CES 2025: Intel Core Ultra Gen-2 chipsets for laptops announced

Intel ended 2024 by announcing the Intel Core Ultra Gen 2 processors (also known as the Arrow Lake series), which bumped up the AI performance for pre-built and custom desktops catering to everything from productivity to gaming. Now, the chip-maker has taken the stage at CES 2025 to deliver mobile versions of the Arrow Lake series.

Meet the new Intel Core Ultra Gen 2 chipsets, which will power next-gen laptops and notebooks, from the thin-and-light options to the heavy-duty gaming laptops. For the latter, the new Core Ultra 200HX series, as Intel calls it, will also be paired with Nvidia’s newest RTX 50-series GPUs which are also expected to make their way to laptops later this year.

But before we jump the fence, here’s all you need to know about the new Intel Core Ultra 200HX, Core Ultra 200H, and Core Ultra 200U series, and the improvements they bring to the table, or in this case, your lap.

Intel Core Ultra 200HX series

The Intel Core Ultra 200HX series is targeted at gaming laptops, and offers six new chipsets, including two each in the Core Ultra 5, Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 9 buckets. The chipsets are expected to deliver 5 per cent better single-thread performance and 20 per cent better multi-thread performance.

What that basically translates to is better and faster performance in programmes, and games. You can also catch the exact specifications of each variant in the series, in the image below.

The chipsets will also offer an NPU (neural processing unit) that can clock 13 TOPS. That is enough for machines powered by the chips to be classified as AI PCs, but these laptops will not qualify Microsoft’s Copilot+ certification requirements.

ALSO READ: How AI PCs evolved in 2024, and what’s next

Intel Core Ultra 200H series

While the 200HX series caters to gamers, those looking for thin-and-light machines will find ones powered by the Intel Core Ultra 200H series of processors. These laptops focus more on balancing performance with efficiency, and will come with a new Intel Arc integrated GPU instead of a dedicated GPU by Nvidia or AMD.

The Core Ultra 200H series chips are claimed to offer 15 per cent better CPU performance, and 15 per cent better GPU performance too. There are five chipsets in the lineup, including the flagship Core Ultra 9 285H which comes with 16 cores and a boost clock of 5.4GHz.

Lastly, Intel also announced the Intel Core Ultra 200U series chipsets, which are baked specifically for laptops that are aimed at thermal efficiency and offering the best possible battery life. These chipsets pull a base power of just 15W, and will not top 57W during high-performance scenarios.

All these chipsets are expected to be featured in laptops in the coming weeks, while the 200HX series which also relies on Nvidia’s unreleased mobile GPUs could take longer, and are expected to show up in stores towards the end of Q1 2025.