Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus Mobile CPU: Early Benchmarks and Performance Insights
Although Intel was absent from CES 2026, industry leaks continue to suggest that the company is preparing to launch its Arrow Lake Refresh mobile CPUs in March or April 2026. Among the anticipated releases is the flagship mobile processor, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus. Recent benchmark results, surfaced via PassMark and shared by X86isdeadandback on X, provide an early look at what users can expect from this upcoming chip.
Benchmark Results: Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus vs. Previous Flagships
The PassMark listing indicates that the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus was tested in an MSI laptop featuring an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU and 32 GB of Samsung DDR5-5600 memory. In these tests, the new CPU demonstrated a notable performance boost over its predecessor. Specifically, it delivered approximately 7.5% higher single-thread performance and a 12.8% improvement in multicore benchmarks compared to the previous flagship mobile CPU.
In terms of raw scores, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus achieved 66,203 points in the multicore benchmark and 5,009 points in the single-core test. These results place it within 2% of the desktop-class Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scored 67,430 and 5,093 in the same tests, respectively. This level of performance from a mobile processor is particularly impressive and highlights the advancements Intel is making with its Arrow Lake Refresh lineup.
Potential for Further Performance Gains
It is worth noting that the tested configuration used DDR5-5600 memory. Previous experience with the Core Ultra 9 285HX suggests that even higher performance may be achievable with faster DDR5-6400 memory modules. As with all early benchmarks, these results should be interpreted with caution. The CPU is still pre-release, and factors such as finalized clock speeds, firmware, and broader sample sizes could influence the final performance figures.
Technical Specifications and Architecture
Additional details from earlier leaks, including a Geekbench benchmark of an Acer Predator laptop, confirm that the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus will retain the same core configuration as the 285HX. This means users can expect a hybrid architecture featuring eight performance (P) cores and sixteen efficiency (E) cores, continuing Intel’s focus on balancing high performance with power efficiency in its mobile CPUs.
While these early benchmarks are promising, the final verdict on the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus will depend on official reviews and broader testing once the CPU is released. For now, the Arrow Lake Refresh series appears poised to deliver significant gains for high-end mobile computing in 2026.
