Intel Ultra Processors in ASUS Laptop — Why the Buzz?

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!

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.

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:

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.

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!

*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.