Panther Lake: Intel's Integrated GPU Rivals RX 6600

• Key Takeaways:
• Intel’s Panther Lake (Core Ultra X9 388H + Arc B390) targets RX 6600-class desktop performance in a laptop power envelope.
• Early CES captures show 29.05 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Ultra RT), roughly equal to an RX 6600 and far ahead of AMD Strix Point.
• XeSS multi-frame generation and ML features lift performance dramatically (29.05 fps → 55.96 fps in XeSS balanced).
• Measured package power during testing sat around 58–64 W, indicating laptop-class thermal/power behaviour.

What Panther Lake brings

Intel’s Panther Lake arrived at CES 2026 with a clear goal: move integrated graphics beyond traditional APU limits and challenge entry-level discrete GPUs. The top mobile configuration, Core Ultra X9 388H, mixes P-cores and multiple tiers of E-cores alongside a 50 TOPs NPU.

Specs and ML features

On the GPU side, the Arc B390 (Xe3/Celestial) offers 12 Xe cores and extensive on-chip ML. Intel bundles XeSS Super Resolution plus multi-frame generation—tools designed to raise frame-rates without a proportional power cost.

Early Benchmarks

Digital Foundry’s CES captures show Panther Lake delivering performance leaps versus AMD’s Strix Point (and by extension Gorgon Point refinements). Intel claims up to a ~77% uplift over Lunar Lake and an 82-point advantage versus a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with Radeon 890M in some comparisons.

Gaming test: Cyberpunk 2077

A Panther Lake laptop running Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p Ultra with RT reflections and shadows returned 29.05 fps. A comparable Strix Point mini-PC hit 15.66 fps—a reported 85.5% improvement for Panther Lake in that scene.

For perspective, an RX 6600 produced 29.03 fps in the same test. With XeSS balanced mode enabled, Panther Lake’s averaged frame-rate jumped to 55.96 fps — a 92.6% uplift from native.

Why this matters: laptops and handhelds

Laptops remain a stronghold for Intel, so a mobile part that equals entry-level desktop cards is strategically valuable. Panther Lake’s ML upscaling and frame generation are particularly important for integrated graphics where CPU/GPU budgets are constrained.

Tom Petersen on handheld potential

Intel’s Tom Petersen told Digital Foundry CES coverage that Panther Lake “is so high performance with a display that's high resolution and small form factor, you can run for a long time playing whatever your tier one title is.” Petersen argues the matured handheld market is ripe for Panther Lake competition against AMD’s dominance.

What to watch next

Initial numbers are promising but limited. Expect broader benchmark coverage across titles, thermals at sustained loads, and real-world battery/runtime testing. If Panther Lake consistently delivers RX 6600-class experience in laptops and handhelds, we could see a major shift in the mobile gaming landscape.