Intel launches Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, made using its long-awaited 18A process

Intel will formally launch its first Core Ultra Series 3 laptop processors later this month, the company announced at its CES keynote today. Codenamed Panther Lake and targeted, at least for now, at high-end ultraportable PCs, the Core Ultra 3 chips will also be the first to use Intel’s 18A manufacturing process, the company’s effort to catch up with the chip manufacturing technology of Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC).

The launch will start with 14 chips across 5 product families, which Intel says will be used in “over 200” PC designs. The first of these will be available on January 27th, with others following “throughout the first half of this year.”

• The Core Ultra X9 and Core Ultra X7 processors include all of Intel’s latest CPU and GPU architectures, plus a fully-enabled 12-core Intel Arc B390 integrated GPU and support for slightly faster LPDDR5x-9600.
• The Core Ultra 9 and ...