Rumor
Intel Panther Lake engineering samples show lower performance than Lunar Lake in leaked benchmarks
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 01:33 AM
Early engineering samples of Intel Panther Lake processors, manufactured on the Intel 18A node, reportedly show 6% to 7% lower performance compared to TSMC-made Lunar Lake chips in preliminary Geekbench benchmarks.
Context
Leaked benchmarks for Intel’s next-generation Panther Lake processors indicate a performance deficit compared to current Lunar Lake chips. Early Geekbench scores show the new silicon is roughly 6% to 7% slower in both single-core and multi-core tasks. This is a significant data point as Panther Lake represents the debut of the Intel 18A manufacturing node, whereas the predecessor Lunar Lake utilized TSMC’s 3nm process for its compute tiles.
Investors should treat these results as preliminary, as early engineering samples are often underclocked for thermal testing and lack final firmware optimization. Intel aims to regain technical leadership from TSM through the 18A process, making this transition a core pillar of its turnaround strategy. The final retail version of the chip, scheduled for a 2025 release, is expected to bridge this performance gap through higher clock speeds and refined power management before reaching consumers.
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