family, enhancing their value proposition with new technologies and more performance. The Plus family brings three big changes: Architecture and process refinements, More performance for an existing platform, and the ultimate expression of a new architectural generation. Intel has already announced its 200K Plus CPUs for desktops, more on those here.

Intel is calling 200HX Plus its fastest gaming laptop processors to date, offering up to twice the multi-core performance versus the competition, more performance per dollar, and a new set of features. The lineup includes two new chips, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and the Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus.

The specifications and high-level features of these chips are mentioned below:

Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is the fastest in the laptop refresh lineup. It features a total of 24 cores, which are a combination of 8 P-Cores based on the Lion Cove architecture and 16 E-Cores based on the Skymont architecture. The chip features a max boost clock of 5.5 GHz. The chip offers 36 MB of L3 and 40 MB of L2 cache, a 3.0 GHz D2D frequency, and 4Xe iGPU cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. The MTP is set at 160 Watts.

Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus vs 285HX:

• Same Core Count (24 vs 24)
• Same Boost Clock
• -100 MHz P-Core Clocks
• +100 MHz E-Core Clocks
• Same L2 and L3 Cache
• 3.0 GHz D2D vs 2.1 GHz D2D
• Same 160W MTP

Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus is the successor to the Core Ultra 7 265HX. It features the same 20 cores, which are a combination of 8 P-Cores based on the Lion Cove architecture and 12 E-Cores based on the Skymont architecture. The chip features a max boost clock of 5.3 GHz. The chip offers 30 MB of L3 and 36 MB of L2 cache, a 3.0 GHz D2D frequency, and 4Xe iGPU cores clocked at 1.9 GHz. The MTP is set at 160W.

Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus vs 265HX:

• Same Core Count (20 vs 20)
• Same Boost Clock
• -200 MHz P-Core Clocks
• +100 MHz E-Core Clocks
• Same L2 and L3 Cache
• 3.0 GHz D2D vs 2.1 GHz D2D
• Same 160W MTP

Intel Arrow Lake-HX "Core Ultra 200" Laptop CPU Lineup:

CPU Name	Cores / Threads	Base Clocks (P/E Cores)	Max Boost Clocks (P/E)	Single-Core Boost (P/E)	iGPU EUs / Clock	TVB / TVB3 Support
Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus	8+16 (24/24)	2.7 / 1.8 GHz	5.5 / 4.7 GHz	TBD	64 / 2.0 GHz	Yes / Yes
Core Ultra 9 285HX	8+16 (24/24)	2.8 / 2.1 GHz	5.5 / 4.6 GHz	5.2 / 4.6 GHz	64 / 2.0 GHz	Yes / Yes
Core Ultra 9 275HX	8+16 (24/24)	2.7 / 2.1 GHz	5.4 / 4.6 GHz	5.3 / 4.6 GHz	64 / 2.0 GHz	Yes / Yes
Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus	8+12 (20/20)	2.4 / 1.8 GHz	5.3 / 4.7 GHz	TBD	64 / 1.9 GHz	Yes / Yes
Core Ultra 7 265HX	8+12 (20/20)	2.6 / 2.3 GHz	5.3 / 4.6 GHz	5.2 / 4.6 GHz	64 / 1.9 GHz	Yes / Yes
Core Ultra 7 255HX	8+12 (20/20)	2.4 / 1.8 GHz	5.2 / 4.5 GHz	5.0 / 4.5 GHz	64 / 1.9 GHz	Yes / Yes
Core Ultra 7 251HX	6+12 (18/18)	2.9 / 2.5 GHz	5.1 / 4.5 GHz	5.1 / 4.5 GHz	48 / 1.8 GHz	TBD
Core Ultra 5 245HX	6+8 (14/14)	3.1 / 2.6 GHz	5.1 / 4.5 GHz	5.0 / 4.5 GHz	48 / 1.8 GHz	Yes / No
Core Ultra 5 235HX	6+8 (14/14)	2.9 / 2.6 GHz	5.1 / 4.5 GHz	5.0 / 4.5 GHz	48 / 1.8 GHz	Yes / No

• Up to 900MHz boost to the die-to-die frequency compared to Intel Core Ultra 7 285HX and Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX. This increases the speed of the CPU/memory controller link by nearly one gigahertz, driving system latency down and gaming performance up.
• Support for the new Intel Binary Optimization Tool, a first-of-its-kind optimization technology leveraging Intel’s 40-year history in workload optimization to increase processor instructions per cycle (IPC) and user performance, even if the workload has been optimized for another x86 processor, a game console, or an earlier architecture. This technology sits next to exciting hardware advancements as a key aspect of Intel’s long-term performance roadmap for enthusiasts.
• Advanced connectivity for gaming and creating, including support for discrete Intel Wi-Fi 7 (5 Gig), Intel Wireless Bluetooth® 5.4, and Intel Thunderbolt™ 5, giving users up to 80 Gbps bidirectional bandwidth to transfer massive files, stream 8K media, charge devices, and daisy-chain multiple accessories to a single PC.

So, talking about features, first up, Intel has a new Binary Optimization Tool which focuses entirely on enhancing enthusiast performance on supported workloads. The tool leverages Intel compiler and profiling IP to streamline library and executable performance. And ensures that no work is skipped.

Next up, Intel is raising the die-to-die (D2D) fabric frequency by nearly 1 GHz. The +900 MHz bump to 3.0 GHz dials up the CPU/memory controller link speeds, boosting gaming performance while simultaneously reducing system latency.

Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus CPU Performance

In terms of performance, Intel compares the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus against the Core Ultra 9 285HX on a similarly configured MSI Titan 18 laptop with an RTX 5090 discrete GPU. The new Plus chip is said to offer a 8% average uplift across various games at 1080p, and the highest uplift is rated at 24%.

If you are coming from an older laptop with an Intel Core i9-12900HX, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus will yield a 62% average performance uplift in games, which is massive, but you have to remember that these are two different GPU solutions being compared (RTX 5090 vs RTX 3080 Ti).

As for productivity, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus delivers slightly better performance of up to 7% in core-specific benchmarks, and up to 6% in productivity/content creation tests. Coming from an older gen will net you an even larger increase of over 2x.

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Pricing Information & Competition Comparison

Intel's Core Ultra 200HX Plus CPUs will be available starting today from leading partners and through multiple OEMs.

Some laptops have already been announced, which include:

• Predator Helios Neo 16S AI
• Predator Helios Neo 16 AI
• Predator Helios Neo 18 AI
• ROG Strix SCAR 18
• iGame M16 Origo
• Alienware 16 Area-51 Gaming Laptop
• Alienware 18 Area-51 Gaming Laptop
• Alienware 16X Aurora Gaming Laptop
• HyperX OMEN 15
• HyperX OMEN 16
• HyperX OMEN MAX 16
• Lenovo Legion 7i (16”, 10)
• Lenovo Legion 5i (15”, 11)
• Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (16”, 10)
• Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (16”, 10)
• MAINGEAR Ultima 18
• Mechrevo Yaoshi 18 Pro
• Mechrevo Yaoshi 16 Ultra
• Raider 16 Max HX
• Origin PC Gaming Notebook EON18X
• Origin PC Gaming Notebook EON16X
• Puget Mobile C162-G
• Razer Blade 18

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