Intel Core Ultra 300 Panther Lake Leak Reveals CPU And Xe3 GPU Core Configs
At some point, probably around the end of next year, Intel's going to release its next-next-generation mobile processors known as "Panther Lake." We first heard about this processor early last year. These parts will be the successors to "Lunar Lake," and thus are expected to be branded "Core Ultra 300". According to the latest leaks, Panther Lake will feature up to sixteen CPU cores from the Cougar Cove and Skymont architectures.
This information comes from the man who seems to have all the Intel info lately, Jaykihn. He shares that Panther Lake is going to come in at least three different setups: 25W SKUs with up to 16 CPU cores and 4 "Celestial" GPU cores, another version that's identical aside from the move to twelve Xe3 cores, and then a lower-power version that drops all of the "full-power" E-Cores to have just 8 CPU cores and the four Xe3 GPU cores.
The CPU core configurations in the tweet refer to P-cores, E-cores, and then low-power E-Cores. We've already seen such a design in the extant Meteor Lake Core Ultra processors, but Panther Lake looks like it will take a page from Lunar Lake and double the number of LP E-cores. It's interesting that it's the "full power" E-cores that get cut in the 15W version; that part looks very similar to Lunar Lake, just with half the GPU cores.
The leaker explains in tweet replies that while the two configurations with varying graphics capabilities may have the same base power limit, the "PL2", the short-term turbo power limit, may be quite a bit different. We're not sure that's a great strategy for a part with a big GPU given that gaming is a workload with a fairly consistent power draw, but Intel designs CPUs, and we don't. These are just rumors, anyway; who knows what the final spec will be.
This image was also shared, which appears to depict a Panther Lake-H (25W) package. In the illustration, you can clearly see five separate dice, although the illustration refers to a "Die 0" which is likely the base tile that these components attach to. The largest die, Die 4, is reportedly the Compute tile with the CPU cores, and the second-largest, Die 5, is supposedly the Celestial GPU. The long and skinny Die 1 is apparently the Platform Control Die or PCD, carrying "uncore" functions, and then the second and third dies are simply blanks for structural purposes.
Given that we don't know anything about clocks, caches, or even the characteristics of the Cougar Cove cores (nor any changes that Intel might make to Skymont between Lunar Lake and Panther Lake), it's impossible to even guess how these parts might perform. Hopefully, Intel reveals more information about its upcoming CPUs at its Innovation event in September.
