Here are some of the first pictures of the retail boxes of the Intel Core Ultra 200-series "Arrow Lake-S" 65 W desktop processors. Intel debuted the series with Unlocked K-series SKUs in October 2024, and will expand it in January 2025 with 65 W models that lack unlocked multipliers. The unlocked models lack any included stock cooling solution, while the 65 W models come with them. There's no word on what the coolers look like, but if we were to guess, Intel will reuse its Laminar series fan-heatsinks that it debuted with its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake."

The new Socket LGA1851 retains cooler compatibility with the previous LGA1700, which is why the company could reuse the Laminar series. The Core Ultra 9 65 W retail box appears the largest, and so it could include the Laminar RH1 cooler that's capable of cooling the processor as it draws its maximum turbo power. This cooler comes with some blue LED illumination. The Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 5 65 W retail boxes appear to have the same thickness, which means the two could include the mid-tier Laminar RM1 cooler. The RM1 has a slightly thinner heatsink, but comes with an illuminated ring along the bore of the fan-frame. If Intel launches a Core Ultra 3 series (successor to the Core i3), Intel will likely include the Laminar RS1, the lightest variant, which lacks any lighting. The first three pictures (below) show boxes of the standard variants of the 65 W SKUs, the 4th and 5th pics show the boxes of the "F" SKUs which lack integrated graphics.

Last week, we reported on a massive leak that gave us a glimpse at a surfeit of upcoming ROG gaming laptops from ASUS boasting Arrow Lake-HX and Strix Halo processors, along with RTX 50-series Laptop GPUs. The company has now gone ahead and officially teased its ROG Flow Z13 laptop and the ROG Strix 18 laptop, the videos for which were obtained by VideoCardz. Considering that these were just teasers, the details shared were sparse, but undoubtedly intriguing regardless.

The ROG Strix 18, will likely boast the Core Ultra 9 285HX and Core Ultra 9 275HX CPUs along with NVIDIA "Blackwell" Laptop GPUs, with up to an 175-watt RTX 5090 Laptop with 16 GB of GDDR7 VRAM. Multiple other GPU options will also be available, with the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU being the entry-point as per the leaked listings. Clearly, the Strix 18 is poised to be a powerful and power-hungry desktop replacement-class laptop, along with a massive 18-inch mini LED screen with a speedy 240 Hz refresh rate. Needless to say, the G18 has no intention of being affordable.

Motherboard vendor ASUS began rolling out UEFI firmware (BIOS) updates to its Intel Z890 motherboards that contain Intel's 0x114 Microcode update for Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors. The new microcode was touted as bringing in performance gains to gaming workloads across the board, with Intel saying that depending on the configuration, one could expect a "roughly 3-8% performance gain." The company said that motherboard vendors should begin releasing BIOS updates with 0x114 "starting January 2025," however, it seems like ASUS is ready with public "stable" (non-beta) BIOS updates with it. We use a ROG Maximus Z890 Hero in our "Arrow Lake-S" reviews, and so promptly grabbed the version 1203 BIOS from the ASUS website, and put it to the test. This also updates Intel ME (management engine) to v19.0.0.1827.

We added our performance testing numbers to our article from yesterday (December 19, 2024), where we had tested the Core Ultra 9 285K with the latest OS-level patches for Windows 11 24H2. Long story short, we do not notice any notable performance gains with the 0x114 microcode update. 0x114 was touted as providing users with additional performance gains after all the OS- and BIOS configuration related issues had been fixed. In its pre-brief from earlier this week, Intel said that the 0x114 microcode update represented additional performance gain opportunities that the company had discovered in the process of identifying and fixing the reasons why the processors fell significantly behind Intel's performance guidance in their launch reviews in October.

We recommend you to once again read our performance testing article from yesterday, we have updated the performance graphs with 0x114 microcode update numbers, and are in the process of providing additional commentary in the article. Here's a teaser:

According to recently discovered shipping manifests, Intel is developing a new processor series codenamed "Wildcat Lake," potentially succeeding their entry-level "Intel Processor" lineup based on Alder Lake-N. The documents, revealed by x86deadandback, suggest a 2025 launch timeline for these chips targeting lightweight laptops and mini-PCs. The shipping records from October 30 mention CPU reball equipment compatible with BGA 1516 sockets, measuring 35 x 25 mm, indicating early validation testing is underway. These processors are expected to be manufactured using Intel's advanced 18A process technology, sharing the same manufacturing node as the upcoming Panther Lake series. Early technical specifications of Wildcat Lake point to a hybrid architecture combining next-generation "Cougar Cove" performance cores with "Darkmont" low-power efficiency (LPE) cores in a 2P+4LPE configuration.

This design appears to separate the core clusters, departing from traditional shared ring bus arrangements, similar to the approach taken in Intel's Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake processors. While Wildcat Lake's exact position in Intel's product stack remains unclear, it could serve as a modernized replacement for the what were Pentium and Celeron processor families. These chips traditionally power devices like Chromebooks, embedded systems, and home servers, with the new series potentially offering significant performance improvements for these market segments. The processor is expected to operate in the sub-double-digit TDP power envelope, positioning it below the more powerful Lunar Lake series. Graphics capabilities will likely be more modest than Lunar Lake's Xe2 architecture, aligning with its entry-level market positioning.

Intel today, in a letter to the press, presented an overview of the lower than expected performance of its latest Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors, which the company released this October, to less than enthusiastic reviews. The top Core Ultra 9 285K ended up barely faster than the previous Core i9-14900K in gaming performance, and moderately faster in applications. AMD's November release of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D extended the green team's lead over Intel, prompting Intel to get to work on identifying why "Arrow Lake-S" isn't as fast as the company hoped, and if there was something the company could do about it.

Last month, Intel announced that it had identified probable reasons why "Arrow Lake-S" underperforms and that it is working on a combination of fixes that include OS-level updates from Microsoft, some motherboard-vendor level fixes to their UEFI setup programs, and a microcode update for its processors. Intel's microcode updates have been in the news throughout 2024, as one such update proved crucial in fixing the faulty voltage regulation behavior of its Core "Raptor Lake" processors, which was causing irreversible damage to the chips. Today, the company released documentation that highlights all issues the company identified by Intel, their technical root cause, and what's been done about it. Long story short—most of these issues are already addressed, but the Microcode update should be in circulation by January 2025, when the company expands its Core Ultra 200-series desktop processors with 65 W models.

Update Dec 19th: We tested the new OS patches, and unfortunately we have to report that this not a general fix for Arrow Lake, but just a fix for performance problems specific to 24H2. More in our article.

Update Dec 20th: Last night, ASUS released a non-Beta BIOS with microcode 0x114, we tested it and the findings are included in the Dec 19 article linked above.

TechPowerUp today released the latest update to TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the graphics sub-system information and monitoring utility for PC gamers and enthusiasts. Version 2.61.0 adds support for the new Intel Arc B580 and B570 "Battlemage" graphics cards. Preliminary support is also added for AMD "Navi 48" RDNA 4. This is also the first version of GPU-Z to support detection of Qualcomm Adreno 540, 630, 640, and 642L. GPU-Z is an x86 application, although you can run it on Windows on Arm platforms, where the operating system's emulation allows GPU-Z to detect the underlying hardware.

Among the other GPUs we've added support for, include the iGPU of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, NVIDIA H100 80 GB HBM3, A4000H, A800 40 GB Active, RTX 5880 Ada, and Tesla K40st. We've also added PCI vendor detection for ONIX, the new Intel Arc board partner, and Shangke. A crash on some AMD Ryzen systems with older drivers, an installed discrete GPU, and disabled iGPU, has been fixed. Grab GPU-Z from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.61.0

Dynabook has introduced the Protégé X30W powered by up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H processor. At first glance, that hardly seems impressive, but a closer look at the device reveals that the laptop weighs a feather-light 989 grams, or roughly 2.2 lbs. The device is also a convertible, which means that the hinge allows for 360° rotation, effectively converting the laptop into a tablet.

Apart from its lightweight design, there is little else about the laptop that is worth noting. The highest-end variant sports a Core Ultra 7 165H, which is a plenty-powerful chip, featuring 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores for a total of 14 cores and 22 threads, since the Crestmont cores do not support Hyper-Threading. An 8-core Arc iGPU handles the graphics, and delivers decent performance that nearly matches the RTX 2050 Mobile in certain cases. The system features up to 32 GB of DDR5-5200 memory, and up to a 2 TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD.

The gaming performance of Intel's latest Core Ultra 200-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors missed the mark by quite a bit, ending up slower than the 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors. Adding pressure to Intel is AMD's recent launch of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which extends the company's leadership in gaming performance, ending up to 12% faster than the top Core Ultra 9 285K at gaming (1080p). The company then announced that it has identified possible reasons why gaming performance of "Arrow Lake" ended up below expectations, and that it's working on a microcode-level update to the processor.

A discussion in the ASUS ROG Forums sheds light on what this microcode update could be. Allegedly, it's called the Intel 0x114 Microcode Update, and you can expect it soon in a beta UEFI firmware update from ASUS and other motherboard vendors, which makes it possible that we see a public release of the microcode either by yearend, or in Q1-2025. There's still no word on the extent of gaming performance gain from this microcode, but if we were to speculate, Intel wouldn't bother with such an update if it didn't at least bring "Arrow Lake" to the same gaming performance level as "Raptor Lake," if not higher.

Recent Geekbench results have surfaced for Intel's unreleased Core Ultra 5 225F processor without an integrated GPU, showcasing interesting performance improvements over its predecessors. The benchmark results, initially shared by Benchleaks on X, reveal that this new 10-core chip delivers performance comparable to the higher-core-count Core i5-13600. The Core Ultra 5 225F achieved a single-core score of 2,653 points and a multi-core score of 13,028 points. The processor combines six P-cores, four E-cores, and 20 MB of L3 cache. During testing, the chip reached a maximum frequency of 4.887 GHz. When compared to its direct predecessor, the Core i5-14400F, the new 225F demonstrates significant improvements with approximately 13% better performance in both single and multi-core tests.

More impressively, it manages to edge out the 14-core Core i5-13600 by 5% across both metrics despite having fewer cores and threads. However, the 225F falls behind its premium sibling with four more E-cores, the Core Ultra 5 245K, which outperforms it by 16% in single-core and 44% in multi-core operations. The Core Ultra 5 225F is expected to be part of Intel's new 65 W TDP lineup, targeting mainstream desktop systems with limited overclocking capabilities. This positions it as a more energy-efficient alternative to the current 125 W TDP Core Ultra 200 series processors. While we wait for more firmware updates to boost Arrow Lake performance, Intel could target the launch of the F-series SKUs for CES 2025, which is just a few weeks away now.

Intel has significantly changed its latest 0x112 microcode update, removing users' ability to bypass the Digital Linear Voltage Regulator (DLVR) through standard BIOS settings on "Arrow Lake" processors. DLVR, a technology designed to provide precise voltage control for individual performance cores and efficiency core clusters, offers great benefits during gaming sessions and light workloads. According to overclocker der8auer's analysis, DLVR can effectively manage power consumption during gaming, with power losses of around 20 W at typical gaming loads. However, these losses can shoot up to approximately 88 W under full CPU utilization. Previously, users could disable DLVR through a BIOS setting called "Power Gate" mode, which is particularly useful for intensive workloads where power losses might impact performance. With the new microcode update, this option has been removed from standard BIOS settings. It is also worth pointing out that DLVR is in its second iteration inside Arrow Lake CPUs, after the initial debut in "Raptor Lake," which had DLVR fused off.

Intel explained to Hardwareluxx that this change was implemented to "prevent accidental misuse of DLVR bypass," restricting its use to extreme overclocking scenarios involving sub-ambient cooling methods like liquid nitrogen. The update has already been rolled out through BIOS updates on some Z890 chipset motherboards, with ASRock and MSI being among the first manufacturers to implement the new microcode. While DLVR bypass may still be accessible through specialized LN2 profiles on high-end motherboards, the average enthusiast user loses direct control over this feature. This development mainly affects early Arrow Lake adopters, as not all motherboards include extreme overclocking profiles. While Intel's move appears to prevent potential issues, we must remember that power settings are something that users should only change with plenty of consideration. Removing this power gate mod is Intel prevention for Raptor Lake-like situations where these chips had an issue with Vmin shift.

V-color Technology Inc. has announced a new world record in DDR5 memory speed, reaching 12264 MT/s with its DDR5 XFinity memory module. This accomplishment was led by overclocker AKM, using the ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF motherboard and Intel Core Ultra 9 Arrow Lake processor. The record, confirmed on HWBOT, solidifies v-color's position as a leader in high-performance memory technology. The ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF motherboard is designed specifically for overclocking, with advanced power phases, reinforced DIMM slots, and a BIOS optimized for extreme performance. Its robust design allowed AKM to push the DDR5 XFinity memory to record-breaking speeds, making it a top choice for overclocking enthusiasts.

The CPU-Z Validation can be accessed here, and the HWBOT page here.

According to Taiwanese media Commercial Times, Intel is significantly increasing its outsourcing of "Arrow Lake" CPU production to TSMC, a strategic move as it grapples with persistent issues in its own foundry division. This decision to outsource a substantial portion of Arrow Lake's production is a significant shift in Intel's strategy, showing the company's rising reliance on external partners to meet quality and performance demands. The Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200 series is Intel's first major outsourcing initiative, in which Intel gave its core IP to third-party foundries, more specifically for a 3 nm node at TSMC. However, it clearly indicates the performance gaps in Intel's own Intel Foundry and the high demand expectations for the new CPUs. Originally intended to use Intel 20A node, Intel shifted focus of 18A node for its products and upcoming foundry customers.

Intel's recent orders with TSMC extend to its upcoming Lunar Lake chips and next-generation Falcon Shores AI GPUs, both of which will use TSMC's 3 nm process. Although Intel's 18A node remains promising, the company relies on current products to sustain its revenue streams, making TSMC's support crucial in ensuring timely shipments. This increased outsourcing reflects Intel's need to maintain competitive performance in the short term. Once its Foundry division meets performance and capacity targets, Intel aims to bring more CPU manufacturing back in-house. However, if anything goes wrong, Intel could face challenges securing sufficient volume from TSMC, as the foundry has longstanding commitments with major clients like Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and AMD.

The desktop version of AMD's next-generation "Zen 6" microarchitecture will retain Socket AM5, Kepler_L2, a reliable source with hardware leaks, revealed. What's more interesting is the rumor that the current "Zen 5" will remain AMD's mainstay for the entirety of 2025, and possibly even most of 2026, at least for the desktop platform. AMD will be banking heavily on the recently announced Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and its high core-count siblings, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and possible 9900X3D, to see the company through for 2025 against Intel. The 9800X3D posted significantly higher gaming performance than Intel, and the 9950X3D is expected to be at least faster than the 7950X3D at gaming, which means its gaming performance, coupled with multithreaded application performance from its 16-core/32-thread count should be the face of AMD's desktop processor lineup for at least the next year.

It wouldn't be off-character for AMD to launch "Zen 6" on AM5, and not refresh the platform. The company had launched three microarchitectures (Zen thru Zen 3) on Socket AM4. With "Zen 6," AMD has the opportunity to not just increase IPC, but also core-counts per CCD, cache sizes, a new foundry node such as 3 nm, and probably even introduce features such as hybrid architecture and an NPU to the desktop platform, which means it could at least update the current 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) while retaining AM5. A new cIOD could give AMD the much-needed opportunity to update the DDR5 memory controllers to support higher memory frequencies. The Kepler_L2 leak predicts a "late-2026 or early-2027" launch for desktop "Zen 6" processors. In the meantime, Intel is expected to ramp "Arrow Lake-S" on Socket LGA1851, and debut the "Panther Lake" microarchitecture on LGA1851 in 2025-26.

In an exclusive interview with Hot Hardware, Intel acknowledged that its recently launched Core Ultra 200 desktop processors, codenamed "Arrow Lake," have significant performance issues. However, Intel announced that a set of fixes are being developed. As our review confirmed, the launch of these new processors fell short of both consumer expectations and Intel's own projections, particularly in gaming performance, despite showing promise in productivity, content creation, and some AI workloads. In a discussion during a recent livestream, Intel's Robert Hallock, VP and general manager of client AI and technical marketing, addressed these concerns head-on, describing the Arrow Lake launch as "disastrous" and attributing the underwhelming performance to inadequately optimized systems.

Robert HallockI can't go into all the details yet, but we identified a series of multifactor issues at the OS level, at the BIOS level, and I will say that the performance we saw in reviews is not what we expected and not what we intended. The launch just didn't go as planned. That has been a humbling lesson for all of us, inspiring a fairly large response internally to get to the bottom of what happened and to fix it.

The latest update to CPU-Z, the popular system information and diagnostic tool, has rolled out comprehensive support for upcoming processor architectures from both AMD and Intel, along with new memory standards. Among the notable additions is support for AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which builds upon AMD's successful 3D V-Cache technology and is scheduled to launch tomorrow. The update also covers Intel's "Arrow Lake" processors, including both HX and H series variants. The Arrow Lake lineup integration spans multiple performance tiers, from the flagship Core Ultra 9 285HX down to the mainstream Core Ultra 5 series. The H-series mobile processors, including the Core Ultra 9 285H and various Ultra 7 and Ultra 5 models, are also fully supported.

Additionally, CPU-Z now recognizes Intel's complete Raptor Lake refresh, covering an extensive range of processors across different power segments. This includes the Core 7 series (160HL through 150U), Core 5 series (130HL through 120U), and Core 3 series (100HL through 100U), catering to various computing needs from high-performance to energy-efficient applications. The update extends beyond processors to support CUDIMM ((Clocked Unbuffered DIMM) DDR5 memory. CUDIMMs represent a modified DDR5 memory featuring an integrated Client Clock Driver (CKD) that generates its clock signal to minimize noise and jitter at speeds of 6400 MT/s and above, ensuring better stability and data integrity than traditional DDR5 modules.

DOWNLOAD CPU-Z 2.12 here.

Apple and Samsung are reportedly in the fray to acquire Intel, according a spectacular rumor cited by Moore's Law is Dead. This would put the list of companies looking to acquire Intel at 3—Apple, Samsung, and Qualcomm. All three are Arm licensees, with unique characteristics. Apple currently has an Arm-based SoC hardware division that makes custom chips for all its devices, including Macs. Samsung would go on to be an overseas parent company for an American heritage company like Intel, but something like this is not unheard of when you consider examples such as Boston Dynamics being acquired by Hyundai Motors, or Westinghouse Nuclear's acquisition by Japan's Toshiba, before changing hands to Canadian Bookfield Partners. Then there's Qualcomm—the American company is having a bit of a falling out with Arm, and the prospect of owning the x86 IP should be tempting.

Intel retains large amounts of market-share in both the PC processor and server processor markets, however, the company's stock price has been on a downward trend for several quarters now, causing its valuation to drop to levels where any of the other big tech companies can afford to buy it out. The company spent close to $10 billion on a GPU architecture project spanning not just a contemporary graphics architecture to power the integrated graphics solutions of its PC processors, but also discrete gaming GPUs; and most importantly, an AI GPU architecture under the "Ponte Vecchio" project. Intel's Xe-HP AI GPU missed its performance targets or was too late to the market, leaving Intel with a gaping hole that it could only fill with a slew of cost-cutting measures. It doesn't help that Intel Foundry is losing its edge, and none of the logic tiles of Core Ultra "Arrow Lake" processor is made on an Intel foundry node.

The launch of Intel's "Arrow Lake-S" Core Ultra 200S series of desktop processors has been a bit of a disappointment for gamers, given a slight regression in the new generation's gaming performance. While excelling in productivity tasks, these CPUs are not seemingly the top choice for gamers. According to data from Mindfactory, one of Germany's largest retailers, Intel's Arrow Lake CPUs didn't account for even one Intel-powered CPU sale since the October 24 launch. This is a massive contradiction to US-based retailers like Amazon and Newegg, which sold out their Arrow Lake stock swiftly. However, the German retailer paints a different picture.

In terms of units sold, there were 730 AMD CPU units sold, while only 40 Intel. AMD accounted for 94.81% of that week's sales, with an average selling price of 267 Euros and Intel's average selling price of 388 Euros per unit. It is worth pointing out that this information is only based on one week of sales and should not be a general guide for Intel Arrow Lake sales in Germany. We are still left to see how many units will be sold in the coming weeks, especially with the upcoming holiday season. Below is the picture from TechEpiphany on X, showing all the sold units and their quantity.

Intel today released the latest version of its Arc GPU Graphics drivers. Version 101.6129 WHQL adds support for the Xe-LPG integrated graphics of the Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors. The drivers also come with optimization for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6," and performance improvements for "Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred" to the Xe-LPG iGPU of Core Ultra 100-series "Meteor Lake" mobile processors. The drivers fix an issue applicable to Arc A-series discrete GPUs where Blender may experience an application crash. Grab the driver from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6129 WHQL

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced that new ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboards have been used to achieve 5 world records, 19 global first-place records and 31 first-place records. In the hands of some of the world's premier professional overclockers, the Maximus Z890 Apex has coaxed dazzling performance out of the latest Intel Core Ultra processor (Series 2) lineup and the latest high-performance memory kits.

Veterans of the overclocking scene will not be surprised to learn that these records were achieved with an Apex motherboard on the bench. This series has an undeniable pedigree. Since the very first model, ASUS has designed Apex motherboards for the singular purpose of helping the world's most talented overclockers shatter barriers on their way to new records.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products, announced the upcoming release of Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 CUDIMMs, compatible with Intel's new 800-series chipset (formerly codenamed Arrow Lake). Intel's 800-series chipset is the first platform to utilize Clock Drivers on CUDIMMs (Clocked Unbuffered Dual Inline Memory Modules). At 6400 MT/s DDR5, JEDEC mandates the inclusion of a Client Clock Driver (CKD) on UDIMMs and SODIMMs. This component buffers and redrives the clock signal from the processor, enhancing signal integrity to the module. To distinguish these advanced modules from standard DDR5 UDIMMs and SODIMMs, JEDEC has designated them as CUDIMMs and CSODIMMs, respectively.

Kingston FURY Renegade RGB and non-RGB CUDIMM modules start at an overclocked speed of 8400 MT/s and are available as 24 GB single modules and 48 GB dual channel kits. Since CUDIMMs and UDIMMs share the same 288-pin connector, Kingston FURY UDIMMs with XMP and EXPO profiles are also compatible with Intel 800-series motherboards. However, it's recommended to verify compatibility through the motherboard manufacturer's QVL (Qualified Vendor List) or by checking the Kingston Configurator for supported speeds and capacities.

Thermal Grizzly, a high-performance cooling solutions provider, unveils a new line-up of products specifically designed for Intel's LGA 1851 socket, the latest Intel Core Ultra 200 Arrow Lake CPUs. The product line consists of four new solutions tailored to the improvements of 15th generation CPUs, including a CPU contact frame, a direct die water block, a CPU delidding tool and a delidding heater. Today, three of these products are now officially launched and available for purchase on the Thermal Grizzly web shop and through its Partner Reseller Network.

Intel 1851 CPU Contact Frame V1
In addition to a new internal contour for the contact surface, the new Intel 1851 CPU Contact Frame V1 considers the position of the socket on the motherboard. The thermal hotspot has shifted with the Arrow Lake CPUs and is now located further north compared to its predecessor. With a slight shift of Socket 1851 compared to LGA1700, Intel has attempted to counter the hotspot shift. Thus, CPU coolers designed for Socket 1700 can also be used with Socket 1851. The shift in the socket makes previous contact frames for Socket 1700 incompatible with 1851, which is why Thermal Grizzly now offers the Intel 1851 Contact Frame V1.

Intel today formally launched its Core Ultra Series 2 "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors in the new Socket LGA1851 package, along with compatible motherboards by partners based on the new Intel Z890 chipset. Launching today are models targeting the gaming PC and overclocker crowds, all models launching today are unlocked, and ready for overclocking. Leading the pack is the Core Ultra 9 285K (8P+16E, 36 MB L3 cache), priced at USD $590, followed by the Core Ultra 7 265K (8P+12E, 30 MB L3 cache), priced at $390; and the Core Ultra 5 245K (6P+8E, 24 MB L3 cache), priced at $310. The 265KF and 245KF are variants without iGPU, priced $15 lower than the 265K and 245K, respectively. You can read all about these chips in our detailed reviews linked below.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Review | Intel Core Ultra 7 265K Review | Intel Core Ultra 5 245K Review

As Intel's Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors near their launch, ASUS China put out a video presentation about its Z890 chipset motherboards ready for these processors, which included a technical run-down of Intel's first tile-based desktop processor, which included detailed die-shots of the various tiles. This is stuff that would require not just de-lidding the processor (removing the integrated heat-spreader), but also clearing up the top layers of the die to reveal the various components underneath.

The whole-chip die-shot gives us a bird's eye view of the four key logic tiles—Compute, Graphics, SoC, and I/O, sitting on top of the Foveros base tile. Our article from earlier this week goes into the die areas of the individual tiles, and the base tile. The Compute tile is built on the most advanced foundry node among the four tiles, the 3 nm TSMC N3B. Unlike the older generation "Raptor Lake-S" and "Alder Lake-S," the P-cores and E-core clusters aren't clumped into the two ends of the CPU complex. In "Arrow Lake-S," they follow a staggered layout, with a row of P-cores, followed by a row of E-core clusters, followed by two rows of P-cores, and then another row of E-core clusters, before the final row of P-cores, to achieve the total core-count of 8P+16E. This arrangement reduces concentration of heat when the P-cores are loaded (eg: when gaming), and ensures each E-core cluster is just one ringbus stop away from a P-core, which should improve thread-migration latencies. The central region of the tile has this ringbus, and 36 MB of L3 cache shared among the P-cores and E-core clusters.

As a quick follow-up to last week's "Arrow Lake-S" de-lidding by Madness727, we now have a line-up of a de-lidded Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" processor placed next to a Core i9-14900K "Raptor Lake-S," and the Core i9-12900K "Alder Lake-S." The tile-based "Arrow Lake-S" is visibly larger than the two, despite being made on more advanced foundry nodes. Both the 8P+16E "Raptor Lake-S" and 8P+8E "Alder Lake-S" chips are built on the Intel 7 node (10 nm Enhanced SuperFin). The "Raptor Lake-S" monolithic chip comes with a die-area of 257 mm². The "Alder Lake-S" is physically smaller, at 215 mm². What sets the two apart isn't just the two additional E-core clusters on "Raptor Lake-S," but also larger caches—2 MB of L2 per P-core, increased form 1.25 MB/core, and 4 MB per E-core cluster, increased from 2 MB/cluster.

Thanks to high quality die-shots of the "Arrow Lake-S" by Madness727, we have our first die-area estimations by A Hollow Knight on Twitter. The LGA1851 fiberglass substrate has the same dimensions as the LGA1700 substrate. This is to ensure the socket retains cooler compatibility. Using geometrical measurements, the base tile of the "Arrow Lake-S" is estimated to be 300.9 mm² in area. The base-tile is a more suitable guideline for "die-area," since Intel uses filler tiles to ensure gaps in the arrangement of logic tiles are filled, and the chip aligns with the base-tile below. The base tile, built on an Intel 22 nm foundry node, serves like a silicon interposer, facilitating high-density microscopic wiring between the various logic tiles stacked on top, and an interface to the fiberglass substrate below.

As we await the launch of Intel's "Arrow Lake-S" Core Ultra 200S series of processors for desktops, we are getting some new leaks about Intel's mainstream mobile "Arrow Lake-H" update. A month ago, we got the specification table of the high-end mobile "Arrow Lake-HX," and now, thanks to Jaykihn X, we have the mainstream laptop chip specifications as well. The top-of-the-line includes Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, a 45 W TDP SKU with six P-cores, eight E-cores, and two LPE cores. The CPU packs integrated Xe2 graphics with eight cores and 24 MB of total L3 cache and has a maximum boost of 5.4 GHz for P-cores.

Moving down the stack, there are Core Ultra 7 265H and Core Ultra 5 255H SKUs, which feature the same P/E/LPE core configuration. However, these SKUs are rated for 28 W TDP, having lower maximum frequencies and the same iGPU configuration. This time, we also have two Core Ultra 3 SKUs, with Core Ultra 3 235H and 225H bringing four P-cores, eight E-cores, and two LPE-cores in the 28 W package. The Core Ultra 3 235H has eight Xe2 cores in its iGPU, while the lowest-end Core Ultra 3 225H has only seven Xe2 iGPU cores. For a complete set of specifications, including all clock speeds in base and boost, please check out the table below.