Confused by Intel's Core 200 chips? Here's your guide to Arrow, Lunar, Meteor Lake and more

Intel‘s lineup of chips is getting crowded and the Core 200 series might make its growing array even more chaotic.

As it stands, Intel uses more than three different architectures in the 200 series family. We’ve already seen the initial Lunar and Arrow Lake launches for this generation, but more Arrow Lake architecture chips are on the way. And it seems Intel will be carrying the Meteor Lake architecture into the 15th generation.

Confused yet? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. If you’re lost trying to understand all the permutations of the “Lakes,” here’s your cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Intel Core Ultra 200U vs Intel Core 200U

A recent leak from hardware news compiler Jaykhin indicates that Intel will be returning to the Meteor Lake, Raptor Lake, and Alder Lake architectures with the Core Ultra 200U, Core 200U, and Core 200H processors.

Arrow Lake -U SKUs and clocking.MTL-U (Core Ultra 1) 15W provided for comparison. pic.twitter.com/ElZ67od7ohNovember 18, 2024

Based on the core counts, clock speeds, wattage, and iGPU specifications, it seems like the Core Ultra 200U processor will feature an updated version of the Meteor Lake architecture. There are some differences between the Core Ultra 200U and the Meteor Lake Core Ultra 100U on the compute tile, but the integrated GPU tile appears similar. The compute tile differences, like lowered clock speeds, could be due to Intel porting the Meteor Lake architecture to the Intel 3 node for these “Meteor Lake Refresh” SoCs (system-on-a-chip).

A representative for Intel tells Laptop Mag, “Intel does not comment on rumors regarding future products – we will share more details closer to launch.”

Intel Core 200 series architecture rundown

Intel Lunar Lake CPU held by CEO Patrick P. Gelsinger

(Image credit: Intel / Computex)

This fall has already seen the launch of Intel’s Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” and Core Ultra 200S and 200K series “Arrow Lake” chips, with the Core Ultra 200H and Ultra 200HX to follow in early 2025.

Intel’s “Panther Lake” architecture is expected to launch in this generation though it could launch in 2026 instead.

Finally, the latest leak from Jaykhin indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 200U chips will use a refreshed version of the “Meteor Lake” architecture behind the Intel Core Ultra 100U and 100H series. Meanwhile, a previous leak by Jaykhin indicates the Core 200U will use the Alder Lake process, and the Core 200H chips will return to the Raptor Lake architecture.

So from what we know so far, this is the Intel Fifteenth Generation lineup:

Core Ultra 200 H – Arrow Lake Mobile
Core Ultra 200 HX – Arrow Lake Mobile
Core Ultra 200K – Arrow Lake Desktop
Core Ultra 200S – Arrow Lake Desktop
Core Ultra 200U – Meteor Lake Refresh Mobile
Core Ultra 200V – Lunar Lake Mobile
Core 200H – Raptor Lake Mobile
Core 200U – Alder Lake Mobile

Outlook

Some of Intel’s chips won’t make it to mobile platforms and will remain desktop only, but plenty of the Core Ultra 200 and Core 200 family chipsets are designed for mobile platforms. Unlike previous years where Intel would have one architecture for desktop processors and a different architecture for mobile laptop chips, Intel has muddied the waters with multiple distinct architectures for mobile platforms. So you’ll need to pay attention to the “Core Ultra” vs “Core” and suffix parts of Intel’s branding.

For full clarification of Intel’s fifteenth-generation chip lineup, we’ll need to wait for official information from Intel, which is expected to be shared during CES 2025 in early January in Las Vegas, NV. CES officially runs from January 7 to January 10, with early previews starting on January 5th. Based on previous years, Intel’s new chip announcements will likely come on January 6 or 7 to open the show.