Core Ultra 7 256V: CPU benchmarks and laptop guide

The Intel Core Ultra 7 256V is the value half of the Lunar Lake pair — the same 17 W efficiency-first design as the 258V, and 47 catalog models carry it. An 8-core chip on a 3 nm-class process, it meets the recommended CPU requirement in 68 of the 69 games the catalog tracks. This guide covers where it sits among laptop CPUs, what it brings, and which laptops carry it.

Where the Core Ultra 7 256V sits in 2026

A catalog score of 83.9 places the chip 31st of 672 scored laptop CPUs — the top five percent from a 17 W envelope. The neighborhood: the Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (86), Ryzen 7 PRO 7840HS (84.7) and Core Ultra 7 268V (84.3) just above, its own sibling Core Ultra 7 258V (83.9) alongside, the Ryzen 5 7640HS (82.6) and Ryzen AI 5 340 (82.5) just below. The identical score to the 258V is the story: Intel priced these SKUs apart while the catalog's data barely separates them — buy whichever laptop is cheaper.

What the chip brings

The Lunar Lake formula: 8 cores and 8 threads on a 3 nm-class process at a 17 W P-class rating, 2.2 GHz base and up to 4.8 GHz boost. The Arc Graphics 140V integrated tile runs 300–1,950 MHz; on-package memory means the laptop ships with its RAM ceiling fixed. GeekBench places the chip at 2,408 single-core and 9,600 multi-core — effectively the same figures as the 258V, confirming the SKU gap is one of branding rather than silicon.

Games: CPU-side readiness

As a processor, the chip clears the recommended CPU tier for 68 of 69 cataloged games — Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy and Fortnite among them. The lone exception is Starfield, above its minimum but under its recommended CPU requirement. As always these verdicts measure the CPU alone: this fleet runs integrated graphics, so demanding titles stay GPU-bound no matter how comfortably the processor clears.

Laptops that carry it

The 47-model roster mirrors the 258V's: Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro and Galaxy Book 5 360, Acer Swift Edge and Swift Go OLED at $1,232, the Vivobook 14/16 Flip convertibles at $1,275, with the Aspire 14/16 AI at $765 as the value entries and Lenovo's 2026 IdeaPad Slim 5i Ultra at $1,400 the newest. Roster medians are the Lunar Lake signature: mobility 86 and energy efficiency 92.5 with office comfort a perfect 100 — and gaming index 19 with a zero best-GPU median, the honest cost of the thin-and-light design.

Bottom line

The Core Ultra 7 256V is the practical Lunar Lake buy: catalog-identical performance to the 258V at one notch lower positioning, top-five-percent rank from 17 W, and a portable-first roster from $765. It suits the buyer whose priorities are battery life, weight and a silent machine — not frame rates. Where the same money needs to move pixels, the H-class Ultra 9 185H next door is the better spend; the compare pages between the two spell out the difference.