Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra X7 358H has surfaced in a fresh round of PassMark benchmarks, offering a clearer look at where Panther Lake might land in real-world performance. The mid-range mobile chip posts 4,282 points in the single-threaded test and 29,426 points in the multi-threaded test—results that currently trail today’s Arrow Lake-H lineup.
The listing indicates a 16-core design in a 4+8+4 layout with 18 MB of L3 cache, matching earlier leaks. Based on these figures, single-core performance sits slightly behind the Core Ultra 7 255H and 265H, which score 4,347 and 4,433 points respectively. In multi-threaded workloads, the Core Ultra X7 358H is about 4% slower than the 255H and roughly 15% behind the 265H, a gap that will raise eyebrows for anyone expecting generational gains.
It’s important to remember this appears to be an early engineering sample, so final silicon, clocks, power targets, and firmware could shift the picture. Still, PassMark provides a solid baseline for cross-platform comparisons, and the results are worth noting.
There’s also fresh data on the integrated graphics. The Arc B390 iGPU, built on the Xe3 architecture, scores 9,339 points on PassMark’s GPU tests. That puts it nearer to a GeForce GTX 1650 Super in broad terms, but about 23% slower than a GeForce RTX 3050 laptop GPU. This contrasts with earlier sightings that suggested head-to-head parity with the RTX 3050 Ti laptop variant, reinforcing the need to treat pre-release numbers with caution. Driver maturity, power limits, and thermal headroom can all sway early iGPU results.
Big picture, these scores aren’t the statement many were hoping for from Panther Lake, especially if it ends up trailing Arrow Lake in both CPU and iGPU performance at launch. Panther Lake is expected to debut in January 2026 and target mobile platforms exclusively. If the retail chips don’t deliver stronger results, attention will quickly shift to the follow-up Nova Lake family, currently anticipated for late 2026.
Key takeaways for shoppers and enthusiasts:
– Core Ultra X7 358H scores 4,282 single-thread and 29,426 multi-thread on PassMark
– Configuration: 16 cores in a 4+8+4 arrangement with 18 MB L3 cache
– CPU performance is slightly behind Core Ultra 7 255H/265H in single-core; up to 15% behind 265H in multi-core
– Arc B390 Xe3 iGPU scores 9,339, landing below the RTX 3050 laptop by about 23% and closer to the GTX 1650 Super
– Results are from an engineering sample; final performance may improve with higher clocks, refined power limits, and driver updates
– Panther Lake is aimed at a January 2026 mobile launch, with Nova Lake expected later in 2026
For now, the best strategy is to watch for additional benchmarks as Panther Lake approaches production and to compare finalized retail results against Arrow Lake-H laptops in similar thermal and power envelopes.
