Intel Refreshes Mobile, Desktop CPUs; Intros ‘Core (Series 1)’ Branding

Intel has introduced a slew of new desktop and mobile processors to fill out its 14th Gen offerings, including the HX series for high-performance gaming laptops and mainstream 65W socketed desktop CPUs. These are all based on the same ‘Raptor Lake’ architecture and Intel 7 (10nm) manufacturing process as their 13th Gen counterparts, with a few optimisations that allow for slightly higher clock speeds and better power efficiency. The launches came during Intel’s CES 2024 keynote, at which the company promoted its AI offerings and also announced a new push into in-vehicle AI.   

Some of the new CPUs for mainstream laptops have been launched under the ‘Core (Series 1)’ umbrella, indicating their positioning below the recently launched Core Ultra series, which is based on the more modern ‘Meteor Lake’ architecture. This continues the company’s transition to a new naming and model numbering scheme.

Starting with HX-series laptop CPUs, Intel promises the “world’s best experience for mobile enthusiasts”. The Core i7 tier models get more E-cores and more cache memory than with the previous generation while the flagship Core i9-14900HX sticks with 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores but reaches a peak boost clock speed of 5.8GHz. The lowest model in this lineup is the Core i5-14450HX with six P-cores and four E-cores. All five models in this series feature basic integrated Intel UHD graphics, support up to 192GB of DDR4-3200 or DDR5-5600 RAM, and have 55-157W TDP ratings.

The new 14th Gen desktop lineup includes non-overclockable 60/65W and 35W SKUs across the Core i9, i7, i5 and i3 tiers, including some -F variants with no functioning integrated GPUs, as well as the base-level, dual-core Intel 300 CPU. These CPUs will ship with Intel Laminar air air coolers in the box. They will also work with existing 600- and 700-series LGA1700 motherboards for the 12th and 13th Gen, following a BIOS update. 

Intel’s Core (Series 1) CPUs ditch the ‘i’ prefix but are still available into tiers. The Core 7 150U, Core 5 120U and Core 3 100U are all 15W models and will serve the value-conscious laptop market. All three have two P-cores, but while the two higher-end models both have eight E-cores, the entry-level CPU only has four E-cores. 

According to Intel’s own performance figures, the 14th Gen laptop and desktop CPUs perform only marginally better than their 13th Gen predecessors, which is not surprising considering that they use the same architecture. However, the company touts platform-level advantages such as support for Wi-Fi 7, PCIe Gen5 and Gen4, Thunderbolt 5 and 4, and Bluetooth 5.4. Laptops featuring Thunderbolt 5 (using an additional controller from Intel) can support up to 120Gbps data transfers, up to three external displays, and up to 240W power delivery. Notably, none of these CPUs benefit from integrated AI acceleration, which the newer Meteor Lake architecture supports.

While these refreshed CPUs might not be very exciting, Intel did also promise that its next-gen CPUs based on the Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake architectures will hit markets within 2024. Arrow Lake will bring AI capabilities to desktop CPUs, earning the Core Ultra badge. Lunar Lake is already sampling to OEMs and will power thin-and-light laptops in the 15W and lower segment.