Raptor Lake refuses to die as Intel reportedly prepares Core 2000HX laptop CPUs

Intel is reportedly preparing yet another refresh for its Raptor Lake architecture, this time under the Core 2000HX banner. According to prolific leaker Golden Pig Upgrade on Weibo, the upcoming Raptor Lake Next processors for high-performance laptops will be called the Core 2000HX series.

The leak only confirms the series-level branding for now, so individual model names remain unknown. In other words, it is not yet clear whether Intel will use names such as Core 9 2xxxHX and Core 7 2xxxHX. Note the lack of Ultra branding here. The switch to four digits would at least help distinguish these chips from the existing Core 200H family and the Arrow Lake-based Core Ultra 200HX series.

The information comes after prolific Intel leaker Jaykihn claimed that Intel was working on an HX-only mobile version of the platform. The proposed lineup consists of three SKUs: a Core 9 chip with 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores, a Core 7 with 8 P-cores and 12 E-cores, and another Core 7 with 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores. That gives the top part 24 cores in total, essentially making it a better Core i9-14900H.

The Core 2000HX family is expected to coexist with newer Nova Lake-based Silicon. Another leak from earlier said Intel would switch to a four-digit naming scheme for Nova Lake desktop and laptop SKUs, with the Core Ultra 4xxx branding.

That leaves Raptor Lake Next looking increasingly like a lower-cost alternative for gaming laptops and continues Intel’s long-standing tradition of keeping laptop architectures alive for way longer than they need to be. On the plus side, Raptor Lake could help offset gaming laptop costs by offering relatively cheaper DDR4 RAM instead of Nova Lake’s DDR5.