The new Arrow Lake CPUs from Intel are a big deal. They use a completely new architecture and come with a new socket, which will help them compete for a place among the top processors. However, it seems that some of the upcoming CPUs from the Core 200 series (non-Ultra versions) may not actually use the Arrow Lake/Lunar Lake architecture at all – they may be rebranded CPUs using older CPU technology.
This assumption comes from the results of the Crossmark benchmark, which was published on Bapco and first mentioned by Everest on X (formerly Twitter). The result shows Core 5 210H, but the performance is not what’s interesting. It’s the specs. The result shows that the CPU comes with eight cores and 12 threads. This is the issue. Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake do not come with Hyper-Threading, so each core comes with only one thread.
Core 5 210H 😭 pic.twitter.com/vtfBcNBvxS
– Everest (@Olrak29_) October 15, 2024
Get your weekly analysis of the cutting-edge technology behind PC gaming
This is not new for Intel. The company rebranded the Raptor Lake processors (13th generation) under the Meteor Lake branding with the Core-U lineup, and it seems that we will see something similar happening again here. As Tom’s Hardware pointed out, the performance of Core 5 210H in this benchmark is actually slightly less than the Core i5-12450H, so it’s definitely possible that Intel will use Alder Lake and Raptor Lake chips with the branding for non-Ultra Core 200 range processors.
It’s important to note that this only applies to laptops, at least for now. While the desktop Arrow Lake chips and mobile Lunar Lake chips use the same architecture, Intel categorizes them differently. The Core Ultra 200S processor is Arrow Lake for desktops, while the Core Ultra 200V is Lunar Lake for mobile phones. Intel also says it plans to release advanced Arrow Lake chips for laptops using the H or HX suffix.
The chips to be cautious of are the non-Ultra chips like Core 5 210H. Based on this benchmark, it seems that these CPUs are using an older architecture, but just with a new name. Intel may launch these CPUs without much fanfare and target them at budget laptops in the coming months.
The Arrow Lake CPUs have not been released yet, but Intel will launch them on October 24 for desktops – and the mobile phone range is expected shortly after, likely targeting gaming laptops where Lunar Lake may not make sense. Once they arrive, it will be difficult to know which CPU you will get, at least in a laptop. If Intel is indeed reusing Alder Lake and Raptor Lake designs for the non-Ultra Core 200 series, you may need to do some research on the individual CPU model to know what you will actually get.
