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AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX vs Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus: Comparison
AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX vs Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus: the l3 cache difference
Start with l3 cache, because it is the widest measured gap between them: AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX 64 MB against Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus 36 MB, 44% in favour of AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX. The benchmark result agrees. Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core) puts Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus 2% ahead, 2,104 against 2,058. Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus also leads on l2 cache, 16 MB on the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX versus 40 MB on the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus.
Who each one is for
The AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX suits gaming laptops and mobile content creation, though it is not built for thin-and-light ultraportables and all-day battery life needs. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus is the one to take for flagship gaming laptops with high-end graphics cards and mobile workstations for video editing, 3D rendering and code builds, though it is the wrong buy for thin and light laptops where battery life comes first and copilot+ PC AI features, which need a 40+ TOPS NPU. It is the wrong buy for gamers on a budget, where a Core Ultra 7 HX laptop gets close for less.
What AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus have in common
Everything else lines up. Tdp, integrated graphics, form factor, market segment and memory channels read the same on both, so those are not worth weighing. They match on 2 further specifications as well.
Do the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus differ on total cores?
Yes. Total Cores reads 16 on the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX versus 24 on the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus.
Is the ECC Support the same on the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus?
It is. Both are listed at No, so it is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Specs and benchmarks
Form Factor
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Laptop
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Laptop
Codename
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Fire Range
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Arrow Lake
Release Year
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 2025
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 2026
TDP
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 55 W
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 55 W
iGPU
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- AMD Radeon 610M
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Intel Graphics
Market Segment
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Laptop
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Laptop
Microarchitecture
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Zen 5 (Fire Range)
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Arrow Lake
Socket
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- FL1
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- FCBGA2114
Process Node
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- TSMC 4nm FinFET
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 3 nm
Total Cores
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 16
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 24Best
Performance Cores
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 16Best
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 8
Efficiency Cores
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 0
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 16Best
Total Threads
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 32Best
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 24
SMT Enabled
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Yes
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- No
P-Core Base Clock
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 2.5 GHz
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 2.7 GHz
P-Core Boost Clock
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 5.4 GHz
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 5.5 GHz
L2 Cache
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 16 MB-60%
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 40 MBBest
L3 Cache
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 64 MBBest
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 36 MB-44%
Base Power
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 55-75W
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 55 W
Max Turbo Power
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 75 W
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 160 W
Max Operating Temp
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 100 C
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 105 C
Memory Type
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- DDR5, 2-Channel
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- DDR5 up to 6400 MT/s
Max Memory Speed
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 5600 MT/s
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 6400 MT/sBest
Memory Channels
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 2
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 2
Max Memory Capacity
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 96 GB
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 256 GBBest
ECC Support
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- No
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- No
Integrated Graphics
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Yes
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Yes
iGPU Model
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- AMD Radeon 610M
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Intel Graphics
iGPU Compute Units
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 2
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 4
Copilot Plus Certified
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- No
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- No
PCIe Generation
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- PCIe 5.0
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- PCIe 5.0 and 4.0
PCIe Lanes
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 28
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 24-14%
Retail Availability
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- Tray OEM
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Soldered Only
Benchmarks
- General CPU
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 2,058-2%
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 2,104Best
Renders a 3D scene on every core. Shows speed in rendering and other heavy work.
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
- 132-6%
- Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- 140Best
Renders a 3D scene on one core. Shows how quick the CPU feels in everyday apps and games.
Which one should you pick?
Choose 9955HX if you want the higher L3 cache (64 MB vs 36 MB), the higher memory channels (2 vs 2) and the higher PCIe lanes (28 vs 24).
Choose 290HX Plus if you want the higher L2 cache (40 MB vs 16 MB), the higher cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core) (2,104 vs 2,058) and the higher cinebench 2024 (Single-Core) (140 vs 132).
Verdict
AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX
8.5 / 10 Expert Rating
The AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX delivers desktop-class multi-core performance in a laptop form factor, ideal for demanding gaming and creation workloads.