Yes, Intel’s new Panther Lake chips are remarkable—but full-fat GPU-equipped gaming laptops still lead the pack for performance

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Fast, active and exciting. That’s how I described the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H in my review, and I stand by it. It’s equipped with an Arc B390 iGPU, which crushes every other iGPU we’ve tested in terms of gaming performance, which is a remarkable technical achievement considering the size of the graphics block relative to the rest of the chip.

But there’s an important caveat to the Intel Arc B390, and it’s this: It’s very, very fast –For iGPU. Sure, it’s capable of delivering gaming laptop-like performance, but compare it to any current-generation standalone mobile GPU and the limitations of the small graphics block quickly become apparent.

Now, none of this is meant to overshadow the monumental achievements of Intel’s engineers. No one expects its new mobile graphics hardware to compete with anything in the RTX 50 series.

In fact, Intel claims that the Core Ultra X9 388H can play games 10% faster (on average) than laptops with RTX 4050 phones. And if you look closely at the claims, you’ll see that they are for a 60W gaming laptop with “2x upscaling” enabled.

Again, that’s still pretty impressive for an iGPU, especially since the Core Ultra X9 388H machine was said to use 45 W throughout during these tests. But in reality, low-powered RTX 4050 phones aren’t particularly fast by modern standards.

Intel Arc B390 1080p Gaming Benchmark

No upgrade

Cyberpunk 2077 (medium)Black Myth Wukong (middle)F1 24 (medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (Original)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition. (high)

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

64

52

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

41

35

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

33

27

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

81

56

0255075100

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

39

31

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

twenty three

20

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

No. 17

14

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

53

44

015304560

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

113

100

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

74

65

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

155

108

050100150200

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

82

58

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

54

12

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

37

20

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

111

60

037.575112.5150

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

49

33

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

27

7

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

27

18

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

43

30

015304560

If you crank up the GPU power to what you might find in an average entry-level machine (75 W in our Acer Nitro V 15 test laptop), Nvidia’s lowest-tier graphics hardware from the previous generation came out significantly ahead in most of our benchmarks.

Frame generation was not included in our iGPU test suite, but we did run these numbers again with quality scaling enabled. Yes, the Intel iGPU is very fast compared to its direct competitors, especially with the XeSS enhancements. However, it does have a tendency to disconnect if you compare it to previous-generation budget gaming laptops (which had half the power).

Intel Arc B390 1080p Upgraded Gaming Benchmark

Upgrade set to quality

Cyberpunk 2077 (medium)Black Myth Wukong (middle)F1 24 (medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (Original)

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

92

60

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

53

45

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

40

33

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

110

63

037.575112.5150

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

57

43

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

36

29

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

30

twenty three

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

81

63

0255075100

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

141

126

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

80

65

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

150

85

037.575112.5150

average frame rate

1% low FPS

Intel Arc B390 (Asus Zenbook Duo)

94

67

Radeon 890M (Asus Zephyrus G16)

77

12

Intel Arc 140V (Asus Zenbook S 14)

37

20

RTX 4050 Mobile (75 W, Acer Nitro V 15)

116

83

037.575112.5150

Again, this isn’t to cast doubt on Intel’s claims, and I don’t mean to dampen the excitement surrounding Panther Lake performance too much. Trust me, I’m excited too. But it’s important to look at the Arc B390 iGPU in context. It must be said that it’s still largely behind the pace compared to most modern mobile graphics chips.

But still, the advantages of getting real graphics processing power in a single chip are many. This means that a productivity-style, slim and stylish gaming laptop using high-end Panther Lake chips can truly be called a gaming laptop in its own right, even without any dedicated off-chip hardware to handle the demanding stuff.

Never mind the increase in power efficiency. I spent a day in the office with a charger-less Panther Lake test unit, and I was impressed with the results. Without the onboard dGPU, and the increased efficiency in the way the new Intel chips handle power loads, I lasted about 11 hours away from a wall socket, with 18% of battery remaining. Yes, that includes playing some simple games on the train.

It’s obvious that Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips are made from superior materials. I can’t wait to see what happens when one (or something similar to what we’re seeing so far) ends up in a gaming handheld, as this kind of performance combined with its low-power tendencies seems to be the recipe for a truly great handheld gaming machine.

But should you get one in your next gaming laptop? If your goal is cutting-edge performance, maybe not. I haven’t even mentioned the price yet.

My Asus Zenbook Duo test unit will likely retail for more than $2,000 (US pricing has yet to be confirmed, but the UK version will start at $2,300). Granted, it’s a dual-OLED wonder, so a traditional laptop powered by Intel’s new B390 chip will probably be cheaper. But even with the price reduced by $500, and possibly even $800, anything on our list of gaming laptop deals under $1,000 will likely run around its raw gaming performance.

Say it again: I’m impressed with Intel’s new chips. But if you’re on a budget or you’re not too concerned about all-day battery life and still want high frame rates in the latest games, it’s still a machine with a discrete GPU that should be at the top of your shopping list.

I don’t think traditional gaming laptops have to worry too much about Panther Lake, but they do face some new competition with some clear benefits, which is worth celebrating. I promise, I won’t get too frustrated now.