Intel has launched two new high-performance mobile processors designed for gaming laptops and workstations. The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus are available starting 2026-03-17 in laptops from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and Razer.

The new chips deliver up to 8% better gaming performance compared to the Core Ultra 9 285HX and Core Ultra 7 265HX that launched in late 2024. Intel attributes these gains to three key improvements. A die-to-die frequency increase of up to 900 MHz speeds up the connection between the CPU and memory controller to reduce latency. The processors also feature adjusted frequencies with lower base clocks but higher max turbo speeds on the Efficiency cores. The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus features 24 cores (8 Performance cores based on Lion Cove architecture and 16 Efficiency cores based on Skymont architecture) with boost speeds up to 5.5 GHz, while the Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus has 20 cores (8 Performance and 12 Efficiency) boosting to 5.3 GHz.

A new Intel Binary Optimization Tool provides the third performance boost by improving processor instructions per cycle for certain workloads through binary translation layer optimization. Both processors include 4-core Intel integrated graphics running up to 2.0 GHz, support for up to 256GB of DDR5-6400 dual-channel memory, and 13 TOPS NPU performance. The chips have a maximum thermal power of 160 watts. Unlike the standard Core Ultra 285HX and 265HX models, the Plus variants do not support ECC memory.

For Linux users, the processors benefit from Arrow Lake graphics support that arrived in Linux kernel 6.9 and has been refined through subsequent releases. The integrated graphics work with modern distributions using kernel 6.9 or newer without requiring force_probe workarounds. However, Intel has not clarified whether the new Binary Optimization Tool will support Linux or remain Windows-only, leaving open questions about whether Linux gamers can access the full performance potential of these processors.

Compared to Intel's Core i9-12900HX from 2022, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus delivers up to 62% higher gaming performance and 30% better single-thread performance, though those comparisons also involve significant upgrades in discrete graphics from RTX 3080 to RTX 5090 cards.