A laptop chip almost matching a desktop processor is no longer a rare headline — but this one is still striking. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh flagship for gaming laptops, has appeared on Geekbench inside an Acer Predator PHN18-I71, and the numbers put it alarmingly close to AMD’s best desktop CPU.
Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus: Benchmark Scores vs Competition
| CPU | Platform | SC Score (GB6) | MC Score (GB6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus | Laptop | 3,198 | 21,581 |
| Core Ultra 9 285HX | Laptop (prev gen) | ~3,025 | ~20,630 |
| Core Ultra 9 285K | Desktop | 3,202 | 22,580 |
| Ryzen 9 9950X3D | Desktop | 3,397 | 22,156 |
| Uplift vs 285HX | — | +5.6% | +4.6% |
Same Cores, Higher Clocks — And That’s Enough
The 290HX Plus keeps the exact same 24-core (8P + 16E) layout as the 285HX. There are no new cores, no new architecture, no major redesign — this is purely an Arrow Lake Refresh, which means Intel is extracting more performance through higher clock speeds and microcode tuning alone. The leaked specs indicate a base clock around 3.10 GHz and a peak boost near 5.5 GHz, within touching distance of the desktop 285K’s boost region. TDP stays at 55W base with up to 160W turbo headroom.
What makes the result impressive is the comparison point. The desktop Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 3,397 in single-core and 22,156 in multi-core — meaning a laptop chip running inside an Acer Predator is now within single-digit percentages of AMD’s flagship desktop CPU. On PassMark, the story is even stronger: the 290HX Plus was delivering 15% higher multi-core performance vs the 285HX and was on par with the Core Ultra 9 285K desktop CPU.
As TechnoSports has noted, the Arrow Lake Refresh launch is expected in March or April 2026, and OEM laptops like MSI Titan and Acer Predator are already in validation with RTX 5090 pairings.
One caveat: Geekbench scores fluctuate between runs, and laptop performance varies significantly based on each OEM’s power limits and cooling design. These are early pre-release numbers — treat them as directional, not definitive.
