The rumor mill for Intel's next-generation Panther Lake processors is churning at full speed. While Intel itself unveiled a surprising amount of architectural detail at its recent Intel Technology Tour, the company has been tight-lipped about the final product names. Early leaks pointed to high-performance "X-series" models like the Core Ultra X9 388H, but a new Geekbench listing has now given us our first look at a more mainstream chip, and it comes with a significant revelation about the future of Intel's integrated graphics.
A New Tier Emerges: The Core Ultra 5 338H
Spotted in the Geekbench database, the Core Ultra 5 338H is the first non-X series Panther Lake CPU to appear in a benchmark listing. This chip is expected to sit in the heart of future mainstream and performance-thin laptops. While the CPU details are intriguing, the real story lies with its integrated graphics component.
The listing identifies the chip's iGPU as the "Arc B370." This name is immediately notable and a bit puzzling. Following Intel's established naming convention, the "B" prefix suggests this GPU is based on the upcoming Xe2 "Battlemage" architecture. However, Panther Lake is officially slated to feature the next generation after that: Xe3 "Celestial."
This creates a minor mystery. Is this a simple case of Geekbench misidentifying a pre-production GPU, a common occurrence with early engineering samples? Or has Intel decided on a new, simplified iGPU naming scheme that doesn't directly correlate to the architectural codename? For now, it's a question without a definitive answer, but it strongly hints at a strategic shift in how Intel will market its on-chip graphics.
You can see the source of the speculation for yourself in the official listing: https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/compute/5070240
Performance Uplift: The Numbers Don't Lie
Naming confusion aside, the performance figures posted by this Arc B370 iGPU are what truly turn heads. In the Geekbench 6 Vulkan compute test, the GPU scored a very respectable 39,406 points.
To put that into perspective, the current-generation integrated graphics in a Meteor Lake chip, the Arc 130V, typically scores around 27,209 in the same test. This means the leaked Panther Lake iGPU is approximately 45% faster than its direct predecessor.
This performance leap is significant for the laptop market. It brings integrated graphics performance closer than ever to entry-level discrete GPUs, potentially reshaping what users can expect from thin-and-light laptops without a dedicated graphics card. Impressively, this ~45% uplift is remarkably close to Intel's own advertised claim of a 50% generational performance increase for Panther Lake's iGPUs.
The leak was initially highlighted by the well-known hardware sleuth BenchLeaks on X (formerly Twitter), bringing it to the attention of the tech community.
CPU Configuration: A Clash of Cores
The Geekbench listing also provides some clarity, and a little confusion, regarding the CPU core configuration of the Core Ultra 5 338H. The software detects a total of 12 cores across two clusters, interpreting it as an 8+4 layout.
However, this seems to conflict with previous leaks and Intel's stated direction. A more plausible configuration, based on Panther Lake's confirmed hybrid architecture, would be a three-tier design consisting of:
- 4 Performance Cores (P-cores)
- 4 Efficiency Cores (E-cores)
- 4 Low-Power Efficiency Cores (LPE-cores)
This 4+4+4 setup still adds up to 12 cores, but Geekbench's reporting tools sometimes struggle to correctly distinguish between the E-core and LPE-core clusters in pre-production hardware, leading to the simplified 8+4 reading. This three-type core strategy is key to Intel's ambition for Panther Lake, focusing on delivering powerful performance while maximizing battery life.
The Bottom Line: Integrated Graphics are Getting Serious
While the "Arc B370" name raises questions about Intel's final branding strategy, the performance showcased in this leak is unambiguous. If these results hold, Intel's Panther Lake platform could mark a watershed moment for integrated graphics, closing the gap with entry-level discrete GPUs and enabling a new level of gaming and content creation capability in ultraportable laptops. With Panther Lake expected to arrive in 2025, the tech world will be watching closely for more official details to emerge.
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