💪 CPU Battle #35 Core Ultra 7 258V vs Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 💪
CPU Battle #35 — Core Ultra 7 258V vs Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
These two chips are the 2024 flagships for thin-and-light laptops — Intel’s Lunar Lake and AMD’s Strix Point. The Core Ultra 7 258V is Intel’s efficiency-focused design with on-package memory and a new Xe2 GPU. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is AMD’s Zen 5 + Zen 5c hybrid with RDNA 3.5 graphics and a 50 TOPS NPU. Both target Copilot+ PCs, both promise all-day battery life, and both are the first real competitors to Apple Silicon in the Windows laptop space. The choice comes down to priorities — efficiency and graphics versus multi-threaded grunt and core count.
Short version: The 258V wins on efficiency, graphics, and battery life. The HX 370 wins on multi-threaded performance and core count. Pick the 258V for thin-and-light endurance; pick the HX 370 for heavier workloads.
Specs
The Core Ultra 7 258V is Lunar Lake on TSMC N3B (3nm). It has 8 cores — 4 Lion Cove P-cores and 4 Skymont E-cores — with no hyper-threading, so 8 threads total. Boost is 4.8 GHz. 12 MB L3 cache. Arc 140V GPU with 8 Xe2 cores. NPU rated at 47 TOPS. On-package LPDDR5X memory, 16 or 32 GB, at 8533 MT/s. TDP is 17–30W.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is Strix Point on TSMC N4 (4nm). It has 12 cores — 4 Zen 5 + 8 Zen 5c — with 24 threads. Boost is 5.1 GHz. 24 MB L3 cache. Radeon 890M GPU with 16 RDNA 3.5 CUs. NPU rated at 50 TOPS. Standard LPDDR5X or DDR5 memory. TDP is 15–54W depending on OEM tuning.
| Spec | Core Ultra 7 258V | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 |
|---|---|---|
| Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 | 12 / 24 |
| P-cores | 4 | 4 (Zen 5) |
| E-cores | 4 | 8 (Zen 5c) |
| Boost clock | 4.8 GHz | 5.1 GHz |
| L3 cache | 12 MB | 24 MB |
| Process | TSMC N3B | TSMC N4 |
| GPU | Arc 140V (8 Xe2) | Radeon 890M (16 CU) |
| NPU | 47 TOPS | 50 TOPS |
| Memory | On-package LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X / DDR5 |
| TDP | 17–30W | 15–54W |
The architectural difference is significant. Lunar Lake abandons hyper-threading entirely, betting on efficiency cores and IPC instead. Strix Point keeps SMT and adds more cores. Intel’s on-package memory reduces latency and power; AMD’s standard memory is more flexible for OEMs.
CPU performance
Single-threaded performance is close. The HX 370’s Zen 5 cores have a slight IPC edge and higher boost clock, giving it a small lead in single-core benchmarks — roughly 5–10%.
Multi-threaded performance favors the HX 370 clearly. With 12 cores and 24 threads versus 8 cores and 8 threads, it’s roughly 30–50% faster in Cinebench and Blender. The gap is largest in sustained all-core workloads, where the HX 370 can pull more power and has more threads to work with.
The 258V isn’t slow — it’s competitive in lightly threaded tasks and everyday workloads — but for anything that scales with cores, the HX 370 wins decisively.
GPU performance
This is where the 258V fights back. Its Arc 140V (Xe2) is significantly faster than the Radeon 890M in most gaming and GPU compute benchmarks. Intel’s Xe2 architecture is a major improvement over the previous generation, and driver support has matured considerably.
In gaming at 1080p, the 258V leads the HX 370 by 10–20% depending on the title. In some games the gap is larger; in others it’s closer. The Arc 140V is now the fastest integrated GPU in a Windows laptop, which is a real turnaround for Intel.
For GPU-accelerated creative work — video editing, some 3D rendering — the 258V has an edge. For everything else, the HX 370 is ahead.
NPU and AI
Both chips meet Microsoft’s Copilot+ requirement of 40+ TOPS. The 258V is rated at 47 TOPS; the HX 370 at 50 TOPS. Both are in the same ballpark.
In practice, the NPU is used for background tasks — Windows Studio Effects, Recall, local AI models. Both handle these well. The difference in TOPS between 47 and 50 is negligible in real workloads.
For AI, the two are effectively tied. What matters more is the software ecosystem, which is still maturing on both sides.
Efficiency and battery life
This is where the 258V wins clearly. Lunar Lake was designed from the ground up for efficiency — on-package memory, no hyper-threading, TSMC 3nm, and aggressive power management. Laptops with the 258V routinely hit 15–20 hours of typical use, often more than comparable AMD or Apple laptops.
The HX 370 is efficient by x86 standards but 15–25% behind the 258V in performance-per-watt. Battery life is typically 10–15 hours in thin-and-light designs — still excellent, but not class-leading.
For thin-and-light laptops where endurance matters most, the 258V is the chip to beat. It’s the first x86 chip to genuinely compete with Apple Silicon on battery life.
Platform and memory
The 258V uses on-package LPDDR5X memory. This is a significant architectural decision — it reduces latency, lowers power, and allows a smaller motherboard footprint. But it also means the memory is not upgradable. Laptops with Lunar Lake ship with 16 or 32 GB and that’s what you get.
The HX 370 uses standard LPDDR5X or DDR5. OEMs can choose, and some laptops may support upgradable memory. This flexibility matters for users who want to add RAM later, though most thin-and-light designs still solder it.
Intel’s approach gives better efficiency and smaller designs. AMD’s gives OEMs more flexibility. For most buyers, the difference is theoretical — thin-and-light laptops rarely have upgradable memory anyway.
Software and drivers
Intel has invested heavily in Arc GPU drivers, and the 258V benefits. Gaming compatibility is now solid, and creative apps work well. The NPU stack (OpenVINO, DirectML) is mature.
AMD’s RDNA 3.5 drivers are also solid, but the GPU is slower. Its NPU ecosystem is newer but catching up — ROCm and DirectML support are improving.
For most users, both chips work with Windows 11 and mainstream software without issues. The differences show up in edge cases — specific games, specific creative apps, specific AI tools.
Price and availability
Laptops with the Core Ultra 7 258V typically start around $1,200–1,500 for premium thin-and-lights from Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, and Samsung. The chip is positioned as the flagship for Intel’s premium ultrabook tier.
Laptops with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 start around $1,300–1,600, with higher-end configurations pushing past $2,000. The HX 370 is often paired with more premium designs and higher-end specs.
Pricing is close. The 258V often appears in slightly cheaper configurations; the HX 370 in higher-tier ones. Neither is a budget chip.
The verdict
The 258V is the better chip for thin-and-light laptops. Its efficiency, battery life, and GPU performance make it the best x86 chip for endurance-focused designs. It’s the first Intel chip in years to genuinely lead on battery life, and its Arc 140V is a real achievement.
The HX 370 is the better chip for heavier workloads. Its 12 cores and 24 threads deliver significantly more multi-threaded performance, and its 50 TOPS NPU is class-leading. For users who need CPU grunt — compiling, rendering, virtual machines — it’s the right choice.
The decision comes down to what you value: battery life and graphics, or multi-threaded performance.
Short version:
Choose the Core Ultra 7 258V if you want the longest battery life, the best integrated GPU, and a thin-and-light design.
Choose the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 if you need multi-threaded performance for heavier workloads and don’t mind slightly shorter battery life.
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