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.

Intel is significantly expanding its desktop Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake-S" lineup with new 65 W models along the sidelines of the 2025 International CES, but more importantly, it is bringing the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture to the mobile space. The company is planning to launch at least 22 processor models this January, but not all of them are based on "Arrow Lake." Tom's Hardware reports that the lineup broadly revolves around the "Core 2-series" processor model numbering.

The Core Ultra 200H series consists of H-segment (conventional thickness notebook) processors in the 28 W to 45 W class, and are based on the "Arrow Lake-H" silicon. The Core Ultra 200HX series targets premium gaming notebooks and portable workstations, and consists of 55 W to 65 W class processors, including CPU overclocking capabilities on certain models. Things get interesting with the Core Ultra 200U series. These chips are based on the "Meteor Lake Refresh" silicon—an older microarchitecture—targeting the 7 W to 28 W segments for ultraportables. Lastly, there's the Core H 200 and Core U 200 series (no "Ultra" in the branding), which are based on the older "Raptor Lake" monolithic silicon, targeting mainstream notebooks.

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.

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.

Kovan Yang set a new memory frequency record of DDR5-12196 (6097.6 MHz). This was possible with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with 2P+0E configuration running at a low 400 MHz, an MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X motherboard, and a single Kingston FURY Renegade 24 GB CKD module. The sub-timings achieved were 48-120-120-127-2. Not much else is known about the feat, such as the cooling or DRAM voltages used. The 5°C CPU temperature reading in the CPU-Z validation page suggests that an extreme cooling solution is being used. The Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" processor and Z890 platform, when paired with CUDIMMs (DDR5 DIMMs with client clock drivers) yield extreme memory overclocking capabilities, with several initial memory OC records breaching the 12000 MT/s mark. The HWBOT page can be accessed here, and the CPU-Z Validation page here.

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

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

Ahead of its launch, some of the first pictures of G.Skill Memory's Trident Z5 CK series DDR5 CUDIMMs leaked to the web. The "CK" brand extension is used to denote CUDIMMs, or DDR5 DIMMs with a client clock-driver (CKD) component. The CKD is a component that acts like a filter to the memory physical-layer digital waveform, "clearing up" the memory eyes at high memory clocks. This enables higher DDR5 speeds upward of 8000 MT/s, although CUDIMMs can also be found at speeds as low as 6400 MT/s. Intel considers DDR5-8000 the "sweetspot" memory speed for its Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors, which means 8000 MT/s should be possible in Gear 2 mode, and future memory kits with speeds in excess of 10000 MT/s should be possible with Gear 4.

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.

Ahead of its October 23 release, PC enthusiast and Twitch streamer Madness727 released some of the first pictures of a de-lidded Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor. There's no word on which processor model this is, but it shouldn't matter—all models being released this month are based on the same exact configuration of tiles of the "Arrow Lake-S," which means a Compute tile with an 8P+16E core CPU complex, a Graphics tile with 4 Xe cores, and the larger version of the breakout I/O tile that features an integrated Thunderbolt 4 controller.

Intel already released information on its Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-H" mobile processor that comes out in Q1-2025, which is shown featuring a physically smaller Compute tile that has a 6P+8E core CPU complex, a larger Graphics tile with 8 Xe cores, and a smaller breakout I/O tile. You can see where this is going for some of the cheaper Core Ultra 5 and Core Ultra 3 desktop processor models that release in Q1-2025. De-lidding is the process of removing the integrated heatspreader of a desktop processor to enable direct contact between the chip below, and the cooling solution. It is preferred by professional overclockers that use extreme cooling solutions.

KLEVV, the leading consumer memory and storage brand introduced by Essencore, today announces its first-ever CU-DIMM & CSO-DIMM memory modules, which work seamlessly with the latest Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) "Arrow Lake-S" Processors/ Z890 platform to unleash the true DDR5 performance. KLEVV's next-generation DDR5 memory lineup receives a substantial performance boost with the integration of advanced Client Clock Driver (CKD) technology. Incorporated via a small integrated circuit (IC) directly on the DIMM, CKD IC enhances the module's speed and efficiency for both desktop and laptop applications. By regenerating the memory chips' clock signal, it improves stability, supports higher operating frequencies, and minimizes electrical interference and signal degradation—pushing the boundaries of memory performance.

Designed for both performance desktop and laptop systems, KLEVV's new Standard CU-DIMM and CSO-DIMM memory modules combine the brand's renowned quality with cutting-edge DDR5 technology, making them ideal for both casual and professional users. Leveraging the innovative CKD architecture, these modules deliver exceptional stability and reliability, even at high speeds, effectively mitigating electrical interference that could otherwise hinder performance. With this advanced design, users can count on smooth, efficient operation, even under heavy workloads.

Intel has released an updated version of its eXtreme Tuning Utility (XTU). The newest version, officially carrying the v10.0.0.76 moniker, is available to download. However, this version is designed exclusively for Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 200S series "Arrow Lake" processors. There are now two versions of Intel XTU: version 7.14.2.14, which supports unlocked Intel 14th Core and older processors, and version 10.x, which supports unlocked Intel Core Ultra Processors (Series 2) and newer. The XTU clocking utility only works on high-end Z-series boards like Z690, Z790, and the upcoming Z890 for "Arrow Lake-S." Below is a list of changes with XTU drivers now being replaced with Intel Innovation Platform Framework (IPF), which we are still trying to figure out what it is supposed to do. Many more features are listed below. However, we cannot decipher them until "Arrow Lake" reviews appear.

Intel's new Core Ultra processor model nomenclature is significantly different from the Core i7 series that held for 14 generations, since its 2008 debut. The desktop Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor family is led by the Core Ultra 9 285K, which is positioned as a successor to the Core i9-14900K. The choice of numbering the top SKU "285K" instead of something like the "290K," which even caused the top Core Ultra 7 SKU to be numbered the "265K," raises a few questions. The biggest of these is if Intel is creating room for a near-future SKU to go with "295K."

In the classic Intel Core series nomenclature, the digit following the first two, designates a position in the product stack. For example, in the i9-14900K, "14" points to the processor generation, followed by "9" as the top-spec SKU. If you wind the clocks back to the 10th Gen Core "Comet Lake," there was a top-spec Core i9-10900K, but there was also a Core i9-10850K. Both the i9-10900K and the i9-10850K are unlocked 10-core/20-thread parts with identical TDP, set apart only by their stock clock speeds. Could it be possible that the Core Ultra 9 285K is a distant descendant of the i9-10850K, and that Intel's top "Arrow Lake-S" part is the "295K?" Momomo_us recently dug out an inconspicuous Intel Support webpage listing out Core Ultra desktop processors without an included fan-heatsink. This is very likely a typo, but the page mentions a "295K" SKU instead of the Core Ultra 9 285K. This caused us to wonder if the "295K" is being reserved for an i9-14900KS successor.

MSI OCLab made some groundbreaking disclosures about the gaming performance of upcoming AMD Ryzen 9000X3D processors. It looks like AMD is set to dominate the Intel Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors in gaming performance, if these numbers hold up. In the games that MSI tested, namely "Far Cry 6," "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," and "Black Myth: Wukong," the "8-core 9000X3D" processor, or the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, is found to be 11% faster on average than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. The "16-core 9000X3D" processor, which is expected to be the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, is an impressive 13% faster than its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Normally we'd expect bigger gen-on-gen gains for the 8-core part than the 16-core part, but the 16-core 9000X3D pulling ahead by that much over its predecessor hints at the possibility of AMD either giving it significantly higher clock speeds, or the rumor about AMD deploying both 3D V-cache on both its CCDs could be true after all. The 9950X3D could end up roughly on-par with the 9800X3D if this turns out to be true, given that the gaming performance delta between the 7800X3D and 7950X3D is roughly that much—2-3 percentage points. Intel earlier this week officially announced the Core Ultra 2-series desktop processors. As part of the announcement, the company put out some first-party gaming performance numbers, which put the top Core Ultra 9 285K either on-par with the Core i9-14900K, or faster by 2-3%, which means it should land behind even the 7950X3D in gaming performance, and AMD is set to dominate Intel in gaming performance with the 9000X3D series.

MSI unveils its new lineup of AI gaming desktops, following the introduction of Intel's Arrow Lake-S desktop processors. The lineup features two advanced models: the MPG Infinite X3 AI and the MEG Vision X. These desktops harness the power of Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2) with built-in Neural Processing Units (NPUs), coupled with NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards. This powerful combination delivers enhanced performance in both AI-accelerated gaming and complex processing tasks, aiming to optimize the gaming experiences.

These new desktops are equipped with up to Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K, boasting 8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores, and an integrated 13 trillion operations per second (TOPS) NPU. When paired with up to a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, the systems achieve an impressive total of over 1300 TOPS, enabling them to handle advanced AI tasks effortlessly while enhancing gaming performance and AI-generated content (AIGC) efficiency. The integrated NPU significantly enhances processing capabilities, particularly for AI-related tasks. In applications like DIGIME software, it boosts AI inference efficiency while simultaneously reducing GPU load. This optimization not only improves performance in specific applications but also benefits overall AI computation across various tasks.

GIGABYTE Technology a leader in innovative cooling solutions, proudly announces the launch of the AORUS WATERFORCE AIO cooler, meticulously engineered to meet the demanding cooling needs of Intel Socket LGA 1851 CPU. With significant changes in hotspot locations and thermal requirements across the new CPU lineup, ensuring optimal cooling performance across all model configurations has become imperative. The AORUS WATERFORCE AIO cooler is designed with three key features that significantly enhance cooling efficiency for Socket LGA 1851 CPU.

Optimal Mounting Pressure Design
In alignment with Intel Socket LGA 1851 (Arrow Lake-S) Thermal Design Guide, the new socket LGA 1851 requires increased mounting pressure for optimal thermal performance. The AORUS WATERFORCE X II series & non-X II series cooler provides maximum mounting pressure, ensuring a firm fit that enhances heat transfer from the CPU to the cooler.

Intel's Arrow Lake-S launch line-up has been confirmed courtesy of serial leaker @9550pro on X/Twitter and although the leaked Intel product slide doesn't contain any real surprises by now, it does confirm that Intel will launch five different SKUs later this month. The Core 200S-series should be unveiled on Thursday by Intel, but retail availability isn't expected until the 24th of October. The Initial five CPU SKUs will be the Core Ultra 9 285K, the Core Ultra 7 265K and 265KF and finally the Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF. As noted earlier today in the performance leak of the Core Ultra 9 285K, the entire Arrow Lake-S series will lack Hyper-Threading in favour of more E-cores. The Core Ultra 9 285K features eight Lion Cove P-cores and 16 Skymont E-cores, followed by the Core Ultra 7 265 SKUs which retain the Lion Cove core count, but ends up with only 12 Skymont cores. Finally, the Core Ultra 5 SKUs have six Lion Cove P-cores and eight Skymont E-cores. All the upcoming SKUs feature Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost, a feature that used to be exclusive to the Core i9 tier of CPUs in the past, but only the Core Ultra 9 and Ultra 7 SKUs support Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. The Core Ultra 9 and Ultra 7 SKUs have a maximum TDP of 250 W, with the Core Ultra 5 SKUs peaking at 159 W. All five processors have a base power of 125 W.

As such, we're looking at boost speeds of up to 5.7 GHz for the Core Ultra 9, 5.5 GHz for the Core Ultra 7 and 5.2 GHz for the Core Ultra 5 processors. The Core Ultra 5 has the highest base frequency of the three SKUs with the P-cores clocking in at 4.2 GHz and the E-cores at 3.6 GHz. The Core Ultra 7 follows at 3.9 GHz for the P-Cores and 3.3 GHz for the E-cores and finally the Core Ultra 9 has a base frequency of 3.7 GHz for the P-Cores and 3.2 GHz for the E-cores. Intel has upped the JEDEC memory support to DDR5-6400, which is an 800 MHz jump in the officially supported memory speed from its 14th Gen Core i processors. Up to 192 GB of RAM is supported, which is the same as the previous generation of desktop CPUs from Intel. The IGP sports four Xe-cores across the board of the K SKU CPUs, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of up to 2 GHz, although the Core Ultra 5 SKUs end up with an IGP that only boosts to 1.9 GHz. All SKUs also feature a third generation NPU capable of 13 TOPS, which is a lot weaker than the mobile Core Ultra 200V Lunar Lake CPUs which have an NPU capable of up to 48 TOPS, depending on the SKU. As this leak appears to be from the same original source as the performance figures that leaked earlier, we'd assume the information is correct, especially as it lines up with earlier leaks, but it should still be taken with a pinch of salt until everything has been confirmed by Intel.

The Chinese tech press is abuzz with slides allegedly from Intel's pre-launch press-deck for the Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S." The most sensational of these are Intel's first-party performance claims for the top Core Ultra 9 285K model. There's good news and bad news. Good news first—Intel claims to have made a big leap in energy efficiency with "Arrow Lake," and the 285K should offer gaming performance comparable to the current Core i9-14900K at around 80 W lower power draw for the processor. But then there in lies the bad news—despite claimed IPC gains for the "Lion Cove" P-core, and rumored clock speeds being on par with the "Raptor Cove" P-cores on the i9-14900K, the 285K is barely any faster than its predecessor in absolute terms.

In its first party testing, when averaged across 12 game tests, which we used Google optical translation to make out the titles of, Intel used performance numbers of the i9-14900K as the mean. The 285K beats the i9-14900K in only four games—Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, Age of Mythology Retold, Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, and F1 23. It's on-par with the i9-14900K in Red Dead Redemption 2, Total War: Pharaoh, Metro Exodus, Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth: Wukong, Rainbow Six Siege. It's slower than the i9-14900K in Far Cry 6, FF XIV, F1 24, Red Dead Redemption 2. Averaged across this bench, the Core Ultra 9 285K ends up roughly on par with the Core i9-14900K in gaming. Intel also compared the 285K to AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X, and interestingly, even the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Some of the first images of a de-lidded Intel Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" processor surfaced on the web, confirming a disaggregated chiplet-based processor design. Intel pivoted to chiplet based processors with its Core Ultra "Meteor Lake," allowing it to build specific IP blocks of the processor on different foundry nodes, ensuring the ones that don't need the most advanced nodes can make do with slightly older ones, thereby maximizing Intel's yields for that advanced node. The die shot reveals a similar level of disaggregation to "Meteor Lake" than that of the more recent Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" mobile processor.

With "Lunar Lake," Intel had re-aggregated a few things. "Lunar Lake" only has two tiles—SoC tile and I/O tile. The 3 nm SoC tile contains the CPU complex, a large iGPU, and a large 40 TOPS-class NPU, all sharing die-space with the memory controllers, and PCIe root complex. The smaller 6 nm I/O tile contains the PHYs of the various I/O interfaces. The "Arrow Lake" chip appears to have a similar degree of disaggregation as "Meteor Lake." We can spot at least five tiles sitting on top of the Foveros base tile. The picture has no annotation for the various tiles, but recent reports by Moore's Law is Dead and Jay Kihn shed some light on what these could be.

According to the latest PassMark benchmarks, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is the highest-performing single-thread CPU. The benchmark king title comes as PassMark's official account on X shared single-threaded performance number, with the upcoming Arrow Lake-S flagship SKU, Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scoring 5,268 points in single-core results. This is fantastic news for gamers, as games mostly care about single-core performance. This CPU, having 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores, boasts 5.7 GHz P-core boost and 4.6 GHz E-core boost frequencies. The single-core tests put the new SKU at 11% lead compared to the previous-generation Intel Core i9-14900K processor.

However, the multithreaded cases are running more slowly. The PassMark multithreaded results put Intel Core Ultra 9 285K at 46,872 points, which is about 22% slower than the last-generation top SKU. While this may be a disappointment for some, it is partially expected, given that Arrow Lake stops the multithreaded designs in Intel CPU families. From now on, every CPU will be a combination of P and E-Cores, tuned for efficiency or performance depending on the use case. It is also possible that the CPU used inn PassMark's testing was an engineering sample, so until official launch, we have no concrete information about its definitive performance comparison.

ASRock has a pretty comprehensive lineup of upcoming Socket LGA1851 motherboards based on the top Intel Z890 chipset, which the company will launch alongside the new Intel Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors later this month. The company's Z890 lineup has been leaked to the web by VideoCardz. The lineup covers nearly every brand extension by ASRock, addressing a wide category of PC users, from the entry level that just wants an office desktop to harness the CPU power of the new processors, to the two distinct classes of the enthusiast segment—one which overclocks, and the other that needs every possible premium I/O from this platform, with the bulk of the lineup targeting gaming PC builders across price-segments.

At the very top are ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF and the ASRock Z890 Taichi. The Taichi OCF is the spiritual successor to the OC Formula series by ASRock targeting professional overclockers. It has the strongest possible CPU VRM solution from the company, the largest selection of overclocker-friendly features, and a 1 DIMM per channel (1DPC) memory configuration, for the highest possible memory overclocks. The Taichi OCF has most if not all of the I/O goodies ASRock has to offer. For this, you'll have to seek out the regular ASRock Z890 Taichi, with its four DDR5 memory slots, nearly the same overclocking feature-set as the Taichi OCF, but some added toys, such as Thunderbolt 4. The Z890 Taichi Lite is an interesting product—it has nearly all features that place it into the high-end segment, such as that 8-layer PCB, a strong CPU VRM, and premium onboard audio, among others; but skips on the bulk of the dramatic flair of the Z890 Taichi.

Canadian online retailer ShopRBC put up listings of unreleased Intel Core Ultra 200-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors. While the availability listed is zero, you can backorder these chips at the prices listed, so they are shipped when available. The flagship Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (8P+16E) processor is listed at CAD $852 (around USD $628). There is no "KF" variant of this part unlike with past generations of Intel flagship SKUs. The Core Ultra 7 265K (8P+12E) is next up, at CAD $589 (USD $435). Its KF variant, which lacks integrated graphics, is up for CAD $22 less than that (CAD $567 or USD $418).

Intel's middle-of-the-market part for this generation, the Core Ultra 5 245K (6P+8E) is next up, listed at CAD $450, or USD $331. You can back-order its KF variant for CA $23 less, at CA $427 (USD $315). The Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake-S" introduces the new Socket LGA1851, and so online retailers around the world should begin putting up compatible motherboards based on the Intel Z890 chipset, which is rumored to be the only chipset option available with these chips until Q1-2025, when Intel fleshes out the series with non-K SKUs and value chipsets such as the B860.