Intel Core Ultra X7 358H socket: BGA 2540

What the Core Ultra X7 358H is

The Intel Core Ultra X7 358H is a 16-core, 16-thread mobile processor that Intel launched in January 2026 as the second X7 member of Core Ultra Series 3, the family codenamed Panther Lake. Its four Cougar Cove Performance-cores run at 1.9 GHz and reach up to 4.8 GHz, while eight Darkmont Efficient-cores cover parallel work at 1.5 GHz and up to 3.5 GHz and four low-power Efficient-cores handle background tasks at 1.5 GHz and up to 3.3 GHz. All sixteen cores share 18 MB of Intel Smart Cache, and with no Hyper-Threading the thread count matches the core count at sixteen.

Graphics and AI acceleration match the faster X7 above it. Intel Arc B390 graphics with twelve Xe3 cores runs at up to 2.5 GHz with 122 TOPS of Int8 throughput for gaming, video editing and creation work without a discrete GPU. A discrete NPU adds 50 TOPS for background blur, noise suppression and other on-device AI features that run without waking the CPU cores. Intel builds the compute tile on the Intel 18A process, while the graphics tile uses TSMC N3E, and the chip is rated at 25 W of processor base power with up to 80 W of maximum turbo power.

The 358H is the value route into the big-GPU tier. It keeps the twelve Xe3 cores, the 9600 MT/s memory ceiling and the 18 MB cache of the 368H while trimming 200 MHz from the Performance-core peak and stepping down the Efficient-core clocks. Laptop makers use that gap to price thinner or lighter designs below the flagship without giving up the graphics that carry games and accelerated creation tasks.

Inside the wider family the 358H sits between the 5.0 GHz 368H above and the standard H processors below, which trade the large GPU for a four-core GPU with more PCIe lanes. Buyers who play or create on integrated graphics get nearly the whole flagship experience here, while buyers who rely on discrete graphics look to the non-X H parts instead.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Core Ultra X7 358H is soldered to its board in the BGA 2540 ball grid array, so there is no socket to plug into and the chip cannot be replaced or upgraded later. The 2,540-ball joint is made once at the factory on a 50 × 25 mm FCBGA2540 package, and each laptop or compact board design is qualified around this exact SKU for its whole service life.

There is no board or chipset choice in the retail sense. The system vendor selects the memory capacity, sets the power policy between the 15 W minimum assured power and the 80 W turbo ceiling, and validates the thermal design for that envelope. Firmware, drivers and the NPU software stack come from the same vendor, so buyers compare finished systems rather than motherboards.

The BGA 2540 footprint is shared with the other Panther Lake H processors and the Arc G3 handheld parts, from 12-core mainstream SKUs to 16-core flagships. Sharing a package does not create an upgrade path, since moving between SKUs still means a different board build with different firmware and validation. Shoppers decide between the 358H and the 368H at purchase based on price and peak clock needs.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is dual-channel LPDDR5X up to 9600 MT/s, with up to 96 GB depending on the design, and the fitted capacity is fixed when the board is built. The 9600 MT/s ceiling matches the fastest memory in the Panther Lake H family and it feeds both the CPU cores and the large Arc B390 GPU, which shares system RAM. Capacity planning belongs at purchase time because most thin designs solder the memory next to the processor.

Expansion comes from twelve PCIe lanes out of the processor across PCI Express 5.0 and 4.0, split as four Gen 5 lanes plus eight Gen 4 lanes, with Thunderbolt 4 for docks and fast external storage. In practice those lanes serve NVMe storage and high speed peripherals, while display output runs through the integrated graphics with eDP 1.5, DisplayPort 2.1 and HDMI 2.1. The exact lane split and port list are set per system design, so the vendor specification governs what each chassis exposes.

Cooling is a system responsibility across the 15 W to 80 W span. Four Performance-cores plus twelve Xe3 cores make sustained all-core and gaming loads the hardest case for a thin chassis, so fan and heatsink choice decides how long the chip holds peak clocks. There is no boxed cooler and no retail heatsink list for a soldered mobile processor, and power policy in firmware decides the balance between fan noise and speed.

Upgrade paths

There is no CPU upgrade path on a soldered package. When sixteen cores stop being enough, the step is a new system, since the 358H already carries the large GPU and only higher clocked X parts sit above it on the same socket, and those still mean a different board. Memory size changes mean a new board for the same reason, so buyers who keep large projects resident should size up at purchase.

Moving off BGA 2540 means a new platform. Higher power designs with socketed desktop or HX mobile processors serve sustained workstation loads, while standard H processors with smaller graphics and more PCIe lanes serve laptops built around discrete GPUs. The LGA, PGA and BGA: CPU package types explained guide explains how soldered packages differ from socketed ones and why the whole device is the unit of replacement here.