- Intel unveiled new Arrow Lake Refresh processors
- They are Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
- Both offer increases in core count compared to their Arrow Lake predecessors – and a significant boost in gaming performance of as much as 15%
Intel has released a pair of new desktop processors, which are updated models that are a step forward for the company’s current Arrow Lake lineup.
Tom’s Hardware reports that these Arrow Lake Refresh chips are the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus. These are tweaked models of the existing Core Ultra 7 265K and Core Ultra 5 245K CPUs respectively.
Intel’s Robert Hallock, VP, Client Computing Group, General Manager, Enthusiast Channel Segment, boasts: “First, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Ultra 5 250K Plus are the fastest desktop gaming processors Intel has ever built. Second, they nearly double the content creation performance of our competitor. And third, they create the exciting technology that they create, optimization plan for Intel gaming platforms. These chips are a value that is hard to beat.”
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That’s a lot of talk, so what’s new with these CPUs?
Intel has increased the number of cores, so the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has eight performance cores plus 16 efficiency cores, which is four additional efficiency cores compared to the 265K. The same treatment has been given to the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus with an additional four efficiency cores, meaning it now has 12 efficiency cores to go along with its six performance cores.
As for clock speeds, these remain largely the same as their predecessors, apart from minor changes – you get 100MHz more boost with the 250K, but the 270K maintains the same 5.4GHz for the performance cores as seen with the 265K.
However, Intel has brought performance gains elsewhere, notably with an increase of up to 900MHz in the die-to-die speed of these new processors. That means lower system latency and a boost for PC gaming, Intel notes.
There’s also support for faster RAM — up to 7200 MT/s DDR5 (up from 6400 MT/s on current Arrow Lake chips) — which will help with performance, and a new Intel Binary Optimization Tool, or iBOT.
Intel explains that iBOT is “a first-of-its-kind optimization technology” that will “increase processor instructions per cycle (IPC) and user performance”.
We’re told that this tool can increase the IPC of certain games – think of it as another way to increase performance aside from increasing the clock frequency – and this is true even if the game has been optimized for a different platform (like a console).
The proof will be in the (independent) gaming benchmarks, of course, but Team Blue is already calling iBOT a “key aspect of Intel’s long-term enthusiast performance roadmap.”
As for launch game benchmarks, Intel claims 15% faster game performance for the 270K Plus versus the 265K based on the average frame rates over 38 games (at 1080p resolution, high detail, with the iBOT tool enabled where supported).
The price of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus processor is $299 and the MSRP of the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus is $199.
Analysis: a statement of intent from Intel
Intel has a lot of work to do to regain favor in the world of PC enthusiasts and gamers because Arrow Lake was not well received by the gaming community and before that we had the nasty stability issues with 13th and 14th generation CPUs (which were not well received by anyone). However, this Core Ultra 200S Plus update – while a modest two-chip effort – is an important step towards rebuilding Intel’s desktop reputation.
The gaming performance jump with the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a significant one, with the extra cores, die-to-die speed boost and complementary technology providing some serious extra power. When you consider these gains through the lens of the asking prices—which are actually lower than the old models these updates succeed—you’ve frankly got a potent recipe for success.
Hallock’s PR boasts aren’t hollow by all accounts, and the refreshed Arrow Lake CPUs here have been a pleasant surprise to the gaming community and PC enthusiasts alike.
The only thing missing is a flagship update without the 290K Plus model. This means the flagship 285K is in an odd position, as the new 270K Plus is its equal in core count and almost matches the former’s clocks (it’s 100MHz shy of the boost effort, but that’s not a big deal at all).
More eyes will likely be on the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, though, because at $199 this looks like an excellent value proposition and a much-needed breath of fresh air at a time when many PC components are becoming depressingly expensive (RAM and storage, of course, and GPUs too).
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