The biggest CES news is always what new hardware will be powering the next wave of gaming PCs, ultraportables, and budget systems in the coming year. This year’s announcement is a doozy, with six refreshed or new chip-model lines coming as part of Intel’s 13th Generation processor wave, previously code-named “Raptor Lake.”
Intel’s announcement includes mobile HX, H, P, and U-series processors, along with a new series of Core i3 N processors and updated Pentium CPUs. With refinements made on innovations from last year’s 12th Gen Alder Lake chips, the 2023 Raptor Lake lineup features more models for laptops, with a more robust range of features, and designs tailored to different use cases.
Intel HX-Series CPUs: Unbridled Power
At the top of the food chain is Intel’s HX series, a line of mobile processors made to deliver desktop-level performance to power the best mobile workstations as well as premium gaming machines. With up to 55 watts (W) of desktop-class power, this class of CPU is the one to get if you’re a gamer, a media creator, or an engineer with heavy number-crunching to do.
Equipped with up to 24 cores (eight Performance cores and 16 Efficient cores), the 13th Gen HX series can support PCI Express Gen 5 x16 or 2×8, dual Thunderbolt 4 controllers, and up to 128GB of RAM (either DDR5-5600 or DDR4- 3200). Plus, when you need extra power, dynamic overclocking is built-in with XMP 3.0 support.
Other features include Wi-Fi 6E, with support for Gig+ networking, enhanced Wi-Fi that can connect to other Wi-Fi-connected devices through Intel Double Connect, and next-gen Bluetooth LE for the best wireless audio yet.
Using the second iteration of Intel’s hybrid core architecture, Intel claims that the new chips will deliver 11% better single-thread performance, and a whopping 49% better performance in multitasking. Built to handle complex rendering tasks in programs like Blender and AutoDesk Revit, the performance boost alone could make this worth the upgrade, so watch for HX options coming to Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processors.
Intel says that the new processors will be arriving in systems from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Razer, and others later this year, but specifics about models and pricing were not announced by Intel; expect some parallel announcements at CES.
H-Series CPUs: Power and Connectivity to Spare
Intel’s H-series processors are performance-focused chips aimed at enthusiasts, combining Performance cores and Efficient cores to support demanding productivity and premium gaming laptops. With higher clock speeds and up to 45W of power, the newest H-series CPUs will have as many as 14 cores (six Performance cores, eight Efficient cores), all managed by Intel Thread Director. Connectivity has grown to include up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports and integrated Wi-Fi 6E networking. Memory support is also broad, with support for both the DDR5 and DDR4 RAM standards.
H-series processors include everything from top-performing Intel Core i9 CPUs down to more affordable Core i3 models. But all of the H-series models have better performance than the equivalent mainstream processors.
P-Series and U-Series CPUs: Save Power Without Losing Performance
For greater portability, Intel’s P-series CPUs are made for true mobility. Designed for high-performance, thin-and-light laptops with sleek designs that have no room for beefy cooling fans, the Intel P-series leverages a different mix of Performance and Efficient cores to offer fast, powerful performance when it’s needed, but to extend battery life with power-sipping functionality when it’s not. With a 28W power-draw ceiling, these processors let you go longer on a single battery charge, but keep the performance high, even in the slim confines of an ultraportable laptop.
For thin-and-light as well as hybrid 2-in-1 laptops, there’s the Intel U-series. Stepping down in power from the portability-focused P-series, the U-series is built to offer many of the same features, but at a lower wattage, dropping the ceiling down to 15W.
While that’s not enough to drive the sort of gaming and high-octane productivity that an H- or P-series chip would, it’s more than enough to keep up with other uses, from light gaming to media editing. And by dropping the wattage, the U-series will stretch a battery charge out longer than any of those chips.
Unlike the HX-, H-, and P-series CPUs mentioned above, Intel’s U-series extends beyond Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 CPUs, with low-cost Pentium processors falling under the same U-series umbrella.
Intel hasn’t shared any details about unit pricing but has said that more than 250 designs from major PC makers will feature the H-, P-, and U-series CPUs as they launch later this year.
Core i3 N CPUs, With All E-Cores: A New Kid on the Day
One of Intel’s biggest CES 2023 announcements is the introduction of the new N-series processors, starting with an Intel Core i3 N line of CPUs. Made to take advantage of Intel’s gains in both performance and energy, the new N-series utilizes Intel’s Efficient cores exclusively, with no Performance cores on the chip.
Based on Intel’s 12th Gen (“Alder Lake”) architecture, the new Core i3 N-Series chips contain four to eight efficient cores, depending upon the model. By opting for only these low-power cores, the chips offer a level of performance that’s more than capable of handling web browsing and basic homework—but with the best energy efficiency we’ve seen in low-end models.
The result should be a line of processors that power decent performance and even better battery life in entry-level laptops, without sacrificing the feature support or overall quality of the user experience for budget-minded shoppers.
New 2023 Pentium CPUs: Budget-Friendly Laptop Silicon
Bringing up the low-powered end of the lineup is the reliable Pentium. Made for low-powered and low-priced systems, the Pentium is still a big name in the computing world, provided you’re talking about low-cost Windows laptops and Chromebooks. Made to compete with budget-beaters like the AMD Athlon, they aren’t the most powerful processors, but they’re ideal for the laptops your children take to school, offering enough power for schoolwork (and a little bit of play), but with a price point that won’t make you tear your hair out when one gets spilled on in the lunchroom, dropped down school-bus steps, or otherwise abused in the sorts of ways that only a kid can imagine.
As with the other processors mentioned in this article, we’re still waiting on firm details for pricing and availability, but we’ll update this page as new information comes to light. In the meantime, keep an eye on PCMag to see news about the new systems that these chips will appear in, and our testing as the first Raptor Lake laptops make their way into our lab later in 2023.
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