Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra 9 386H, part of the “Panther Lake” series, has surfaced in the tech world, promising impressive performance that rivals existing processors. With a debut set for CES 2026, this new chip is already making waves for its stellar single-core and multi-core capabilities.
Unveiling the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H
Leaks have provided a glimpse into Intel’s Panther Lake “Core Ultra Series 3” prior to its official launch. The recent leak indicates performance figures derived from a near-retail sample, tested on Geekbench 6 via an Acer Predator Helios “PHN16S-I51” laptop equipped with 64 GB of memory. The Intel Core Ultra 9 386H showcases a configuration of 16 cores, featuring a base frequency of 2.10 GHz and a boost frequency reaching 4.9 GHz, with operational frequencies between 4.6-4.7 GHz across all cores.
Sporting 18 MB of L3 cache and 8 MB of L2 cache, the Core Ultra 9 386H also boasts four Xe3 iGPU cores. Despite Intel’s anticipation of laptops with dGPUs for Panther Lake, this specific laptop model seems to integrate a discrete GPU.
Performance Benchmarks Highlight Competitive Edge
Geekbench 6 scores reveal that the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H achieved 2845 points in single-core and 15,407 points in multi-core tests. This performance positions the processor ahead of many others in its category, including the well-regarded Core i9-14900HX, showcasing its efficiency and power despite its lower clock speeds. The multi-core performance is 16% better than that of the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, and significantly faster than the Lunar Lake 8-core models.
The Core Ultra 9 386H’s capabilities align closely with the Core i9-14900HX, a 24-core chip, and the Ryzen 5 9600X desktop CPU, illustrating its impressive standing in the current market landscape. As the CES 2026 launch approaches, further optimizations are expected to enhance the performance of retail models.
Intel Panther Lake-H and U lineup (Preliminary)
| CPU Model | P-Cores (Cougar Cove) | E-Cores (Darkmont) | LP-E Cores (Skymont) | CPU Clocks (Max) | Xe3 iGPU Cores | iGPU Clock | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Ultra X9 388H | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5.1 GHz | 12 (B390) | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra X9 386H | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4.9 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra X7 368H | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5.0 GHz | 12 (B390) | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra X7 366H | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4.8 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra X7 358H | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4.8 GHz | 12 (B390) | 2500 MHz | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra X7 356H | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4.7 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 5 338H | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4.7 GHz | 10 (B370) | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 5 336H | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4.6 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (65-80W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 7 365 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.8 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (55W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 7 355 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.7 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (55W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 5 335 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.6 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (55W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 5 325 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4.5 GHz | 4 | TBD | 25W (55W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 5 332 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4.4 GHz | 2 | TBD | 25W (55W Turbo) |
| Core Ultra 5 322 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4.4 GHz | 2 | TBD | 25W (55W Turbo) |