Tag: AMD Radeon 890M

  • Intel Panther Lake Chips: Powerful iGPUs for Gaming Handhelds

    Intel Panther Lake Chips: Powerful iGPUs for Gaming Handhelds

    Key Takeaways

    1. AMD’s Dominance: AMD chips are preferred for gaming handhelds due to their strong performance and low power consumption, with specialized chips for handheld devices.

    2. Intel’s Catch-Up: Intel struggled during the Meteor Lake era but made significant improvements with the Lunar Lake generation, now offering performance and efficiency comparable to AMD.

    3. New Intel Processors: Intel’s recent Panther Lake processors feature advanced integrated graphics (Arc B390 and B370), improving gaming performance by 50-70% over older models.

    4. Thermal Design Power (TDP): The new chips perform well within a TDP range of 20-35 Watts, suitable for modern gaming handhelds.

    5. Future Competition: To stay competitive by 2026, manufacturers focused on AMD will need to offer Intel alternatives, or lower prices as Panther Lake’s capabilities surpass AMD’s current offerings.

    Gaming handhelds continue to hold a strong appeal, with numerous makers opting for AMD chips in the past few years. This is mainly due to their impressive performance while consuming less power. AMD even provides specialized chips designed for handheld devices, focusing on enhancing GPU performance. In contrast, Intel lagged behind during the Meteor Lake era, needing more power to match similar performance levels. Consequently, only a few Intel handhelds, such as the MSI Claw, were available. However, the situation shifted with the arrival of the Lunar Lake generation last year, allowing Intel to catch up to AMD in both performance and efficiency, bringing the two platforms nearly level.

    New Developments in Chip Technology

    While AMD did not introduce a fresh chip generation for handhelds this year, Intel has rolled out their latest Panther Lake processors. The new models featuring the Arc B390 and Arc B370 integrated graphics units (iGPUs) showcase significant advancements in graphics capabilities, leading to enhanced gaming performance. Our evaluations revealed an improvement of 50-70% at similar power levels when comparing these new iGPUs to the older Arc Graphics 140V and 140T, as well as against the AMD Radeon 890M.

    Competitive Landscape Ahead

    This marks the first notable performance boost in the handheld segment in a few years. The new chips have demonstrated excellent performance within a thermal design power (TDP) range of 20-35 Watts, which aligns with what most modern gaming handhelds utilize. Currently, MSI stands out as one of the few manufacturers offering Intel-based handhelds, and we anticipate they will introduce a model powered by the new Panther Lake chips shortly.

    To remain competitive in 2026, other manufacturers that have primarily focused on AMD-based handhelds will likely need to provide an Intel alternative. If they do not, they may have to significantly lower their prices, as AMD’s existing chips cannot compete with Panther Lake’s capabilities. We are excited to get our hands on the first handhelds equipped with the new Arc B390 or Arc B370 GPUs. In the meantime, we invite you to check out our detailed analysis articles and reviews for further insights on the new CPUs and iGPUs.

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  • Intel Panther Lake vs AMD Ryzen Strix Halo and RTX 4050 Benchmarks

    Intel Panther Lake vs AMD Ryzen Strix Halo and RTX 4050 Benchmarks

    Key Takeaways

    1. Intel’s new Panther Lake architecture features a mix of performance and efficiency cores, improving power efficiency and graphics performance.
    2. The Intel Arc B390 iGPU significantly outperforms AMD’s Radeon 890M by over 80% in certain games and shows nearly 80% improvement over the older Arc 140T.
    3. In specific titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, the Arc B390 performs nearly as well as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, while in Cyberpunk 2077, the Nvidia card is 20% faster.
    4. AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with Radeon 8060S can be twice as fast but is larger, more expensive, and less power-efficient.
    5. Performance depends on the power limit of the iGPU and RAM speed, with early tests showing smooth gameplay at 44 to 50 fps on 1080p “Ultra” settings.

    For a long time, AMD has been ahead of Intel when it comes to power efficiency and graphics performance. However, with the introduction of Panther Lake, Intel has tackled these past issues by launching a new CPU architecture. This architecture features a mix of up to four performance cores and twelve efficiency cores, alongside the new Arc B390 iGPU that includes twelve Xe2 cores.

    Performance Comparison

    The big question now is whether the Intel Arc B390 can challenge AMD’s lead in gaming handhelds and provide decent gaming capabilities in laptops without dedicated graphics cards. At CES 2026, we got the chance to test some games on a Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i to see how the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H with the Arc B390 iGPU stacks up against its top rivals.

    Our tests reveal that the Intel Arc B390 can outperform the AMD Radeon 890M by over 80% in certain games. When compared to the older Arc 140T, the Arc B390M shows nearly 80% improvement in specific titles. In Baldur’s Gate 3, the integrated GPU performs almost as well as the dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, although in Cyberpunk 2077, the Nvidia card is 20% quicker. On the other hand, AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with Radeon 8060S can be twice as fast at times, but it is also larger, pricier, and less efficient in power usage.

    Key Factors Affecting Performance

    As is often the case, the actual performance of the Arc B390 will likely depend a lot on the power limit set for the iGPU and on the speed of the RAM in the laptop, which also acts as VRAM for the integrated GPU. That said, our early impressions are quite positive. Both Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 run smoothly at 44 to 50 fps on 1080p resolution using the “Ultra” settings, and with XeSS set to “Quality” along with Frame Generation, frame rates can soar well above 160 fps.

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