With the imminent release of Intel’s Meteor Lake architecture, leaked benchmark scores are stirring up excitement among tech enthusiasts. A recent 3DMark Time Spy test for the Core 7 Ultra 155H reveals promising performance, positioning it slightly ahead of AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme, a popular choice for handheld gaming. This suggests that Intel may give Team Red a run for its money in the pocket PC market in 2024.
The screenshots leaked on X/Twitter, shared by the reliable source HXL, showcase benchmark results of a 28W Core 7 Ultra 155H CPU based on Intel’s upcoming Meteor Lake architecture. This architecture comprises multiple tiles for graphics, compute, IO, and housekeeping tasks. The compute tile houses a total of 22 threads, with six P-cores and eight E-cores, while two additional E-cores reside in another tile. Although less is known about the GPU tile, it is speculated to feature eight Xe cores, amounting to a total of 1,024 shaders.
The benchmark results for the Core 7 Ultra 155H are impressive, with a Time Spy overall score of 3,339. The graphics score reaches 3,077, accompanied by a CPU score of 6,465. To provide a comparison, a benchmark test was conducted on the Asus ROG Ally, equipped with AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU. The Asus handheld achieved an overall score of 3,150, with a graphics score of 2,834 and a CPU score of 8,574, while running in its 30W Turbo mode.
Analyzing the figures, the Ryzen Z1 Extreme seems to exhibit a 33% higher CPU performance but an 8% lower graphics score compared to the Core 7 Ultra 155H. This difference may be explained by the employment of Intel’s Meteor Lake P-cores for the Time Spy test, while the Z1 Extreme relies on eight Zen 4 cores. However, further investigation into clock speeds during the tests is necessary to draw conclusive insights.
Intel’s Arc GPUs have been known to display variability in gaming performance, particularly in older DirectX 9 and 10 games. However, their performance in newer games, combined with consistent driver development, has been commendable. While Time Spy, a shader-heavy benchmark, demonstrates the strength of Intel’s Alchemist architecture, it may not always reflect actual in-game performance. The Alchemist GPUs were initially tuned for synthetic benchmarks, painting a different picture from per-game benchmarks. Although recent driver releases have reduced this disparity, the performance of the tested Arc tile is comparable to that of the Radeon 780M in the Z1 Extreme.
The leaked Cinebench R23 results indicate that the Core 7 Ultra 155H achieves a multicore score of 11,616 and a single-core score of 1,483. In contrast, the ROG Ally scores 13,896 and 1,717, respectively. While Intel’s chip falls approximately 14 to 16% behind the Z1 Extreme in CPU performance, it exhibits comparable performance in the Time Spy test. Considering its 28W power limit, the Core 7 Ultra 155H’s performance is commendable.
The Core 7 Ultra 155H, with its powerful graphics capabilities, is an ideal candidate for handheld gaming PCs. It showcases how raw CPU performance takes a back seat to graphics power in this segment. Intel’s entry into the pocket PC market alongside AMD’s APUs will foster healthy competition, ultimately benefiting consumers. If Intel can manufacture Meteor Lake processors at a competitive price point, we may witness the emergence of new handheld PCs featuring Intel processors in 2024. Emdoor, a company already contemplating this possibility, indicates the growing interest in this market. Furthermore, the promising gaming experience provided by a Meteor Lake laptop, despite the compact size of the GPU, adds to the anticipation for upcoming devices. As a newcomer to the handheld gaming realm, I await with great enthusiasm to see what the future holds for pocket PCs.
The leaked benchmark scores for Intel’s Meteor Lake architecture demonstrate its potential as a contender in the pocket PC market. With a slightly superior performance to AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme in the 3DMark Time Spy test, the Core 7 Ultra 155H indicates that Intel may offer a compelling alternative in handheld gaming devices. As the launch of Meteor Lake draws near, the battle for dominance in the pocket PC market intensifies, promising increased innovation and improved gaming experiences for consumers.
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