For the first time in many years, you have a choice when buying a new Intel-based laptop: Intel’s 14th-gen Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) or its latest 14th-gen Core HX chip. Which should you buy, and why? We’ll talk about the differences between the two platforms, with some testing to help illustrate the distinctions.
As the codenames suggest, the two platforms are quite similar. But Intel’s Meteor Lake is significantly different, both in design as well as purpose. Intel is using ‘Core Ultra’ as well as ‘Core’ as the brands of both the 14th-generation Meteor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh, and that’s what you’ll see on the box. As Intel moves into subsequent generations, such as Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake, executives have said the company will maintain those brands – and without the generational distinctions of years past. We find that confusing. (For clarity’s sake, you’ll see us refer to both the architecture as well as the brand where necessary.)
Put simply, Intel’s Core Ultra appears to be the brand Intel and its partners will use for AI PCs that emphasize long battery life. The Core HX is aimed at performance
