The "M1" moment belonging to Intel is actually outsourced to TSMC

IT Home friends should still remember that in November 2020, Apple launched its own M1 chip, sweeping the entire x86 camp in terms of energy efficiency and battery life.

Nearly 4 years later, Intel finally handed in its answer, which is the Core Ultra 200V series processor, codenamed Lunar Lake.

Can the Core Ultra 200V series lead the x86 camp to face the challenge of ARM processors? IT Home will now delve into this.

01.

A Radical Change

It should be noted that Intel has not been doing well recently, with its stock price having fallen by nearly 58% this year.

Intel's current market value is $85.767 billion (approximately RMB 610.634 billion), only about 38.7% of AMD's and about 3.2% of NVIDIA's.

IT Home reported in early August that after Intel released its financial report for the second quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, it announced a cost-saving measure to lay off 15,000 employees (about 15% of the total workforce).

The Core Ultra 200V series is the first processor officially released by Intel after announcing "significant cost-cutting measures".

From a design perspective, Lunar Lake has also made a radical change.

Left: Apple M1, Right: Lunar Lake

The most eye-catching aspect in appearance is the memory packaging method.

The Core Ultra 200V series processor adopts the same MoP (Memory on Package) memory packaging as the Apple M series, which not only reduces memory latency but also lowers PHY physical layer power consumption by 40%.

It also continues the Foveros 3D packaging technology first introduced by the Core Ultra 100 series (Meteor Lake) processor, with the core Compute tile using TSMC's N3B process.

In addition to Apple's A17 Pro and M3, the TSMC N3B process will also be used in some Intel Arrow Lake processors in the future.

Furthermore, the Core Ultra 200V series processor also brings more supporting optimizations such as PMIC power supply to achieve low power consumption performance comparable to ARM processors.

02.

Architecture, Fully Upgraded

Not only the process, but the CPU, GPU, and NPU of the Core Ultra 200V processor have also been fully upgraded.

- CPU: 4P + 4E, new architecture

In terms of CPU, the performance and efficiency cores of this processor have been upgraded simultaneously, equipped with 4 Lion Cove performance cores and 4 Skymont efficiency cores The new Lion Cove performance core has chosen to cancel SMT hyper-threading for performance, power consumption, and area performance, with a 14% improvement in IPC compared to the previous generation.

The new Skymont efficiency core has been greatly enhanced, with an IPC improvement of up to 68% compared to the previous generation.

- GPU: Brand new Xe2 integrated graphics

This series of processors also introduces the all-new Xe2 GPU architecture called Battlemage.

In addition to performance and efficiency optimizations, the Xe2 integrated graphics also bring a new XMX AI engine and larger ray tracing units.

According to Intel's own data, the integrated graphics performance has increased by 31% compared to the previous generation, and is 16% higher than AMD's latest Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

Intel's Xe media engine has also been upgraded with the addition of VVC decoding functionality.

- NPU: Up to 48 TOPS computing power

The Core Ultra 200V series processors also meet Microsoft's latest AI PC standard: its all-new NPU 4.0 has a maximum computing power of 48 TOPS, and the platform's total computing power has also reached 120 TOPS.

Computing power is just the first step, building the AI ecosystem is more important, and Intel is "in the face" of the current situation where competitors' NPUs cannot even be called in some benchmarks.

For the current AI PC trend, the editor suggests that everyone should still be cautious and not be blinded by computing power numbers before the ecosystem is fully developed.

03.

"Moon Lake," how does it perform in the end

After looking at the specifications, let's take a look at the results of Intel's official tests.

In the aspect where Lunar Lake is not good at multi-threading, the Core Ultra 9 288V has energy efficiency performance at 20W that is basically the same as Apple's M3, and its package power consumption is 40% lower than Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite.

However, in the higher power consumption segment, its multi-core performance is lower than both the Ultra 7 165H and Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, and this aspect will depend on the performance of the Arrow Lake processor.

In terms of integrated graphics performance, Intel selected a total of 45 games, of which 23 cannot run on the Snapdragon X Elite computer.

Compared to the previously "strongest" Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 in the mobile sector, its comprehensive gaming performance is also 16% higher.

So, for thin and light laptops, how critical is the energy efficiency performance?

In the UL Procyon Office productivity test, the Core Ultra 9 288V's performance per watt is not only 2.29 times that of the previous 165H, but also 20% stronger than the ARM architecture Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 In addition, its integrated graphics performance is also "far ahead" of the previous generation processors.

Under the same mold from the same manufacturer, models equipped with the Core Ultra 7 268V processor achieved a battery life of 20.1 hours in the UL Procyon Office productivity test, surpassing the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100.

However, its performance in video conferencing using Microsoft Teams is slightly inferior.

In tests of a similar OEM model, the Lunar Lake processor's battery life performance "comprehensively surpassed other competitors in the Windows camp."

Intel's official introduction this time can be said to be quite exciting. I wonder how many friends have been tempted by it?

However, I also want to borrow a sentence from Lenovo product manager @ThinkingFuture to cool things down for everyone.

By changing the test conditions, you can find aspects where the processor outperforms the competition, so processor manufacturers' product launches always seem to outshine their competitors.

Moreover, Intel did not show a detailed comparison between this processor and Apple's M3, M4.

Whether "Lunar Lake" is a horse or a donkey, we will have to wait until the product is released to find out.

04.

Which products will this chip be used in?

This time, Intel has launched a total of 9 models in the Core Ultra 200V series processors, with models ending in 6 featuring 16GB of memory, and those ending in 8 featuring 32GB of memory.

All processors this time are 4P + 4E eight-core CPU specifications, with not much difference in overall specifications between Ultra 5, 7, and 9.

More than 20 OEM manufacturers will release over 80 models, with the first batch of models set to be launched starting from September 24th.

In addition to well-known partners such as Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, and Acer, the collaboration also includes MSI, Samsung, LG, and Khadas, with specifications of some products already revealed.

- Dell XPS 13 9350

The XPS 13 is an unavoidable choice in the flagship ultrabook category, and Dell has promptly updated this model.

This laptop still uses a mold similar to the Core Ultra and Snapdragon X Elite versions, weighing 1.18kg, with a starting price of $1399.99 (approximately 9967 RMB).

- HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14

After HP's consumer product line fully transitioned to the OmniBook brand, the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 can be considered the successor to the original Spectre x360

• This laptop is equipped with a 14-inch 3K OLED touch screen that supports 360-degree rotation, weighing 1.349kg.

It is worth noting that this computer also features a 9 million pixel camera, making it a good choice for those who focus on video conferencing performance.

- Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360

The Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 laptop will be launched in markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada within this month, with the price yet to be announced.

- Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura

This computer is set to be officially released on September 5th at IFA 2024 in Berlin, Germany, and is expected to be named YOGA Air 15s in the Chinese market.

However, before the product launch, Lenovo's "pipeline burst": leaker Evan Blass has already released its official press release.

This laptop features a rare 15.3-inch 2.8K 120Hz LCD touch screen, weighing 1.46kg, and still provides full-size HDMI and USB-A ports in a 13.9mm body. The European price starts at 1399 euros (approximately 11002 RMB at the current exchange rate).

- Asus Lingyao 14Air

This laptop emphasizes ultra-thin design and OLED screen, with its 16-inch AMD version already on the market.

Image source: techopedia

The domestic launch event for Lingyao 14 Air will be held on September 17th.

In addition to conventional laptops, some other form factor products will also be equipped with the Core Ultra 200V series processor.

- MSI Claw 8 AI+ handheld console

The low power consumption performance of the Lunar Lake processor may be quite suitable for Windows handheld consoles.

MSI has previously showcased the Claw 8 AI+ at Computex and is expected to officially release this handheld console at this year's IFA.

- Khadas Lunar Lake AI PC development kit

The Lunar Lake AI PC development kit launched by Khadas is based on the Mind mini host and comes with a dedicated docking station interface.

The size of this mini host is only 146× 105× 20 mm, priced at $1199 (approximately 8537 RMB at the current exchange rate).

By using TSMC technology, learning from Apple's packaging and power supply methods, the Core Ultra 200V can be seen as Intel's "burning the boats" change.

At least from the data in the official PPT, this may be a "M1" moment for Intel, and even the entire x86 processor camp Let's wait patiently for September 24th to see how "Moon Lake" will be implemented in specific products