Early benchmark results for Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake laptop platform are starting to surface, and they paint a clear picture: the new Xe3-based integrated graphics could deliver a major leap in real-world gaming performance, especially on higher-end configurations.
The first numbers are appearing in Dell’s XPS lineup, comparing multiple Panther Lake-powered laptops. The standout system is a Dell XPS 14 running a Core Ultra X7 358H paired with an Intel Arc B390 iGPU featuring 12 Xe3 cores. In several game tests, this configuration posts dramatically higher frame rates than the other listed Panther Lake options, signaling that Intel’s top-tier integrated graphics setup may be capable of performance levels that previously required an entry-level dedicated GPU.
Across the results shown, the Core Ultra X7 358H system often more than doubles the frame rate of the Core Ultra 7 355 configuration, which is listed with a smaller “Intel Graphics” Xe3 iGPU featuring 4 Xe3 cores. The gains are frequently enormous, with multiple entries showing improvements in the +100% to +170% range. In practical terms, that kind of uplift can be the difference between a game feeling choppy and becoming comfortably playable at common laptop resolutions and settings.
The Dell XPS 16 with Core Ultra 5 325 (also listed with a 4 Xe3-core iGPU) generally lands in the same neighborhood as the Core Ultra 7 355 machine, trading small wins back and forth depending on the specific test. In other words, the biggest takeaway from these early benchmarks isn’t just the CPU tier—it’s the iGPU configuration. The 12-core Intel Arc B390 iGPU appears to be the key factor behind the massive performance jump.
A few of the higher frame rate results cluster around the 160–176 fps range on the Arc B390-equipped XPS 14, while comparable results for the 4-core Xe3 iGPU machines often sit far lower. Other tests show the Arc B390 system reaching roughly 90–100 fps where the others hover closer to 40–60 fps, again reflecting that repeated pattern of large percentage gains.
What this suggests for shoppers is simple: if these results hold up in broader testing, Panther Lake laptops could become far more appealing for light to moderate gaming, esports titles, and GPU-accelerated creative workloads without needing a separate graphics chip. That would be a meaningful win for thin-and-light designs like the XPS series, where power efficiency, thermals, and battery life matter just as much as raw speed.
Of course, these are still early benchmark snippets, and real-world performance will ultimately depend on laptop cooling, power limits, memory configuration, drivers, and the exact game settings used. Still, the pattern is consistent: a Panther Lake laptop with the higher-end Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 iGPU looks positioned to deliver a huge step forward over lower-tier Xe3 integrated graphics implementations.
If you’re watching the next wave of Intel Core Ultra laptops and wondering whether integrated graphics will finally be “enough” for more than casual play, these first Panther Lake benchmarks are an encouraging sign—especially for anyone considering premium ultraportables that traditionally rely on iGPU power.Fresh benchmark numbers for Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake integrated graphics paint a clear picture: the top iGPU option, labeled Intel Arc B390 with 12 Xe3 cores, could deliver a big jump in real-world gaming performance compared with the smaller Xe3 iGPU configurations.
The results come from multiple Dell XPS configurations running different Core Ultra chips. At the top of the stack is a Dell XPS 14 with a Core Ultra X7 358H paired with the Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU. That system repeatedly posts the highest frame rates across the test set, showing a sizable lead over the Dell XPS 14 powered by a Core Ultra 7 355 and an entry-level Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, and an even larger advantage over the Dell XPS 16 using a Core Ultra 5 325 with the same “Intel Graphics 4 Xe3” branding.
Across the benchmarks shown, the Arc B390 iGPU system reaches standout numbers including 384 fps, 138.6 fps, 103.3 fps, and 95.1 fps in separate runs. In the same tests, the Core Ultra 7 355 model lands notably lower at 184.9 fps, 64.7 fps, 58.9 fps, and 50.6 fps, while the Core Ultra 5 325 machine trails further at 107.3 fps, 38.2 fps, 35.9 fps, and 43.3 fps.
What makes the dataset especially interesting is how consistent the performance gap looks from one run to the next. In the “around 40–90 fps” range of tests, the Arc B390-based XPS 14 hits 87 fps, 64.3 fps, 55.4 fps, 49 fps, and 48.7 fps. The Core Ultra 7 355 with Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 comes in at 40.6 fps, 28.4 fps, 23 fps, 19.6 fps, and 19.5 fps. Meanwhile, the Core Ultra 5 325 system sits close to that lower tier with 39.7 fps, 27.4 fps, 22.2 fps, 19 fps, and 18.7 fps.
The percentage uplifts listed alongside the results emphasize the scale of the difference when stepping up to the Arc B390 12 Xe3 iGPU. Depending on the test, the Arc B390 configuration shows gains ranging from roughly +119% to +263% versus the Core Ultra 7 355 results presented, suggesting the higher-end Panther Lake iGPU could be positioned for smooth high-refresh esports play and far more comfortable 1080p gaming than typical integrated graphics expectations.
The takeaway for shoppers watching the next wave of thin-and-light laptops is straightforward: if these early figures hold up across wider testing, Intel’s Panther Lake Xe3 graphics lineup may have a meaningful split between entry-level Xe3 options and the top Arc-branded iGPU. For anyone trying to game without a discrete GPU, it may be worth paying close attention to which Panther Lake iGPU a laptop actually includes, because “Xe3” on its own may not tell the full story.
