Intel Raptor Lake-P Review - Debut for the Core i7-1360P

Intel managed to improve the single-core performance by about 7 percent with the Core i7-1360P compared to the Core i7-1260P and we can see the maximum clock of 5.0 GHz for the P-cores in our tests. However, this also results in a power consumption of ~24W (IA cores: ~21W). The old AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (Zen3+, 19W package, 16W cores) is 15% slower; Apple's M2 and M2 Pro fall behind by 15 and 19%, respectively. However, the two ARM chips from Apple are ~8-10% faster in Geekbench 5 Single.

Cinebench R15 Multi is a very short benchmark at around 25 seconds, but the Core i7 can utilize the full potential of the high power limit. However, the performance already drops in the second run at 38W and there is only a minor advantage over the old Yoga 9i 14 with the Core i7-1260P. There is no difference compared to the old Ryzen 7 6800U (25W) at this point, either.

At the maximum consumption of 64 Watts, the new Raptor Lake is about 8 % more efficient compared to the old Core i7-1260P, but the chip is obviously not very efficient overall at this level. Our measurements also show that Intel is still far behind AMD and Apple in terms of multi-core efficiency, and we haven't even tested the new Zen4 chips. Apple is also clearly superior in this regard, but the new M2 Pro is just slightly better than AMD when you stress all CPU cores.

Similar to our analysis of the Alder Lake-U processors, we checked the multi-core performance of the new Raptor Lake Core i7-1360P at different TDP limits and we used the software Throttle Stop to adjust the values. The following table shows the results of the Core i7-1360P compared to the Core i7-1260P (ThinkPad T14 G3) and the Core i7-12700H (HP ZBook Power 15 G9) at 28W, 35W, and 45W. The new chip has an advantage over the old Core i7-1260P at all levels, but the Core i7-12700H is always faster, even at 28W. This shows that it does not really make sense to use the Core i7-1360P over the Core i7-1370P or the Core i7-13700H when the cooling system can handle 28W (except for the higher prices of course).

We do not really have to talk about the GPU, because the slightly higher clock (100 MHz) of the Iris Xe Graphics G7 with 96 EUs does not really have an effect, neither in the benchmarks, nor the gaming tests, and the performance is pretty much identical to the old models. This means Intel's position in 2023 is pretty bad, because AMD's Radeon 680M is already much more powerful, and the new Zen4 iGPU is coming in the next couple of weeks. Apple is also clearly ahead; even the 10-core iGPU of the standard Apple M2-SoC is about 60 % faster.

Our expectations of the new Raptor Lake CPUs for the smaller performance classes were pretty muffled after we saw the specs, because there are no changes compared to Alder Lake except for slightly higher clocks. Our verdict is also pretty sobering after we actually reviewed the new Raptor Lake Core i7-1360P. Intel managed to improve the performance and efficiency (roughly between 5-10 %), which is actually not a bad result considering that the chip is still manufactured in a slightly improved Intel 7 process (10 nm). The new Raptor Lake CPUs also have an advantage over Alder Lake at higher clocks. 

However, the big problem is that the chip does not nearly manage to run at the highest clocks of 4.5 GHz for all P-cores even at the specified maximum consumption of 64W. We only managed to see about 4 GHz for the P-cores and only 3-3.2 GHz at 38, where there is no real advantage over the previous Alder Lake chips. The same applied for the integrated GPU, because the additional 100 MHz is not noticeable. Intel was already lacking in this regard last year (especially compared to Apple), and difference will be even bigger when AMD launches the new Zen4 chips. Despite the slightly improved efficiency, Intel is still clearly beaten by AMD and Apple in terms of efficiency and GPU performance.

The new Raptor Lake Core i7-1360P is slightly faster and more efficient than its predecessor, but the overall efficiency and the performance of the integrated GPU are still far behind AMD and Apple.

Intel's high power limits are also an issue for the laptops and we already saw problems for many of the Alder Lake devices last year. Many 65W power adapters are often not able to handle the maximum consumption, so the battery has to be used in peak load scenarios as well. The fans are also very active, which is also the case for the new Lenovo Yoga 9i 14. The fan will even run during light workload, even when you only stress one core. There are obviously differences between laptop models, but the fans of modern Intel laptops just tend to be more active compared to similarly equipped AMD machines.

Apple already launched its new processors (M2 Pro and M2 Max) and the efficiency of the CPU section is a bit lower compared to the old M1 Pro chips, but the advantage over Intel is still significant (our comprehensive analysis of the new Apple SoCs will be published in a couple of days). We are still waiting for AMD's new CPUs though; the first Ryzen 7000 chips have already arrived in our editorial office, but only Zen3+ models and not Zen4. AMD's new line-up is actually pretty confusing, while Intel has reduced the number of processors for Raptor Lake.

The availability will probably be a major factor again when you decide between Intel and AMD, because Intel clearly has an advantage in this respect. The Ryzen 7 6800U was already the superior mobile processor overall last year, but that does not mean very much when you cannot buy many laptops with the CPU. The next couple of months will show if the situation changes this year.