Panther Lake Packs RTX 4050-Level Gaming Power, But Intel's Software Still Stumbles

Intel Panther Lake chip can hit 100+ fps in F1 2025, but its software ecosystem is still a work in progress.

Panther Lake's 12 Xe3 cores deliver 81 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 and 109 fps in F1 2025 at 1080p with XeSS upscaling. The Core Ultra X9 388H SoC in Lenovo's IdeaPad Pro 5 reference design showed remarkable efficiency with minimal heat generation. However, XeSS upscaling quality varies drastically across titles—excelling in F1 2025 but producing visible artifacts in Cyberpunk 2077.

Software issues persist: PresentMon monitoring tool failed to hook into Clair Obscur and Battlefield 6; XeSS caused unplayable stuttering in Monster Hunter Wilds. Frame generation features remain limited to XeSS 2/3 with no FSR 3 support in tested titles.

The 65W PL1 and 85W PL2 power limits apply to the entire SoC, not just integrated graphics. Only X-series SKUs get 12 Xe3 cores; most Panther Lake parts have 4 Xe3 cores. This hardware-software mismatch highlights the challenge of balancing performance with real-world usability.