Intel announces 13th generation Core CPUs for laptops, new entry-level N series

With laptop and PC makers expected to unveil new models at CES 2023, Intel has unveiled a slew of processors that will power many of them. With dozens of new 13th Gen CPUs in every segment for laptops and desktops, as well as a brand new entry-level line called N-Series, Intel claims performance leadership, longer battery life, and superior experiences. The new flagship Core i9-13980HX is the first laptop CPU with 24 cores and is considered the fastest mobile CPU in the world. Intel has also updated its Evo platform framework, improving battery life goals and adding Intel Unison software for integration with Android and iOS devices.

In total, there are 32 new mobile CPUs in the HX, H, P and U series, targeting different segments from high-end gaming to thin and light laptops. Over 300 new laptops with these CPUs are expected to be announced by companies this year, including Dell, hp, acer, Lenovo, Asus, razor, MSIand Samsung.

joining the 13th generation Raptor Lake family, the Core i9-13980HX has eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. It has a peak speed of 5.6GHz, a base TDP of 55W and supports up to 128GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and PCIe 5.0 connectivity. There are a total of nine HX CPUs in the Core i9, Core i7 and Core i5 tiers. intel says its OEM partners will introduce 60 laptops based on 13th generation HX-series CPUs, a significant increase over the previous generation. The 45 WH series has slightly lower specs and is aimed at content creators and gamers who don’t need ultraportable 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 15WU-series CPUs with up to 14 cores (six P-cores and eight E-cores) plus integrated Iris X graphics. Intel also advertises integrated Gigabit Wi-Fi and Thunderbolt across all segments. Certain CPU models also feature integrated Intel Movidius image processing hardware to accelerate AI workloads.

On the desktop front, Intel has expanded the 13th generation family to include mainstream models with no overclocking support. These models have target TDPs of 35W and 65W and are compatible with both 700-series and previous-generation 600-series motherboards. These should be available in both retail packaging and 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 complete the lineup.

The new Intel N-series branding replaces the previous Celeron and Pentium names that Intel previously used for entry-level processors. These CPUs are geared towards Windows and Chrome OS desktops and laptops, targeting the education and budget conscious markets. They have up to eight cores with the same efficiency as the 12th and 13th generation CPU series, 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 encoding/decoding as well as AV1 decoding support, and modern platform-level connectivity including Gigabit WiFi.

The Core i3-N300 and Core i3-N305 both feature eight single-threaded Gracemont cores, 6MB 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 values, with slightly different integrated graphics capabilities and clock speeds. They will appear in devices from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Asus this year.