Intel Core 7 250U

The Core 7 250U is a low-power laptop chip built on Intel's Raptor Lake design and the Intel 7 process. It has the same core layout as the Core 7 150U: 2 performance cores and 8 efficient cores, 12 threads in total. The performance cores boost up to 5.4 GHz and the efficient cores up to 4.0 GHz. It is soldered to the motherboard, so you choose it by choosing the laptop. Memory support covers DDR5-5200, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5/x-6400 and LPDDR4x-4267 in two channels, up to 96 GB, and it supports Thunderbolt 4.

The 250U is the faster of Intel's two Core Series 2 U-series parts, with higher clocks than the Core 5 220U on the same 10-core layout. Browsing, office apps, video calls and streaming feel quick, and short bursts of work such as opening apps benefit from the 5.4 GHz boost. With only 2 performance cores, long exports, rendering and big code builds still take longer than on H-series chips. Intel rates it at 15 W base power, 12 W minimum and up to 55 W turbo, so thicker laptops with better cooling hold their speed longer.

The integrated Intel Graphics has 96 execution units at up to 1.3 GHz and supports up to 4 displays. That is enough for 4K video, multi-monitor office work and light photo editing, and older or lighter games at low settings. There is no NPU on this chip, so it cannot meet the 40 TOPS NPU requirement for Copilot+ PC features, and AI effects run on the CPU or GPU instead.

The Core 7 250U is essentially a renamed Core 7 150U with the same core layout and no NPU, so the two perform as near equals. The Core i7-1355U is the older 13th Gen chip in the same class. Against AMD, the Ryzen 7 250 and Ryzen 7 7730U offer 8 full-size cores and 16 threads, which gives them an edge in multi-threaded work. The Core 5 220U is the cheaper sibling with lower clocks. The comparison pages below show each spec side by side.

It is a good pick for a business or everyday laptop if the price is lower than Core Ultra models with similar screens and memory. It is responsive for office work and browsing and supports Thunderbolt 4. If you want Copilot+ features, a built-in NPU or stronger graphics for casual gaming, look at Core Ultra 200V, Core Ultra Series 3 or Ryzen AI laptops instead. Aim for at least 16 GB of dual-channel memory.