Intel Panther Lake-H Processor Debuts on ADLINK VNX+ SFF Motherboard #
Intel’s Panther Lake-H processor has officially surfaced on the newly announced ADLINK VNX+ SFF (Small Form Factor) industrial motherboard, codenamed VNX-PL. Despite its palm-sized design, the platform supports up to 16 cores and a 65W TDP, making it an ideal solution for industrial automation, defense, and aerospace applications.
Compared with Meteor Lake and the upcoming Arrow Lake, the Panther Lake-H introduces a new direction in Intel’s hybrid architecture strategy, focusing on energy efficiency and long-term availability for industrial-grade environments.
Intel Panther Lake-H Core Configuration #
The VNX-PL motherboard follows the VITA 90.x standard and offers two processor SKUs:
-
16-Core Model
- 4 × Cougar Cove P-Cores
- 8 × Darkmont E-Cores
- 4 × LP-E low-power cores
-
8-Core Model
- 4 × Cougar Cove P-Cores
- 4 × LP-E cores
Both SKUs operate within a 1W–65W TDP range, providing flexible power scaling for embedded use cases.
🔹 By comparison:
- Meteor Lake-H → Redwood Cove P-Cores + Crestmont E-Cores (laptop-focused)
- Arrow Lake-H → Lion Cove P-Cores + Skymont E-Cores (consumer-grade high performance)
- Panther Lake-H → Tailored for industrial and embedded reliability
Memory, Storage, and I/O Capabilities #
The Panther Lake-H platform ships with:
- Dual-channel LPDDR5X-8533 (16GB or 32GB onboard, non-upgradable)
- 1TB PCIe Gen4 x1 SSD
I/O and Expansion #
- 1 × 1GBase-KX control plane
- Optional PCIe Gen4 x4 or 2 × 10GBase-KX4 data planes
- 1 × PCIe Gen5 x8 expansion plane
- 1 × PCIe Gen4 x2 peripheral plane
- 1 × DisplayPort 2.1
- 2 × USB 3.2 ports
- QMC slot for modular expansion
This industrial-grade I/O setup emphasizes secure data exchange, high-speed connectivity, and customization.
PCIe, Security, and System Architecture #
According to ADLINK’s block diagram, Panther Lake-H integrates:
- 12 × PCIe Gen5 lanes
- 7 × PCIe Gen4 lanes
- 1 × PCIe Gen2 lane
Additionally, it supports TPM 2.0 security modules, ensuring secure boot, encryption, and system manageability—critical features for defense and aerospace sectors.
This design delivers higher bandwidth and enhanced security compared to Meteor Lake, solidifying Intel’s push into the next-generation industrial computing market.
Intel 18A Process Node and Xe3 Graphics #
One of the biggest highlights: Panther Lake-H is among the first processors built on Intel’s 18A process node.
Key advancements include:
- Hybrid 16-core architecture → P-Cores + E-Cores + LP-E cores
- Integrated Xe3 (Celestial) GPU with up to 12 Xe cores
- 50% more cores vs. Lunar Lake’s Xe2
- Significant graphics performance uplift for embedded visualization workloads
Market Availability and Positioning #
- Panther Lake-H small-batch availability → Q4 2025
- Industrial motherboards with Panther Lake-H → Early 2026
Unlike Meteor Lake (consumer laptop focus) and Arrow Lake (high-performance laptops and desktops), Panther Lake-H is specifically positioned for long-term, stable supply in industrial and embedded applications.
Its power flexibility, hybrid-core balance, and reliability-first design make it a key milestone in Intel’s roadmap for compact, energy-efficient computing platforms.
Conclusion #
Intel’s Panther Lake-H bridges the gap between consumer-grade hybrid CPUs and industrial-grade embedded solutions.
- Meteor Lake → First step into chiplet + hybrid architectures
- Arrow Lake → Enhanced consumer-grade performance
- Panther Lake-H → Purpose-built for industrial reliability & efficiency
With production boards expected in 2026, Intel is set to strengthen its competitive edge in industrial computing, offering high performance-per-watt, scalability, and security for mission-critical environments.