Intel has announced a pair of new high-end laptop processors aimed at gaming machines: the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus.
These updated “Arrow Lake Refresh” chips are designed for premium laptops, with a focus on squeezing out extra performance for enthusiasts.
On paper, the upgrades are fairly straightforward. The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus features 24 cores and 24 threads. Meanwhile, the Ultra 7 270HX Plus comes in at 20 cores and 20 threads. Both chips are positioned as refinements of Intel’s existing HX lineup rather than a full generational leap, with the company describing them as being “pushed further” for high-end use.
In terms of real-world gains, Intel is claiming an 8% uplift in gaming performance for the flagship 290HX Plus compared to the previous Core Ultra 9 285HX. That’s a modest bump, but the gap widens when compared to older systems. Intel says users upgrading from a chip like the Core i9-12900HX could see up to 62% better 1080p gaming performance on high settings.
The same trend carries over to creative workloads. Intel’s figures show around a 7% increase in single-core performance versus the 285HX, and a much larger 30% jump compared to the older 12900HX in benchmarks like Cinebench 2026. There’s less detail around the Ultra 7 270HX Plus, though. For now, Intel has yet to share equivalent performance figures.
Alongside raw performance, the new chips introduce a few under-the-hood improvements. That includes support for Intel’s Binary Optimisation Tool, which can boost performance in select games. There is also up to a 900MHz increase in die-to-die frequency, aimed at reducing latency between the CPU and memory controller.
As expected, these processors are destined for high-end machines. Intel’s own test data references systems like the MSI Titan 18, a large and expensive gaming laptop typically paired with top-tier GPUs.
There’s no confirmed release date yet. However, Intel says laptops powered by the new chips will come from partners including Asus, Acer, MSI, Alienware, Lenovo, HP, and Razer in the near future.
For now, this looks like a steady refresh rather than a major leap. But for buyers already eyeing a top-tier gaming laptop, the extra performance headroom could still make a difference.
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