Basic laptops aren’t supposed to do this. Intel’s new CPUs say otherwise

Before Intel’s new Panther Lake chips busted through the door, laptops without discrete graphics had clear limits. Integrated graphics were fine for some things. Streaming videos or running older games? Sure, why not. But for anything really GPU-heavy, like playing the latest shooter, laptops will struggle.

That’s what Panther Lake is starting to change, especially the models with Arc graphics. Suddenly, integrated graphics aren’t bound by such hard-and-fast rules.

The old reality

Back in the day, integrated graphics meant compromise. You could probably run a game if you dropped the resolution and graphics to abysmal levels, but push the laptop any harder and it’ll probably wave a white “I surrender!” flag.

That’s why discrete GPUs became the default for anyone who cared about graphics performance. You want to see the tiniest of details in that fancy new game? You’ll need discrete graphics for that. And the best part is that you don’t have to micromanage the hell out of your machine by constantly adjusting the settings.

I’m not knocking integrated graphics, by the way. It’s just not the same as a laptop with a dedicated GPU. But that’s starting to shift with Intel’s new Panther Lake processors, some of which feature fearsome “Arc” integrated graphics.

What Panther Lake actually changes

Let’s get one thing straight here. Panther Lake doesn’t make integrated graphics magically better–it doesn’t possess the transformative powers of a fairy godmother. As PCWorld’s recent testing has shown, the base model configurations with vanilla “Intel Graphics” don’t do anything especially remarkable on their own. But once you step into the Arc-equipped territory, that’s where things start to get interesting.

When it comes to Panther Lake graphics, it really boils down to the number of Xe3 graphics cores. Intel Arc iGPUs have up to 12 Xe3 cores while Intel Graphics iGPUs have up to four. That’s why lower-end Panther Lake models (sans Arc graphics) perform more like traditional integrated GPUs and why benchmarks can look so different across multiple machines. More cores generally translates to better performance.

In Intel Arc systems, we see a jump in performance that’s big enough to reset expectations. The numbers speak for themselves, and they’re darn impressive. For example, in PCWorld’s early testing, the graphics score nearly doubled (!!!) when switching to Arc. Standard Intel Graphics churned out 3,013 in 3DMark Time Spy while the Arc model earned a score of 6,267.

When it comes to testing actual games, these high-end laptops deliver playable performance on the iGPU alone. Here at PCWorld, we saw Shadow of the Tomb Raider hit a respectable 70 frames per second without frame generation. With frame generation on, performance in Cyberpunk 2077 (a newer, more visually demanding game) jumped from 52 fps to 92 fps.

What we’re seeing here is pretty clear–frame generation makes a big difference, especially in more demanding titles. But even without frame generation, Intel’s Arc graphics still does a bang-up job. While that’s all well and good, you’re not getting cutting-edge GPU performance out of high-end Panther Lake laptops. What you are getting is consistent gaming performance — something you couldn’t get from integrated graphics before.

Are dedicated GPUs going extinct?

No, but the list of folks that need one is shrinking. Just remember that most Panther Lake laptops ship with standard Intel Graphics. This is fine for light use, but it doesn’t compete with Arc iGPUs or dedicated GPUs. Casual gamers will probably be fine with Arc.

If you’re looking for ridiculously high frame rates, a laptop with a discrete graphics card is an absolute must — believe me, you’re going to need the additional firepower. But for a growing chunk of buyers? Panther Lake with Arc graphics may be more than enough.

So, who’s Panther Lake actually for? It’s perfect for anyone who wants to sneak in a round of Valorant before lectures, or casual creators who want to edit vlogs without their laptop sounding like it’s about to rocket off.

Dedicated graphics hardware isn’t going anywhere, so you can put away the pitchforks and torches. I’d argue that it’s becoming more specialized. If you’re a 3D animator or a Twitch streamer, for example, or even an enthusiast-grade PC gamer, “good enough” just isn’t going to cut it.

Panther Lake isn’t killing discrete GPUs, but it does shift expectations. The baseline expectation for what a laptop without dedicated graphics can handle has shifted — and that’s a meaningful change.