Intel recently updated its perfmon platform to include support for upcoming Panther Lake CPUs, revealing the codenames and CPUID of their core architectures through the InstLatX64 database. This commit unofficially confirms that Panther Lake will feature Cougar Cove Performance (P) cores and Darkmont Efficiency (E) cores, with Darkmont also likely powering the Low Power Efficiency (LPE) cores. Panther Lake is expected to succeed the current-generation Arrow Lake U/H series and is set to launch later this year, with mass production anticipated for the same period. However, the majority of Panther Lake processors are expected to hit the market in Q1 of 2024, mirroring the rollout pattern of Meteor Lake. It's important to note that Panther Lake is not a direct successor to Lunar Lake. Lunar Lake was a unique product focused primarily on efficiency, featuring on-package memory, a limited TDP, and a highly optimized design for low-power consumption. Meanwhile, rumor suggests that Panther Lake variants will come equipped with up to 18 hybrid cores (6P + 8E + 4LPE) and 12 Xe cores, based on the upcoming Celestial (Xe3) graphics architecture. Intel markets Panther Lake as a combination of Arrow Lake's robust performance and Lunar Lake's efficiency. Leaks suggest that most Panther Lake systems will use traditional SODIMM or soldered memory, though some laptop designs may support next-gen LPCAMM, which offers both fast and upgradeable RAM. Given their rumored TDP of up to 64W, Panther Lake processors are poised to power a wide array of devices, ranging from entry-level laptops and handhelds to high-performance gaming laptops. Intel is even considering applications for this architecture in the automotive sector. The perfmon update by an Intel engineer has added Panther Lake to the supported architectures, assigning it the identifier "GenuineIntel-6-CC," which places it in CPU Family 6, Model 204 (0xCC). The patch also reveals that Cougar Cove and Darkmont will be the core architectures for Panther Lake’s P and E cores, respectively. Speculations about the evolution of Intel's P-cores and E-cores provide some context: P-cores are expected to progress from Lion Cove (used in Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake) to Cougar Cove (for Panther Lake and its variant, Wolverine Lake), and eventually to Coyote Cove (for Nova Lake). Similarly, the E-cores are projected to evolve from Skymont (used in Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake) to Darkmont (for Panther Lake and Wolverine Lake) and then to Arctic Wolf (for Nova Lake). These predictions are based on various leaks and should be taken with a grain of salt. The transition to a new architectural design and the move to a leading-edge manufacturing node are expected to bring significant performance improvements to Panther Lake. It will be interesting to compare the cost of Panther Lake laptops to that of Lunar Lake devices, which were produced exclusively by TSMC. With Computex, a major tech conference, just around the corner, Intel is likely to disclose more detailed information about the Panther Lake architecture during the event. Stay tuned to Tom's Hardware for the latest updates, analysis, and reviews on Panther Lake and other tech developments. Make sure to follow us on Google News to keep up with all the news in your feeds. Click the Follow button to receive notifications.