Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra 9 386H leak hints at a laptop chip with desktop ambitions
A new benchmark leak has given us the clearest look so far at Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake flagship for performance laptops, the Core Ultra 9 386H. Buried inside a fresh Geekbench 6 entry, this 16 core mobile chip appears to be punching far above its weight, landing in the same performance ballpark as mainstream desktop processors and trading blows with AMD’s latest Strix based Ryzen AI chips. For a 25 W class CPU that can scale up to around 65 to 80 W under turbo, the results are impressive enough to put the enthusiast crowd back on the Intel hype train, even if there are still plenty of caveats.
The Core Ultra 9 386H belongs to Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra Series 3 Panther Lake family, which is expected to be unveiled around CES 2026. Earlier leaks mostly involved engineering samples, where clocks and power profiles were not final and scores were all over the place. This latest database entry, however, looks much closer to a retail ready sample: the clocks line up with previously reported specs, the platform is clearly identified as a shipping gaming notebook, and the performance is consistent with what you would expect from a nearly finalized product.
The leaked setup: Predator Helios muscle with a next gen brain
The chip showed up inside an Acer Predator Helios laptop carrying the model name PHN16S I51. This is exactly the kind of high end gaming and creator notebook where a CPU like the Ultra 9 386H is meant to shine. The system was configured with 64 GB of memory, likely standard DDR5 or DDR5 SO DIMMs given previous Predator Helios designs, though the Geekbench entry does not explicitly state whether it is DDR5 or LPDDR5X. Either way, plenty of bandwidth is on tap to feed sixteen cores and a hungry discrete GPU.
Panther Lake continues Intel’s hybrid core strategy but with updated building blocks. The Core Ultra 9 386H combines 4 performance oriented P cores based on Cougar Cove, 8 efficiency oriented E cores based on Darkmont, and 4 extra low power LP E cores based on Skymont, for a total of 16 cores. The LP E cluster is designed to take care of background and always on tasks with minimal energy draw, while the main P and E cores handle active workloads such as games, creative applications and heavy multitasking. Hyper threading is enabled on the P cores, giving the chip a solid mix of single thread muscle and highly parallel throughput.
According to the leak, the base frequency is set at 2.1 GHz with boost clocks rated up to 4.9 GHz. Under load, the 386H reportedly sustained around 4.6 to 4.7 GHz across its cores, occasionally spiking to almost 4.8 GHz, which is impressive for a 25 W rated part that can swing up to around 65 to 80 W in short bursts. There is 18 MB of L3 cache and 8 MB of L2 cache on board, which helps keep those cores fed and reduces trips out to system memory, something that can make a noticeable difference in both games and productivity workloads.
On the graphics side, the non X Panther Lake SKUs such as this one are expected to ship with 4 Xe3 integrated GPU cores, a step down from the larger 12 core Xe3 iGPUs on some higher end variants. In the Acer Predator Helios configuration, though, the integrated GPU is likely to play a secondary role because this class of laptop almost always includes a dedicated GPU for gaming and rendering. Interestingly, Intel has also suggested that many Panther Lake designs may lean less on discrete GPUs in thin and light form factors, but this particular leak clearly points to a performance notebook where the CPU is paired with a powerful dGPU.
Geekbench 6 single core: mobile chip nipping at desktop heels
In Geekbench 6 single core tests, the Core Ultra 9 386H lands a score of 2845 points. That number is more than just a random line in a benchmark chart. It places the Panther Lake chip ahead of every current mobile chip in its power class that we have seen numbers for so far. It edges past Intel’s own Core Ultra 9 285H from the Arrow Lake generation, beats the mobile Core i9 14900HX, and overtakes AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 as well as the early Ryzen AI MAX and MAX Plus Strix Halo entries in the same benchmark database.
Perhaps the most eye catching comparison is that the 386H sits within striking distance of Intel’s desktop Core i5 14600KF, which generally scores around the high 2700s in the same test, and is not outrageously far behind six core Ryzen 7000 and Ryzen 9000 desktop chips like the Ryzen 5 9600X that hover in the mid 3000s. Those desktop processors usually clock comfortably above 5 GHz and have access to higher sustained power budgets, yet here is a 25 W laptop CPU with boost clocks in the 4.8 to 4.9 GHz range that can still put up comparable single thread figures.
For everyday computing, single thread performance translates directly into how snappy a system feels when opening apps, browsing the web, handling office tasks or running lightly threaded workloads that cannot easily be spread across many cores. For gaming, the situation is similar: many engines remain sensitive to single core latency and clocks, which means a strong single core showing is a good sign that Panther Lake based gaming laptops will not bottleneck modern GPUs in 1080p and 1440p titles.
Multi core results: trading blows with big desktop and mobile chips
The multi core side of the leak is just as interesting. In Geekbench 6 multi core, the Core Ultra 9 386H scores 15407 points. That puts it roughly 16 percent ahead of AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Strix Point 12 core mobile chip, and more than 50 percent faster than Intel’s own Lunar Lake eight core mobile parts, which have been focused more on ultra mobile efficiency than raw throughput. It also nudges ahead of the Arrow Lake based Core Ultra 9 285H, despite that chip carrying more P cores on paper.
Things get even spicier when you look at how the 386H positions itself against bigger silicon. The leaked score places it right alongside Intel’s Core i9 14900HX, a 24 core mobile brute derived from the desktop Raptor Lake Refresh lineup, as well as desktop chips like the Core i5 14600KF and AMD’s Ryzen 5 9600X. The Ryzen AI MAX 390 and MAX Plus 395 Strix Halo processors, with higher starting TDPs in the 55 W and up range and very beefy integrated GPUs, still hold a clear multi core lead with scores in the high 16000 to mid 17000 region. Yet the fact that a 25 W rated chip can get anywhere near them in CPU only benchmarks is a strong signal that Intel’s architectural and efficiency improvements with Panther Lake are paying off.
It is also worth noting that the 386H achieves this with only four P cores, eight E cores and four LP E cores. The Arrow Lake Ultra 9 285H, which it beats, uses six P cores at higher advertised boost clocks of up to 5.4 GHz. If these numbers hold, it implies meaningful per core gains and possibly better scheduling between core types, not just brute forcing clocks.
Desktop class performance in a backpack friendly machine
When you step back from the charts, the broader story that emerges is about form factor. A few years ago, matching a modern desktop Core i5 or Ryzen 5 level of performance required a thick, heavy gaming laptop that roared under load, or a small form factor desktop. Now, a 16 inch Predator Helios with a Panther Lake Ultra 9 386H is flirting with that class of performance while still staying within the envelope of a portable notebook that can realistically be carried around and run on battery for meaningful stretches when not under full load.
For streamers and creators, that means the promise of editing high resolution video, rendering scenes, compiling large codebases or running complex audio projects on the go without feeling like you gave up half your desktop performance. For gamers, it means being able to pair a strong mobile GPU with a CPU that will not become the limiting factor at high refresh rates. And for people who simply like having spare headroom, it suggests that next generation high end laptops may finally feel like true desktop replacements again, rather than just fast notebooks with compromises.
Where the Core Ultra 9 386H sits in the Panther Lake stack
The leak also lines up neatly with the broader Panther Lake roadmap that has floated around. At the very top sits the Core Ultra X9 388H, another 4 P plus 8 E plus 4 LP E configuration that is expected to push boost clocks up to around 5.1 GHz and pair them with a fuller 12 core Xe3 B390 integrated GPU. Just beneath it is the Core Ultra X9 386H we are looking at here, with the same core configuration but slightly lower boost speeds and a trimmed down integrated GPU for designs that rely on a discrete graphics card.
Below the X9 tier, Intel is preparing several Core Ultra X7 and Core Ultra 5 H series chips, many of them still built around 4 P cores but with varying mixes of E cores, LP E cores and Xe3 iGPU configurations. There are also non X H series parts with similar core layouts but lower turbo power targets of around 55 W instead of the 65 to 80 W range. In short, the Core Ultra 9 386H is shaping up to be the sweet spot performance workhorse in the new stack, offering most of the flagship CPU muscle without necessarily demanding the very highest price point.
Early days, real world tests and the inevitable hype train
As always with pre launch benchmarks, there are reasons to sprinkle some salt on the numbers. Geekbench 6 is a useful cross platform synthetic test, but it does not capture everything that matters in real use. Gaming performance depends heavily on cache behaviour, memory latency and how well a given engine uses many threads. Content creation workflows can be bottlenecked by storage speed, GPU acceleration or application specific quirks. Battery life, fan noise and sustained performance inside a slim chassis are things no benchmark database entry can tell you.
This leak also comes before final BIOS versions and drivers are pushed to retail machines. Intel still has time to tweak boosting behaviour, power limits and microcode. Those changes could push scores a bit higher or slightly lower depending on how OEMs balance thermals, noise and battery life. On top of that, we are looking at a single sample in one Acer configuration. Other laptops may cool the chip better or worse, and the 25 W base plus 65 to 80 W turbo rating leaves plenty of room for different tuning strategies.
None of that has stopped enthusiasts from hopping on what many jokingly call the Intel hype train. After a few rough years where AMD’s Ryzen and Ryzen AI lineups have often stolen the show in mobile, seeing Intel post competitive or leading single core scores and very solid multi core results in a lean power envelope is exactly the kind of leak that fuels forum debates. Some people see the 386H as proof that Intel is truly back in the mobile game, others point out that it still trails the very fastest Strix Halo parts and want to wait for independent reviews before declaring a winner.
What it means for the next wave of high end laptops
If the Core Ultra 9 386H performs in shipping devices like it does in this leak, the next generation of high end laptops is going to be a lot more interesting. On one side you will have AMD’s Strix Halo and Strix Point platforms with muscular integrated graphics and strong multi core throughput, especially at higher TDPs. On the other side, Intel’s Panther Lake brings competitive CPU performance, efficient hybrid core designs and, in some SKUs, higher end Xe3 graphics for machines that do not need or want a discrete GPU.
For buyers, more competition at the top is always good news. It should translate into better deals on current generation machines, more thoughtful laptop designs that prioritize cooling and acoustics, and a genuine choice between architectures that each have their own strengths. For now, the Core Ultra 9 386H looks less like a minor refresh and more like a serious attempt to deliver desktop class CPU horsepower in a portable gaming and creator notebook. Whether it truly crushes AMD’s Strix lineup or simply narrows the gap will only become clear once retail systems land on shelves and reviewers can put them through a full suite of real world tests. Until then, the numbers from this leak are enough to keep the conversation lively and, yes, to keep that Panther Lake hype train rolling down the tracks.