What you need to know
- Intel announced its Core Ultra Series 2 “Lunar Lake” mobile processors on September 3, 2024.
- The first laptops with the next-gen chips, including the ASUS Zenbook S 14 we tested, are now on sale.
- Best Buy has dedicated a full page for the Lunar Lake launch, with six laptops from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung.
- My Best Buy membership holders can land extra perks like free two-day shipping, extended return windows, extra tech support, and more.
Windows laptops powered by Intel’s next-gen “Lunar Lake” mobile processors (CPU) have now entered the market. The new Core Ultra Series 2 chips had long been rumored before the official Lunar Lake announcement on September 3 at IFA 2024, but Intel officially unveiled them as the “most efficient family of x86 processors ever.”
With the newfound efficiency — undoubtedly designed to directly compete with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 — comes improved computing performance, better AI efficiency thanks to more TOPS for the Neural Processing Unit (NPU), and a huge leap in integrated graphics power.
And with the recent announcement that Core Ultra Series 2 systems are getting Copilot+ access starting in November, you’re no longer forced onto an ARM64 platform for Windows on ARM with Snapdragon X.
Best Buy isn’t shy about showing off the new Intel laptops. A Lunar Lake launch page at Best Buy contains a snazzy product brief and links to currently available Series 2 laptops, including the ASUS Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) that Windows Central Editor Ben Wilson is testing for review.
Best Buy is the place to go for new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptops
While the new Core Ultra Series 2 laptops are usually available from their respective manufacturer websites, shopping at Best Buy has some distinct perks. That’s especially true if you subscribe to a paid tier of the My Best Buy membership plan.
The free tier gets you free shipping. Just sign up with an email address and go. But for $49.99 per year, My Best Buy Plus upgrades it to free two-day shipping. You’ll also see exclusive member pricing in some areas, access to otherwise blocked deals, and an extended 60-day return window.
If you find yourself frequently shopping at Best Buy, the My Best Buy Total plan for $179.99 per year might be the way to go. It has all of the My Best Buy Plus perks, plus it adds better protection plans, 24/7 tech support, VIP support, and cheaper device repairs.
Here’s a look at the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 Copilot+ laptops now available at Best Buy, including options from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung.
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A look at Intel Core Ultra Series 2 mobile CPUs
There are a total of nine new Core Ultra Series 2 mobile chips, all with eight cores and eight threads. The main differences come in the CPU base power — either 17W or 30W — as well as integrated GPU and CPU clock frequency.
Which chip you need depends on your workflow. Core Ultra 9 and Core Ultra 7 chips are great for multitasking and stronger GPU performance, though they use more power and, of course, cost more. For a lot of people, the Core Ultra 5 Series 2 chips will be more than enough for everyday computing.
Here’s a look at the nine Core Ultra Series 2 mobile chips. It’s worth noting that all chips have eight cores, eight threads, and a 37W maximum TDP, so I’ve omitted those stats from the following chart.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Max Turbo Frequency (P Cores) | Max Turbo Frequency (E Cores) | Max GPU Frequency | Intel Smart Cache | Integrated GPU | Base Power |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 288V | 5.1GHz | 3.7GHz | Up to 2.05GHz | 12MB | Intel Arc 140V | 30W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 268V | 5.0GHz | 3.7GHz | Up to 2.0GHz | 12MB | Intel Arc 140V | 30W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 266V | 5.0GHz | 3.7GHz | Up to 2.0GHz | 12MB | Intel Arc 140V | 30W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 258V | 4.8GHz | 3.7GHz | Up to 1.95GHz | 12MB | Intel Arc 140V | 30W |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 256V | 4.8GHz | 3.7GHz | Up to 1.95GHz | 12MB | Intel Arc 140V | 17W |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 238V | 4.7GHz | 3.5GHz | Up to 1.85GHz | 8MB | Intel Arc 130V | 17W |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 236V | 4.7GHz | 3.5GHz | Up to 1.85GHz | 8MB | Intel Arc 130V | 17W |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 228V | 4.5GHz | 3.5GHz | Up to 1.85GHz | 8MB | Intel Arc 130V | 17W |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 226V | 4.5GHz | 3.5GHz | Up to 1.85GHz | 8MB | Intel Arc 130V | 17W |
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Our hands-on experience with the ASUS Zenbook S 14 (UX5406)
Windows Central Editor Ben Wilson received the ASUS Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) to test and benchmark, and while the full review is still in progress, he wrote about his hands-on experiences with the premium Copilot+ laptop.
The model he’s testing includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU, 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM, 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and a 14-inch OLED display with 3K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It’s shaping up to be an awesome AI PC, with performance and efficiency to compete with Qualcomm and AMD.
Here’s a look at some initial benchmarks collected by Wilson, in comparison to other laptops we’ve recently tested.
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The Core Ultra 7 258V sits near the middle of the pack of new Lunar Lake chips, so you can scale performance up or down. As for battery life, here’s what Wilson has to say:
Cutting right to the chase: Yes, the “up to 20 hours of battery life” claim is entirely legitimate. I kept the Zenbook S 14 on the ‘Balanced’ power plan, as it comes out of the box, and left the brightness around a comfortable 40%, which feels like 150 nits, based on my history of testing laptops, but I’ll confirm an exact amount later. Running various battery life benchmark tests in PCMark 10 and performing my own by leaving a 24-hour 4K video streaming via YouTube, a Windows battery report estimates 15 hours and 26 minutes “based on all observed drains since OS install.”
With Copilot+ coming to these new Intel laptops in November (it’s also coming to AMD Ryzen AI 300 laptops), Windows users now have more variety than ever when shopping for an AI PC. Keep an eye out for more Lunar Lake laptop reviews here on Windows Central in the coming weeks.
