Intel's Core Ultra 7 255H "Arrow Lake" processor has demonstrated impressive performance improvements in recent PassMark benchmarks, achieving a 32% higher single-core score compared to its "Meteor Lake" predecessor. The Arrow Lake-H chip recorded 4,631 points in single-threaded tests, significantly outpacing the Core Ultra 7 155H's 3,500 points while delivering a 15% overall improvement in CPU Mark ratings. The performance leap comes from Intel's architectural overhaul, implementing "Lion Cove" performance cores alongside "Skymont" efficiency cores on TSMC's N3B process node. This combination enables the 255H to achieve higher boost frequencies while maintaining the same core configuration as its predecessor—six P-cores, eight E-cores, and two Low Power Efficiency (LPE) cores.

Notable in this iteration is the absence of Hyper-Threading, resulting in 16 threads compared to the 155H's 22 threads. Arrow Lake-H maintains Intel's heterogeneous structure, incorporating up to eight Xe-LPG+ graphics cores derived from the Alchemist architecture. The neural processing unit (NPU) capabilities remain consistent with Meteor Lake, delivering 13 TOPS of INT8 performance. This positions the chip below Lunar Lake's 45 TOPS. Despite performance improvements, market success will largely depend on system integrators' ability to deliver compelling devices at competitive price points, particularly as AMD's Strix Point platforms maintain strong positioning in the $1,000 range. The battle of laptop chip supremacy is poised to be a good one in the coming quarters, especially as more Arm-based entries will force both Intel and AMD to compete harder.