Intel's unreleased Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus mobile processor achieves desktop-rivaling performance in PassMark benchmarks, scoring within margin of error of Intel's flagship desktop CPU while setting new records for mobile chips.
Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake refresh for mobile processors has demonstrated remarkable performance in early benchmarks. The unreleased Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, recently spotted in PassMark's database, achieved a single-core score of 5,009 points - the highest ever recorded for an x86 processor on the platform. This performance places it within statistical margin of error compared to Intel's own flagship desktop processor, the Core Ultra 9 285K.
The 290HX Plus represents a significant generational leap over its predecessor, the Core Ultra 9 285HX. Intel's new mobile flagship outperforms the previous model by 7.5% in single-core workloads (5,009 vs 4,635 points) and becomes the first mobile x86 processor to break the 5,000-point barrier in PassMark's single-core test. The chip achieved these results while boosting to 5.45 GHz during testing, with leaked specifications indicating Samsung DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM memory support.
In multi-core performance, the 24-core processor (8 performance cores + 16 efficiency cores) scored 66,203 points. This positions it just behind AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Intel's desktop Core Ultra 9 285K in overall consumer x86 rankings, while establishing a new performance ceiling for mobile processors. The 290HX Plus outperforms AMD's current mobile flagship, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, by 6.2% and Intel's own previous-generation 285HX by 12.8% in multi-core workloads.
Industry observers note these results should be viewed with appropriate context since they represent a single benchmark sample. The architectural similarities between Arrow Lake and its predecessor suggest Intel has achieved these gains primarily through frequency improvements and memory optimizations rather than fundamental design changes. Based on these results, the 290HX Plus is expected to operate at 5.4-5.5 GHz frequencies when officially launched.
The Arrow Lake refresh, including both desktop and mobile variants, is anticipated to arrive in March or April 2025. This positions Intel to potentially reclaim mobile performance leadership ahead of AMD's next-generation mobile offerings.
Hassam Nasir is a hardware specialist with extensive experience in CPU analysis and tech journalism. When not benchmarking the latest processors, he's typically found optimizing custom gaming systems.
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