Intel released more Core Ultra Series 2 Laptop CPUs — Are they good for gaming?
May 4, 2025 – Intel has recently launched more of its Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop processors. These new CPUs include Ultra 5, Ultra 7, and Ultra 9 models, and their suffixes are HX, H, and U.
At first glance, the Ultra 7 and Ultra 9 models with the HX and H suffixes appear best suited for high-end gaming, thanks to their higher performance-core counts, clock speeds, cache size, and higher base and maximum power limits.
Unlike the first batch of Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs (the 200V series or V-SKUs), which were based on the Lunar Lake architecture and aimed exclusively at thin and lightweight laptops, this second batch is based on the Arrow Lake architecture and targets both lightweight and performance-oriented laptops.
An important distinction between the HX and H models lies in the type of integrated GPU (iGPU): CPUs with the HX suffix feature Intel Graphics, intended for heavier laptops that will likely be paired with a discrete graphics card, while those with the H suffix feature Intel Arc 140T graphics, designed for thinner laptops that may not include a discrete GPU.
Let’s now take a closer look at the main technical specs of these new CPUs (Ultra 7 and 9 models only, HX and H suffixes only), and compare them with other recent high-performance Intel Laptop CPUs: the Intel Core Ultra Series 1 (Ultra 7 and 9 models, H suffix), Intel 14th Gen laptop processors (i7 and i9 models, HX suffix), and AMD’s top competitors — the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D.
The first batch of Intel Ultra Series 2 laptop processors (the 200V series) is omitted here, as it was covered in a previous article and found to be uncompetitive in high-end gaming tasks.
| CPU | # Cores (P+E)/ Threads | Max Speed | Cache (L3) | iGPU | TDP |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX | 24 (8+16)/24 | 5.5 GHz | 36 Mb | Intel Graphics | 160W |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 285H | 16 (6+10)/16 | 5.4 GHz | 24 Mb | Intel Arc 140T | 115W |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | 24 (8+16)/24 | 5.4 GHz | 36 Mb | Intel Graphics | 160W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX | 20 (8+12)/20 | 5.3 GHz | 30 Mb | Intel Graphics | 160W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265H | 16 (6+10)/16 | 5.3 GHz | 24 Mb | Intel Arc 140T | 115W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX | 20 (8+12)/20 | 5.2 GHz | 30 Mb | Intel Graphics | 160W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 255H | 16 (6+10)/16 | 5.1 GHz | 24 Mb | Intel Arc 140T | 115W |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 185H | 16 (6+10)/22 | 5.1 GHz | 24 Mb | Intel Arc | 115W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 165H | 16 (6+10)/22 | 5.0 GHz | 24 Mb | Intel Arc | 115W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | 16 (6+10)/22 | 4.8 GHz | 24 Mb | Intel Arc | 115W |
| Intel Core i9-14900HX | 24 (8+16)/32 | 5.8 GHz | 36 Mb | Intel UHD | 157W |
| Intel Core i7-14700HX | 20 (8+12)/28 | 5.5 GHz | 33 Mb | Intel UHD | 157W |
| Intel Core i7-14650HX | 16 (8+8)/24 | 5.2 GHz | 30 Mb | Intel UHD | 157W |
| AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D | 16/32 | 5.4 GHz | 128 Mb | AMD Radeon 610M | 55W |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D | 16/32 | 5.4 GHz | 128 Mb | AMD Radeon 610M | 55W |
As we can see from the table, the number of cores (including performance cores), clock speeds, cache sizes, and TDP values have changed little or not at all compared to the previous H and HX models from Intel’s Ultra Series 1 and 14th Gen CPUs.
The main improvement in this second batch of Ultra Series 2 CPUs lies in their integrated graphics (iGPU) capabilities. As mentioned earlier, these new processors come with either Intel Graphics or Intel Arc 140T iGPUs.
The Intel Arc 140T is a more powerful iGPU than Intel Graphics and is intended for lightweight laptops that can run games without a discrete graphics card — though only at low settings.
While the first batch of Intel Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs (200V series) also featured integrated Intel Arc Graphics, they failed to impress in gaming performance without discrete GPUs.
This new batch improves on that by coupling better integrated graphics with more performance cores, faster clock speeds, larger cache sizes, and higher power limits. These enhancements contribute to better gaming performance overall—but still fall short of making the Intel Arc 140T competitive with discrete GPUs in high-end gaming scenarios.
So, from what we’ve seen so far, the most promising Intel CPUs in this new batch for high-end gaming are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, both of which come with Intel Graphics and are intended to be paired with a discrete GPU.
Regarding AMD, based on specs alone AMD’s two top laptop CPUs are strong contenders for the title of best gaming processor, thanks to their massive L3 cache, high turbo clock speeds, and low energy consumption.
Then, how do the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX fare against previous top gaming laptop processors from Intel — the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and Intel Core i9-14900HX — or against AMD’s top competitors, the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D and AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D? Let’s find out below.
Benchmarking Results
Based on PassMark results from cpubenchmark.net, which reflect overall performance, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX slightly outperforms the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, and both surpass the Intel Core i9-14900HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by a considerable margin. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H in particular performs quite poorly in comparison.
These scores largely reflect single-threaded performance, which is partly indicative of gaming performance. However, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX received very similar single-treaded PassMark scores.
When comparing the two Intel Series 2 CPUs with AMD’s top gaming processors, it’s a close battle: between the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D on one side, and between the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D on the other.
That said, AMD’s CPUs edge out their Intel rivals in both cases, achieving higher overall PassMark scores despite being slightly outperformed in single-threaded tasks.
Nanoreview.net shows similar overall results when comparing the two new Intel Series 2 processors to the other CPUs discussed. However, it disagrees with cpubenchmark.net on which Intel CPU has the best single-threaded performance: according to Nanoreview.net, the Intel Core i9-14900HX slightly outperforms the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX in single-threaded tasks, while the latter wins in multi-core performance. Thanks to its better integrated graphics and higher power efficiency, though, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX remains the more attractive option.
Nanoreview.net’s scores mirror those from cpubenchmark.net regarding the comparison between the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D. The AMD CPU wins, but only by a very small margin. There’s again disagreement about single-threaded performance, as Nanoreview.net reports that the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D slightly ouperforms the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX.
As for the comparison between the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, Nanoreview.net crowns the former the better laptop CPU — although the overall performance difference is minimal. According to Nanoreview.net, the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX slightly outperforms the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D in single-threaded tasks, power efficiency, and iGPU capabilities.
Conclusions
The new Intel Series 2 laptop processors — especially the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX — offer noticeable improvements over Intel’s previous high-end CPUs.
These two chips clearly outperform Intel Series 1 CPUs for gaming laptops, surpass the best Intel 14th Gen gaming laptop CPU, and are competitive with AMD’s top offerings.
While AMD still holds the crown for the best gaming laptop CPU with the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is a very close second. The battle for third place between the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D and the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is too close to call.
All in all, after the underwhelming debut of the Series 2 lineup with the 200V models, Intel is finally offering something that deserves to be called a new series of gaming laptop processors.
Gaming PC Advice 