Intel's Core Ultra 5 245HX Notebook Processor Outperforms Desktop Counterpart

An early PassMark entry shared on a forum by the user "X86 is dead&back" provides a sneak peek at Intel's Core Ultra 5 245HX notebook processor. The mobile chip, known as "Arrow Lake-H," with 14 cores, surpassed its desktop equivalent, the Core Ultra 5 245, in both single-core and multi-core performance tests. The results are clear-cut: the 245HX scored 4,706 points in single-core tests and 41,045 points in multi-core tests. In comparison, the desktop Core Ultra 5 245 achieved 4,409 and 37,930 points, respectively, giving the notebook processor a 7% lead in single-core performance and an 8% advantage in multi-core tasks. When compared to the Core i5-14500, the 245HX showed a 19% improvement in single-core tasks and a 30% boost in heavily threaded operations.

The performance gap widens further when compared to last year's mobile i5-14500HX, with the 245HX boasting a 30% lead in single-core tasks and a 41% advantage in multi-core performance. This difference can be attributed in part to thermal considerations. Intel has provided the 245HX with a maximum turbo power envelope of 160 W, significantly higher than the 121 W limit of the desktop 245. With clock speeds reaching up to 5.1 GHz and a core configuration of six performance cores paired with eight efficient cores, the HX version has the opportunity to operate at higher speeds for longer periods. Notebook manufacturers are expected to introduce Arrow Lake-HX systems later this quarter.

While real-world gaming performance may vary, the results from PassMark are difficult to overlook: a mid-range laptop processor now surpasses its desktop counterparts in performance.