Core Ultra 7 155H or 255H for Multitaskers Who Need AI?

Core Ultra 7 155H and Core Ultra 7 255H both belong to Intel's AI PC lineup, but they are built on entirely different architectures: Meteor Lake-H and Arrow Lake-H. One easily overlooked detail: the 255H drops Hyper-Threading on its P-cores, falling to 16 threads instead of the 155H's 22, yet its multi-core score is nearly 19% higher in real-world Cinebench testing. Both chips have an NPU under 40 TOPS, so neither meets the Copilot+ standard. If you are wondering whether it is worth replacing your laptop, the numbers below will answer that more clearly than any advertisement.

Core Ultra 7 155H vs. 255H

Going by the names, you might assume the two chips are only a small generation apart, but inside they are very different designs. The Core Ultra 7 155H uses the Meteor Lake-H architecture (Intel 4), with 6 P-cores + 8 E-cores + 2 LP-E-cores, for a total of 16 cores and 22 threads. Its P-cores still have Hyper-Threading, which is why its thread count is much higher. The Core Ultra 7 255H moves to Arrow Lake-H, which also has 16 cores but only 16 threads, because Intel removed HT in this generation. On paper, fewer threads sounds worse, but in practice the opposite is true.

In Cinebench R23, the 155H scored 1.743 in single-core and 15.028 in multi-core, while the 255H scored 2.061 single-core and 17.845 multi-core, meaning the 255H leads by roughly 18-19% in both single-core and multi-core despite having fewer threads. Geekbench 6 tells the same story: the 255H reaches 2.866,5 single-core and 15.223 multi-core, versus 2.409 and 12.385 for the 155H, a multi-core gap of nearly 23%. These are real-world benchmarks from Notebookcheck, not the manufacturer's paper figures.

As for the NPU, the built-in AI processing block, the 155H has 11 TOPS while the 255H reaches 13 TOPS. Neither reaches the 40 TOPS threshold Microsoft requires for Copilot+. That means Windows 11 Copilot+ AI features such as Recall or real-time Live Captions will not work fully on laptops with these two chips. The 255H's iGPU, the Intel Arc 140T (Xe+, 128 shaders), is clearly stronger than the 155H's 8-core Xe Arc, especially for light graphics output or running local AI on the GPU.

Real-World Performance and Which Laptops Use Them

High or low, a benchmark only matters if you know what you will use the machine for. For ordinary office work such as Word, Excel, video calls, and web browsing with many tabs, both chips run smoothly and you will not notice a difference. But when rendering 4K video, compiling large codebases, or running local AI models, the nearly 19% multi-core gap of the 255H starts to show. A task that takes the Core Ultra 7 155H 4 minutes might finish in about 3 minutes 20 seconds on the 255H, which adds up to quite a lot of saved time over a full day.

On real-world battery life, the ThinkPad P16s Gen 3 uses the 155H with a 57Wh battery and lasts roughly 5 to 8 hours of office and web use; with the RTX 500 Ada dGPU active, it is noticeably lower. The ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 uses the 255H (with an optional Ultra 5 225H from the same Arrow Lake-H generation) and a larger battery, and it does well on an IPS display, reaching roughly 7 to 10 hours of real-world office use. These figures depend heavily on whether the display is OLED or IPS, and on whether the dGPU is on.

The ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 line comes with DDR5 6400MHz RAM and a PCIe Gen 5 SSD, clearly faster than the previous generation in memory. The Arc 140T in the 255H also posts a Fire Strike score of 8.663,5 and a Time Spy score of 3.843, enough for light graphics workloads without a dGPU. That is a practical plus for people who work on the move and do not want to carry a thick, heavy adapter. The Lenovo ThinkPad T1G Gen 8, with 64GB of LPCAMM2 RAM and a 2TB PCIe Gen 5 SSD, is the high-end version of the Arrow Lake-H family for anyone who needs a broader range of configurations.

Which Chip You Need Based on Your Actual Work

The Core Ultra 7 155H is still a perfectly capable choice if your work does not involve heavy rendering or compiling. Laptops with this chip, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 3, have a big advantage in the standard Arc iGPU paired with the optional RTX 500 Ada for technical graphics work. For a mobile workstation handling 3D CAD, engineering simulation, or product render work, the dGPU configuration matters more than raw CPU performance, and a 155H with an RTX 500 Ada still serves well.

The 255H is a better fit if you need high raw CPU speed, use software that demands strong single-core performance such as programming or heavy data analysis, or want an iGPU strong enough to skip the dGPU in most situations. The roughly 18% single-core gap also has practical meaning when launching apps, in UI responsiveness, and in quick editing operations. However, neither chip reaches Copilot+, so if your main reason for upgrading is to get the new Windows 11 AI features, you should look at chips with an NPU of 40 TOPS or more.

If you are using an older Intel 11th or 12th generation laptop, moving up to the 255H is a worthwhile jump. But if you already have a 155H machine and your work is not clearly bottlenecked, a gap of nearly 19% in multi-core is not enough reason to replace it right away, unless you need something else specific such as ports, a new display, or a larger SSD.

Right now Hung Phat has the Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 3 in stock (155H chip, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, 16-inch WUXGA IPS display, optional RTX 500 Ada) at around 24 to 30 million VND; the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 with the 255H, DDR5 6400MHz RAM, and a PCIe Gen 5 SSD, at around 35 to 40 million VND; and the higher-spec ThinkPad T1G Gen 8 2026 with up to 64GB of LPCAMM2 RAM and a 2TB SSD, at about 99 million VND. You can visit Hung Phat in Ho Chi Minh City to see the machines in person, or get in touch for advice on a configuration that fits your budget.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

For 4K video rendering, how much real-world time difference is there between these two chips?

Based on Cinebench R23 multi-core, the 255H scores 17.845 against the 155H's 15.028, a difference of about 18,8%. For 4K video exported with CPU-dependent software such as Handbrake, a 30-minute clip that the 155H processes in 20 minutes could be finished by the 255H in about 16 to 17 minutes. That gap adds up considerably if you render every day. However, if your software supports GPU acceleration, such as Premiere Pro with NVENC, a machine with a dGPU like the ThinkPad P16s Gen 3 with its RTX 500 Ada will cut render time much more, whether it has the 155H or the 255H.

For all-day battery life, which chip lasts longer?

The 155H in the ThinkPad P16s Gen 3 with a 57Wh battery lasts about 5 to 8 hours of office and web use, depending on screen brightness and background apps. With the RTX 500 Ada dGPU on, battery life drops noticeably. The 255H in the ThinkPad T16 Gen 4, with a larger battery and an IPS display, can reach about 7 to 10 hours under the same conditions. Both chips support flexible TDP adjustment from 28W up to 115W, so battery life depends more on how the OEM configures power limits and on the display type than on the chip itself.

What AI features can an 11 TOPS or 13 TOPS NPU actually run on Windows 11?

Neither the 155H nor the 255H reaches the 40 TOPS threshold Microsoft requires for Copilot+, which means features such as Recall, offline Live Captions, or fully accelerated AI Image Creator will not work. NPUs of 11 and 13 TOPS mainly support small background tasks such as microphone noise suppression, automatic camera adjustment in video meetings, or third-party apps that support OpenVINO. If AI is your main reason to upgrade, look at chips with an NPU of 40 TOPS or more from the Lunar Lake generation or Snapdragon X Elite.

Is upgrading from an Intel 11th or 12th generation laptop to the Core Ultra 7 255H worth it?

If your old machine uses a Core i7-11xxx or 12xxx, the jump to the 255H (Arrow Lake-H) brings roughly 40-60% higher multi-core performance and a noticeably stronger iGPU. In particular, the DDR5 6400MHz RAM and PCIe Gen 5 SSD in the ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 make the whole system respond considerably faster. If your current machine is working well and is not clearly bottlenecked, there is no need to replace it in a hurry, but when you do need a replacement, this is a substantial upgrade.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mina

Technology Editor

Mina is Hung Phat Laptop's AI editorial assistant, helping compile and write reviews, tech news and tips about laptops, PCs and mobile devices. Content is built from official manufacturer specs, reputable sources and real customer feedback, and is reviewed by the Hung Phat technical team before publishing to make sure it is accurate, objective and useful.

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