Who Delivers the Most Performance for the Least Battery Drain?
Methodology
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We gather real-world laptop reviews and note the average power draw under full load.
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We compare that figure with Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 multi-core scores.
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We divide “points” by watts to get a Performance-per-Watt index (PvW).
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Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H is our baseline and gets 100 PvW points; everything else is relative to it.
Quick Ranking
| # | Processor | Arch / Cores | Typical Load Power | PvW Index | Battery-Life Record* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snapdragon X Elite | 12 × Oryon | 23 W | 165 | 21 h 31 min |
| 2 | Snapdragon X Plus | 10 × Oryon | 25 W | 144 | 12 h 15 min |
| 3 | Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake) | 4 P + 4 E | 28 W | 132 | ~16 h |
| 4 | Core Ultra 9 288V (Lunar Lake) | 4 P + 4 E | 30 W | 127 | 14–15 h |
| 5 | Ryzen AI 9 365 (Strix Point) | 10 × Zen 5/5c | 28 W | 121 | 13 h + |
| 6 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | 4 × Zen 5 + 8 × Zen 5c | 35 W | 117 | 11–12 h |
| 7 | Core Ultra 7 155H (Meteor Lake) | 6 P + 8 E + 2 LP | 28 W | 100 | up to 21 h |
| 8 | Ryzen 7 8840HS (Hawk Point) | 8 × Zen 4 | 28 W | 92 | 9–10 h |
| 9 | Core Ultra 5 125U (Meteor Lake-U) | 2 P + 8 E + 2 LP | 15 W | 87 | 14 h + |
| 10 | Core Ultra 5 226V (Lunar Lake, 15 W) | 4 P | 15 W | 85 | 15 h + |
* Web browsing at ~150 nits display brightness.
Deep Dive
1–2. Snapdragon X Elite & X Plus
Qualcomm finally beats the x86 world not just in synthetic scores but in real-world uptime. The 12 big Oryon cores in X Elite rival beefy 45-watt chips while sipping just 23 W. Even better, clock speeds hardly drop on battery, so office workloads can last a full day. X Plus is slightly slower but cheaper, likely making it the mainstream ultrabook choice.
3–4. Intel Lunar Lake
New Lion Cove + Skymont cores plus ultra-fast on-package LPDDR5X pay off: the Core Ultra 7 258V at 28 W pushes about 30 % more work than Meteor Lake. The 9-series part clocks higher but needs 30 W, shaving off a little efficiency.
5–6. AMD Ryzen AI 300
AMD mixes Zen 5 and Zen 5c. At 28 W, the Ryzen AI 9 365 jumps past last year’s 7840HS and nearly catches Lunar Lake, while packing a 50 TOPS NPU. The HX 370 cranks clocks further but moves to 35 W, so its PvW drops a bit.
7. Core Ultra 7 155H
Our reference point. In modular laptops like the Framework 13.5 it shows Meteor Lake’s ace: a cluster of super-low-power LP E-cores that keep idle drain tiny, giving superb standby and video playback life.
8. Ryzen 7 8840HS
Hawk Point is a tuned-up Phoenix. The Radeon 780M iGPU still rules light gaming, but Zen 4 cores no longer top the efficiency charts.
9–10. Chips for Ultra-Thin Laptops
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Core Ultra 5 125U hits a sweet 15 W TDP, about one-third faster than the older i5-1235U.
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Core Ultra 5 226V (early Lunar Lake 15 W sample) trails slightly for now, but retail silicon could leapfrog Meteor Lake-U.
What Does It Mean for Buyers?
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Maximum runtime & near-silence — pick a laptop with Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus. Only caveat: make sure your critical x86 apps emulate well.
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Balanced “work-game-battery” mix — 28 W Lunar Lake or Ryzen AI 9 365. Both offer strong CPU, robust NPU, and restrained thermals.
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Tight budget & feather-weight chassis — Core Ultra 5 125U. Not a speed demon, but quiet and long-lasting.
2025 Trends at a Glance
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ARM has caught up on raw performance and surged ahead on efficiency. Long gone are the “only good in sleep mode” ARM laptops.
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x86 strikes back with hybrid cores and on-package memory. Intel and AMD are pushing perf-per-watt sharply upward through fresh micro-architectures and powerful NPUs.
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NPUs are no longer marketing fluff. In Adobe, Zoom, and Windows Studio Effects, dedicated AI blocks genuinely save a few watts — and thus precious battery minutes.
Bottom Line
For the first time in years, buyers have a real choice: an ultra-long-lasting ARM notebook, a muscular hybrid x86 machine, or an ultra-light 15-watt Meteor/Lunar Lake model. Pick the platform whose strengths align with your software and daily workflow.