Intel’s Core Ultra 7 251HX has entered the PassMark database with benchmark results that place the 18-core Arrow Lake-HX processor close to Intel’s own 20-core HX chips. Current entries show the processor scoring 4,666 points in the single-thread benchmark and 48,713 points in the multi-thread test.
Those numbers place the Core Ultra 7 251HX slightly ahead of the Core Ultra 7 255HX and Core Ultra 7 265HX entries currently listed in PassMark. While the gap is small, the result stands out because both competing processors feature 20-core configurations, whereas the 251HX carries 18 cores.
The Core Ultra 7 251HX sits between the Core Ultra 5 245HX and Core Ultra 7 255HX in Intel’s Arrow Lake-HX lineup. The processor combines six Performance cores with twelve Efficient cores and reaches boost frequencies of up to 5.1GHz.
A comparison with the Core Ultra 5 245HX shows where much of the additional performance comes from. Both processors feature six Performance cores, but the Core Ultra 7 251HX increases the Efficient-core count from eight to twelve. Based on the current PassMark entries, the additional four Efficient cores contribute to roughly 28 percent higher multi-threaded performance.
Single-thread performance remains equally competitive. The processor’s 4,666-point result places it among the fastest mobile chips currently listed in PassMark’s single-thread rankings and slightly ahead of the existing Core Ultra 7 255HX and 265HX results.
Earlier benchmark leaks pointed in a similar direction. Previous Cinebench R23 testing showed the Core Ultra 7 251HX outperforming the older Core i9-14900HX in certain power-limited workloads, highlighting efficiency improvements introduced with Intel’s Arrow Lake architecture.
Intel launch the processor with 30MB of Smart Cache, support for up to 256GB of DDR5-6400 memory, a 55W processor base power rating, and a maximum turbo power rating of 160W.
The chip has already started appearing in upcoming gaming laptops from manufacturers such as Lenovo and MSI. That places it in a category where strong multi-core performance remains important for gaming, content creation, software development, and workstation workloads.
There is one limitation attached to the current benchmark data. PassMark’s database contains only two submissions for the Core Ultra 7 251HX at the time of writing, and the listing carries a high margin-of-error warning. Additional entries may shift the average score as more systems reach reviewers and consumers.
Even with the limited sample size, the first PassMark results show the Core Ultra 7 251HX operating in the same performance range as Intel’s 20-core Core Ultra 7 HX processors. If future submissions produce similar results, the 251HX could become a particularly attractive option for gaming laptops that do not require stepping up to a Core Ultra 9 model.
Sources: X (X86 is dead&back) & CPU Benchmark
