Intel Announces 13th Gen Core CPUs for Laptops, Mainstream Desktops; New Entry-Level N Series CPUs

As laptop and PC manufacturers are expected to show off new models at CES 2023, Intel has unveiled a whole raft of processors that will power many of them. With dozens of new 13th Gen CPUs across segments for laptops and desktops as well as an all-new entry-level lineup called N-series, Intel is claiming performance leadership, longer battery life, and superior experiences. The new flagship Core i9-13980HX is the first laptop CPU with 24 cores and is claimed to be the world's fastest mobile CPU. Intel has also refreshed its Evo platform framework, which improves targets for battery life and adds Intel Unison software for integration with Android and iOS devices.

In total, there are 32 new mobile CPUs across the HX, H, P and U series which address different segments, from high-end gaming to thin-and-light laptops. Over 300 new laptops featuring these CPUs are expected to be announced this year by companies including Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Razer, MSI, and Samsung.

Joining the 'Raptor Lake' 13th Gen family, the Core i9-13980HX features eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. It has a peak speed of 5.6GHz, a base TDP of 55W, and support for up to 128GB of DDR5-5600 RAM as well as PCIe 5.0 connectivity. There are nine HX CPUs in all, across the Core i9, Core i7 and Core i5 tiers. Intel says its OEM partners will introduce 60 laptops based on 13th Gen HX-series CPUs representing a significant uptake over the previous gen. The 45W H-series has slightly lower specifications and is aimed at content creators and gamers who don't need ultra-portable laptops. There are 11 new models in this category.

Meanwhile, those looking for mainstream laptops will have options based on new 28W P-series and 15W U-series CPUs with up to 14 cores (six P-cores and eight E-cores) plus integrated Iris X graphics. Intel also touts integrated Gigabit Wi-Fi and Thunderbolt across segments. Specific CPU models will also feature integrated Intel Movidius vision processing hardware, for accelerating AI workloads.

On the desktop front, Intel has expanded the 13th Gen family to include mainstream models without overclocking support. These models have 35W and 65W target TDPs and will be compatible with 700-series as well as previous-gen 600-series motherboards. These should be available in retail box packaging as well as in pre-built OEM PCs. There are three new 8+16-core Core i9 models, three new 8+8-core Core i7 models, and seven new Core i5 models with either 6+8 or 6+4-core configurations. Three Core i3 models with only four P-cores round out the lineup. 

The new Intel N-series branding replaces the previous Celeron and Pentium names that Intel had previously used for entry-level processors. Aimed at desktops and laptops running Windows as well as Chrome OS, these CPUs will target the education and value-conscious markets. They have up to eight of the same efficiency cores as the 12th and 13th-gen CPU lineups, based on the 'Gracemont' architecture. Intel has also repurposed its Core i3 product tier to now include N-series models. Intel promises up to 10 hours of HD video playback, 4K HDR video output, HEVC and VP9 media encode/decode as well as AV1 decode support, and modern platform-level connectivity including Gigabit Wi-Fi.

The Core i3-N300 and Core i3-N305 both feature eight single-threaded Gracemont cores, 6MB of L3 cache, and 3.8GHz peak clock speeds. They have 7W and 15W TDP targets respectively. The new Intel N100 and N200 both have four cores and 6W TDP ratings, with slightly different integrated graphics capabilities and clock speeds. They will appear this year in devices from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus.