- Intel revealed new Arrow Lake Refresh processors
- They are the 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 increase in gaming performance, on the order of 15%.
Intel has launched a pair of new desktop processors, which are refreshed models that are a step forward for the company’s current Arrow Lake range.
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 upgraded models of the Core Ultra 7 265K and Core Ultra 5 245K CPUs, respectively.
Robert Hallock, vice president of Client Computing Group, general manager of Intel’s 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 arrive with exciting new technologies that revolutionize the configuration and optimization roadmap for gaming platforms. Intel. These chips are a value that’s hard to beat.”
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That’s some big talk, so what exactly is 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 Core Ultra 5 250K Plus has been given the same treatment with four additional efficiency cores, meaning it now has 12 efficiency cores to go along with its six performance cores.
As for clock speeds, they remain essentially the same as their predecessors, barring minor changes: you get 100 MHz more boost with the 250K, but the 270K maintains the same 5.4 GHz for performance cores seen with the 265K.
However, Intel has improved performance elsewhere, notably with an increase of up to 900 MHz in the inter-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 7,200 MT/s DDR5 (up from 6,400 MT/s on the current Arrow Lake chips), which will help 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 instructions per processor cycle (IPC) and user performance.”
We’re told that this tool can increase the IPC in certain games (think of it as a different way to increase performance other than clock rate increases) and this holds true even if the game has been optimized for a different platform (like a console).
The proof will be in the game’s (independent) benchmarks, of course, but Team Blue is already calling iBOT a “key aspect of Intel’s long-term performance roadmap for enthusiasts.”
In terms of gaming benchmarks for launch, Intel claims gaming performance is 15% faster for the 270K Plus versus the 265K based on average frame rates of 38 games (at 1080p resolution, high details, 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 with the world of PC enthusiasts and gamers, because Arrow Lake was not well received by the gaming community, and before that, we had those nasty stability issues with the 13th and 14th generation CPUs (which were not well received by anyone). However, this update to the Core Ultra 200S Plus, while a modest two-chip effort, is an important step toward rebuilding Intel’s desktop reputation.
The jump in gaming performance with the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is considerable, with additional cores, die-to-die speed increases, and complementary technology providing plenty of additional power. When you consider those gains through the lens of sales prices, which are actually lower than the older models these upgrades succeed at, frankly, you have a potent recipe for success.
Hallock’s PR boasts are not hollow in every way, and the revamped Arrow Lake CPUs here have been a pleasant surprise for both the gaming community and PC enthusiasts.
The only thing missing is a flagship update, without the 290K Plus model. That means the flagship 285K is in a strange position, as the new 270K Plus is equal in number of cores and almost matches the clocks of the former (it’s 100MHz short on the stakes, but that’s no big deal).
There will likely be more eyes on the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, however, because at $199, it 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 GPU too).
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