Intel launches Core Ultra 200HX Plus

Intel introduced two specific Plus SKUs — the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and the Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus — in a launch dated March 17, 2026. (newsroom.intel.com) The 290HX Plus is built as a 24-core hybrid design with 8 P‑cores and 16 E‑cores, while the 270HX Plus uses a 20‑core configuration of 8 P‑cores and 12 E‑cores. (download.intel.com) Intel’s marketing materials claim the 290HX Plus delivers up to an 8% gaming-frame uplift and up to 7% faster single‑threaded performance versus the prior Core Ultra 9 285HX. (newsroom.intel.com) Against much older high‑end laptop silicon, Intel cites as much as a 62% gaming boost and up to 30% single‑thread improvement over the Core i9‑12900HX in its geomean test across 32 titles. (newsroom.intel.com) The platform-level changes include up to a +900 MHz increase in die‑to‑die frequency to speed the CPU/memory‑controller link, which Intel says reduces system latency for gaming workloads. (download.intel.com) Software and silicon additions shipped with the Plus line: a new Intel Binary Optimization Tool (a binary translation layer Intel positions to raise IPC on select titles), integrated NPU and Xe LPG graphics, up to 36 MB shared Smart Cache, DDR5‑6400 support, Thunderbolt 5 capability and Wi‑Fi 7 readiness. (newsroom.intel.com) Intel demonstrated its comparisons on an MSI Titan 18 platform configured with an RTX 5090 laptop GPU and listed Arrow Lake HX laptops on OEM pages as systems refresh with the new 290HX Plus and 270HX Plus beginning March 17, 2026. (download.intel.com)