Intel Core 200 "Non Ultra" CPUs may be rebranded Raptor Lake/Alder Lake chips — Core 5 210H spotted with slower performance than the Core i5-12450H

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Raptor Lake rides again.

Intel Alder Lake Mobile CPU
(Image credit: Intel)

Spotted by hardware sleuth Everest at Bapco, the unreleased Core 5 210H looks similar to the Alder Lake-based Core i5-12450H. One would expect anything under the "Core 200" series to be based on Arrow Lake, but the non-Ultra models appear to be based on the Raptor Lake or Alder Lake silicon.

The fresh sighting of the Core 5 210H has sparked concerns regarding Intel's updated naming scheme. The 200-series monicker will be confusing for consumers with less experience. For example, only Core Ultra 200 parts are based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Meanwhile, the Core 200 parts could be rebadged Raptor Lake/Alder Lake chips.

Going into the specifics, the Core 5 210H packs eight cores and twelve threads, pointing towards a configuration of four P-cores and four E-cores. The cache layout is not mentioned, so we are unable to determine if this chip will be based on Alder Lake or Raptor Lake. The former would net this chip 7MB of L2 cache, with the latter coming in at 12MB, so there is an apparent difference between the two.

Sighting of the Core 5 210H at Bapco

(Image credit: Bapco)

It is pertinent to mention that this CPU has also been benchmarked; therefore, we can get a basic idea of its performance. The CPU achieves an overall average result of 1,399 in CrossMark. For context, the aforementioned iCore i5-12450H reaches 1,445 points, so this may be an early engineering sample. Here's a basic rundown of Intel's Core 200 series:

  • Core Ultra 200S - Arrow Lake Desktop
  • Core Ultra 200V - Lunar Lake
  • Core Ultra 200H/HX - Arrow Lake Mobile
  • Core 200U/H - Alder Lake / Raptor Lake Mobile

As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." When Meteor Lake launched, Intel also announced a Core-U (Series 1) lineup of processors, essentially rebranded Raptor Lake-U CPUs. Surprisingly, Intel is again sticking, based on the performance metrics, with Raptor Lake / Alder Lake for the Core 200 "Non-Ultra" series.

The Core Ultra 200S family will launch on October 24. As is tradition, the non-K lineup will likely be announced at CES 2025, where we may also see mobile variants.

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Hassam Nasir
Hassam Nasir
Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • cyrusfox
    It makes sense that the packaging for these chips(Meteor/alder lake), particularly with Intel’s advanced chip stacking technology, can’t be too cheap. For lower-end offerings, a solid monolithic design is hard to beat. In budget platforms, the Raptor/Alder series can be efficient if not pushed too hard on turbo. In the sub-$600 laptop market, Intel needs to be careful about how much the CPU contributes to the bill of materials, as they can't afford to place these newer, costlier chips in low-margin products when older, more mature designs fit the bill better.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    I feel this is where Intel will have a hard time selling these other than to PC manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell, etc. Raptor Lake CPUs can be competitive with AMD's Zen 4, but usually at the expense of much higher power draw due to high clock speed and number of physical cores to feed. Furthermore, after this whole Raptor Lake fiasco, I personally won't want to buy a Raptor Lake CPU even if Intel said the issue is fixed. Alder Lake is probably a safer deal.
    Reply
  • jp7189
    I know I'm in the minority on this forum in thinking Arrow is fabbed at TSMC, but i see this news as further confirmation. Intel's fabbing just enough of the high end models at TSMC to remain competitive with the rest being re-rolls on Intel fabs to increase margin.
    Reply