Intel has expanded its processor range with an addition to its Meteor Lake lineup—the Intel Core Ultra 5 115U. Dubbed as ‘Ultra’, this chip is positioned as the entry-level option within the series, offering a more modest performance profile compared to its siblings.
Introduced in December of the previous year, the Intel Core Ultra processors have been designed with the Meteor Lake architecture. Following the launch of the vPro-eligible processors earlier in the year, Intel has continued to extend this family of CPUs by unveiling several new processor models, with some flying under the radar without extensive promotion.
Among these quiet releases is the Intel Core Ultra 5 115U, a chip that might not capture headlines like its more powerful counterparts but fills an important niche in Intel’s product offerings. The processor’s emergence was first noticed on Intel’s official product listings, highlighting its entry-level status within the Meteor Lake range.
Contrasting with its U-series peers, which typically boast 12 cores and 14 threads, the Core Ultra 5 115U is equipped with a reduced 8 cores and 10 threads, trailing behind the performance potential of other U-series models. This scaling down extends to its cache, clock speeds, and graphical capabilities—with the latter seeing one less Intel Xe GPU core than similar U-series processors.
The power profile of the Core Ultra 5 115U sits at a base of 15 watts, with a max turbo power of 57 watts. However, despite these figures being identical to those of the more robust Core Ultra 5 135U, Intel offers an even more energy-efficient option within the lineup, such as the Core Ultra 5 134U, which operates within a range of base 9 watts to a max turbo of 30 watts. What remains consistent is the NPU of the Core Ultra 5 115U, which matches the capabilities of the more performance-oriented units, suggesting that Intel may be positioning this chip as a solution optimized for AI acceleration tasks.
While no products equipped with the new CPU have been officially announced, the Core Ultra 5 115U has already been featured in benchmarks such as Geekbench, signaling that devices incorporating this processor may soon enter the market.
For those interested in the latest Acer Swift Go 14, which is powered by the higher-tier Core Ultra 7 155H, you can currently find it available on Amazon.
In conclusion, Intel’s update to the Meteor Lake family introduces a versatile array of processors catering to different power and efficiency needs. While the Core Ultra 5 115U may not be the powerhouse of the group, its specific design could offer considerable advantages for AI-centric applications, signaling Intel’s intention to deliver performance across a spectrum of computing demands. Keep an eye out for upcoming devices that will leverage the unique attributes of this new addition to the Intel lineup.
