Feb 23, 2024
At the beginning of 2024, Intel announced a lineup of new Meteor
Lake laptop CPUs — the Intel® Core™ Ultra series. In parallel, ASUS
announced a myriad of laptops powered by these brand-new chips.
Immediately, the release caused quite a buzz. Why? What’s new? Read
on to find out!
What Are Intel® Core™ Ultra CPUs?
Intel® Core™ Ultra is the new generation of laptop processors (CPU).
As part of the Meteor Lake lineup, these new CPUs represent a
breakthrough in laptop processing for several reasons. Most
significantly, these processors include a neural processing unit
(NPU) — that is, a dedicated AI processor. More on that later.
The new generation of Intel® CPUs includes 11 offerings — notably,
the flagship Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor 185H with 16 cores, 22
threads and max 5.1 GHz frequency, as well as the Intel® Core™ Ultra
7 processor 165H with the same number of cores and threads, but with
a max frequency of 5 GHz.
New Naming Convention
If you are familiar with the previous generations of CPUs from
Intel®, you may notice the new processors lack the familiar “i” in
their name, and instead feature the new “Ultra” tag. However, the
level-layering rule remains as it was in previous generations. The
Intel® Core™ Ultra CPU range is divided into three layers: 5, 7, and
9, with 9 being the highest end offering.
The range is further divided into two types: H and U. H-series CPUs
are high-performance chips, aimed at those who expect their laptops
to handle the toughest tasks without a hiccup. They offer large
cache memory, higher max frequencies, and a larger number of P-cores
(performance cores) in the mix.
U-series CPUs are characterized by high energy efficiency. These
processors are aimed at those always on the go, and at those who
expect unhindered productivity throughout the whole day. U-series
Intel Core Ultra CPUs feature more E-cores (efficiency) than the
H-series CPUs, which results in an impressive boost in battery life.
Key New Features & Improvements
If you remember one thing about the new generation of Intel® CPUs,
let it be this: they all feature class-leading proprietary
technology for processing AI tasks. This technology is called Intel®
Deep Learning Boost (Intel® DL Boost). This is the description of
the technology offered by Intel:
-
Intel® AI Boost, is purpose-built to handle longer-running AI
workloads at low power, and it complements AI handled on both
the CPU and GPU, enabling 2.5x better power efficiency than the
previous generation.
With AI Boost, users enjoy a significant drop in AI processing times
and benefit from better battery life, thanks to the energy-efficient
processing of tasks.
The H-series CPUs also feature a powerful built-in GPU — the
new-generation Intel® Arc™. Notably, these new integrated graphics
cards from Intel® feature dedicated ray tracing units — a feature
previously mostly reserved for discrete GPUs. This means that a lot
of usage scenarios that previously required a laptop with dedicated
graphics, such as content creation, can now be very well handled by
a laptop with just the H-series Intel® Core™ Ultra CPU and no
dedicated GPU.
These CPUs also do a much better job of managing power consumption,
in large part thanks to Thread Director—an Intel feature that
distributes tasks between different CPU cores. In this generation,
Thread Director only engages high-power performance cores after
first trying the low-power cores. This feature has another effect:
Heat dissipation is improved, as the heat-generating high-power
cores are only engaged when absolutely necessary.
Finally, Intel® Core™ Ultra laptop CPUs support a whole list of the
newest, fastest technologies. These include wireless connectivity
technologies such as Intel® Wi-Fi 6E and Intel® Wi-Fi 7; fast (40
Gbps) wired Thunderbolt™ 4 connection and support for multiple 4K
monitors, fast storage, and other accessories, plus native HDMI® 2.1
and DisplayPort® 2.1 support for extremely low-latency display
connection.
ASUS Laptops Powered by Intel Ultra CPUs
Intel® Core™ Ultra CPUs power many of the new 2024 ASUS laptops.
Designed with AI processing in mind, these computers are a great
choice for any scenario — such as handling daily schoolwork,
tackling professional-level work, creating content and gaming. Below
are some prime examples of AI-ready ASUS laptops.
ASUS Zenbook DUO
is a dual-screen laptop that features up to an Intel® Core™ Ultra 9
processor and 32 GB LPDDR5x memory, plus up to a 2 TB PCIe® 4.0 SSD.
The powerful components and two full-size OLED touchscreens, as well
as proprietary, tailor-made intuitive software, make this an
ultimately versatile and easy-to-use productivity-friendly machine.
ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED
is a sleek, powerful ultraportable laptop built for AI-powered
productivity and fun. Measuring in at only 1.2 kg and 14.9 mm thin,
it packs a surprising amount of power. It features up to an Intel®
Core™ Ultra 9 processor 185H with Intel® Arc™ graphics* and up to
32GB LPDDR5X memory. The compact body houses a powerful 75 watt-hour
battery which lasts the whole day.
ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED
and
ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED
are the newest entries in the stylish ASUS Vivobook S series,
carrying over the laptop family legacy with a new twist. Crafted
with sleek, modern design and featuring up to an Intel® Core™ Ultra
9 processor as well as an impressive 16-hour battery life, they’re
perfect companions for school, work, or daily tasks. The slim 1.3 kg
or 1.5 kg chassis house a myriad of user-friendly features,
including captivating ASUS Lumina OLED screens with up to 3.2K
resolution, an ergonomic, single-zone RGB backlit keyboard, a large,
comfortable touchpad, and a dedicated Microsoft Copilot key that
gives users access to the AI helper in one click.
Finally, the
ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED
is the newest entry for creative minds. It's a powerful laptop that
features up to an Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor and up to an
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4060 laptop GPU, making it a perfect machine
for video editing, graphic design, and even 3D content creation and
editing. It features the world-leading 16:9 3K 120 Hz ASUS Lumina
OLED display for best-ever viewing experiences in an ASUS Vivobook.
Finally, it features the unique ASUS DialPad — a virtual rotary knob
that gives users precise control over hundreds of apps, including
Adobe Creative Cloud apps.
That covers a few of the new ASUS laptops ― but not all of them!
Click the link below to discover the entire 2024 ASUS laptop lineup!
Discover 2024 ASUS Laptops
*Only available in models with Intel® Core™ Ultra 9
processor185H/Ultra 7 processor 155H/Ultra 5 processor 125H with at
least 16 GB of dual-channel memory.