Qualcomm has already made the first move with its ARM-based Elite X chips, which, while offering exceptional battery life, deliver only moderate gaming performance. Hot on its heels, AMD's Strix Point chips are set to debut in mere weeks, with Intel's Lunar Lake slated for release later in the year.
While we know that Qualcomm and AMD both have strong offerings with their robust in-built GPUs capable of supporting gaming, it was unclear what Intel planned to do to fight it.
According to PC Games this aspect of the new Intel Core Ultra 200V chips has reportedly been assessed in the recent leak attributed to the Twitter user known as Jaykihn.
The leaked data presents a Lunar Lake CPU operating in both 17W and 30W modes, undergoing a suite of benchmarks, including 3DMark Timespy, Cinebench’s multi-threaded test, and Geekbench 5.4. Of particular note is the Timespy benchmark, which records Lunar Lake achieving 3,438 points in 15W mode and 4,151 points in its 30W configuration.
These results are set against AMD's current Hawk Point mobile chips, which reach up to 3,517 points in 35W mode. Concurrently, another leak from Twitter user @9550pro offers insights into AMD's forthcoming Strix Point chips in the same benchmark. According to this leak, the AMD chip garners approximately 3,500 points in 15W mode and around 4,000 points in 54W mode.
The leaks imply that Intel's new CPUs may surpass AMD's in peak GPU performance. Nevertheless, at reduced power levels, the AMD chip appears to deliver comparable performance with marginally lower power consumption.
However, caution must be exercised before drawing definitive conclusions. Firstly, these are merely leaks, and neither AMD nor Intel has verified these figures. The tests likely involve engineering samples, which may not fully represent the final retail products.
It is also important to consider Intel's track record with its Arc desktop graphics cards, which demonstrated reasonable power but were marred by inconsistent driver and game support despite ongoing updates.
Chipzilla’s new chips could excel in certain games, but their reliability as a staple for mobile gaming remains to be seen, especially when compared to the consistency of Intel's Arc A770.
Meanwhile, AMD's recent forays into mobile gaming, particularly with the advent of handheld gaming PCs initiated by the Steam Deck, have been noteworthy. Devices such as the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion have delivered a commendable performance, and expectations are high for the upcoming AMD-powered successors like the Zotac Zone. Conversely, the Intel-powered MSI Claw has struggled with consistent performance.