Core Ultra 5 338H: CPU benchmarks and laptop guide

The Intel Core Ultra 5 338H is a Panther Lake processor from Intel's 2026 lineup — twelve cores on a 3 nm-class process — and 20 matched models in the catalog carry it. Judged purely as a processor, it meets the recommended CPU requirement in 49 of the 69 games the catalog tracks. This guide covers where the chip ranks among laptop CPUs, what it delivers, and the current-generation laptops built around it.

Where the Core Ultra 5 338H sits in 2026

A catalog score of 60.81 places the chip 159th of 741 scored laptop CPUs — the upper quarter of the table. The neighborhood: the Ryzen AI 9 465 (61), Core i3-1215U (60.9) and Core i5-11300H (60.9) just above, the Ryzen 7 8745HS (60.8) alongside, and the Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U and Ryzen 7 260 (both 60.5) just below. Outranking a Ryzen AI 9-branded chip and an eight-core Ryzen 7 while carrying an Ultra 5 badge is the headline: like other 2026 value parts, this chip competes a tier above its naming.

What the chip brings

Panther Lake gives the 338H 12 cores and 12 threads on a 3 nm-class process — one of the most advanced nodes in the catalog — in a modest 25 W H-class envelope. Clocks run from 1.9 GHz base to 4.7 GHz boost. The wide core layout at low power is the design's whole point: throughput without the heat. The PassMark overall score of 28,670 is strong for this power class and backs up the upper-quartile ranking.

Games: CPU-side readiness

Measured as a processor only, the chip clears the recommended CPU tier for 49 of 69 cataloged games — including Counter-Strike 2, Star Wars Jedi Survivor, Metro Exodus, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Returnal, Black Myth Wukong, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part 1, Dead Space Remake, Dying Light 2, Grand Theft Auto V, God of War and Civilization 6. Another 18 titles sit at the minimum tier: Call of Duty: Warzone, Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, Fortnite, Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, Alan Wake 2, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Witcher 3 among them. Only Starfield and Helldivers 2 ask for more processor than this. These verdicts are CPU-only: actual playability depends on the laptop's GPU and RAM, so check the graphics configuration on the specific model before buying for games.

Laptops that carry it

The 20-model roster is entirely 2026 hardware spread across three tiers. Dell's Pro 5 in 14- and 16-inch sizes anchors the value end at $900; Lenovo's ThinkPad T14 Gen 7, T16 Gen 5, X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition and X9 15p Gen 1 form the $1,300 business core; and the premium band holds the Microsoft Surface Laptop 8 15 and HP's OmniBook Ultra 14, OmniBook 5 14 and OmniBook 7 14 at $1,400, with the Dell Pro Precision 5 14S and 16S workstations at $2,200 as the ceiling. The laptops built around it typically show a median office comfort score of a perfect 100, a gaming index of 75 with a best GPU score of 45.85, photo and design capability at 76, mobility of 68.5 and portability of 71.15 — a strong all-around modern fleet.

Bottom line

The Core Ultra 5 338H is one of the better value propositions among 2026 chips: upper-quartile ranking, 49 of 69 games cleared at the recommended CPU tier, and a 25 W envelope that suits both business ultrabooks and premium consumer machines. The roster runs from $900 Dells to $2,200 precision workstations, all with flawless median office comfort and respectable graphics medians. It is not an enthusiast part — the catalog score says upper quarter, not top ten — but for a buyer wanting a modern, efficient laptop that handles the vast majority of the game catalog at recommended CPU settings, this chip and its fleet deserve a shortlist spot.