The Core Ultra 9 288V is a flagship CPU with a confusing name

According to the leaks, this is the only Lunar Lake processor with a default PL1 set to 30W . This means the PL1 (Power Limit 1) is configured 13W higher than other SKUs in the Core Ultra 200V lineup. Companies can manipulate the PL1 value for their systems, but in this case, Intel sets the value by default.

Unlike the Core Ultra 9 185H, the 288V won’t be paired with discrete graphics. Also, similar to the high-performance Arrow Lake mobile and desktop CPU series set to launch later this year, Lunar Lake takes advantage of the Lion Cove P-Core and Skymont E-Core architectures. These architectures mean entirely new CPU cores but lack hyperthreading , which is not supported. The main differences lie in the power segment, graphics, and memory handling.

Lunar Lake 17-30W packages come with preinstalled memory , resulting in a significantly smaller footprint for laptop designs but also a lack of upgradability. The choice of SKU determines how much memory the user gets, with only two options available: 32GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory.

Intel Core Ultra 9 288V, Source: Geekbench

The flagship SKU, such as the Core Ultra 9 288V, features 32GB of memory and the full Xe2 graphics clocked at the highest speed within the entire Lunar Lake series. However, only the CPU cores were tested in this case, not the graphics. This is reflected in the Geekbench data. What’s not correctly reflected is the boost clock, reportedly reaching values as high as GPU pricing during the pandemic era.

According to three entries on Geekbench, the CPU scores range from 2790 to 2901 points in the single-core test and 9596 to 11048 points in the multi-core test .

Keep in mind that the AMD Ryzen AI HX 370 result below is based on a NotebookCheck review featuring the ASUS Zenbook S16 with a TDP of 33W. The Strix Point TDP support varies between 15 to 54W, so we can’t definitively say that the HX 370 is faster or slower without considering the power limit. Unfortunately, the initial review focused on a 33W version, which limits broader understanding.  Results are expected to be higher with other systems. However, this is a good comparison given the similar TDP between both platforms.

Overall, it appears that at 30W, the Lunar Lake might offer higher single-core performance in Geekbench but visibly worse multi-core speed.

According to rumors, Intel will launch its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake series between Q3 and Q4, with Lunar Lake coming sooner.

Source: Geekbench #1 , #2 , #3