The next generation of processors from Team Blue is called Intel Arrow Lake, or Core Ultra 200. Arrow Lake will be the first desktop processors to carry the new Intel Core Ultra branding when it launches in October 2024 as the replacement for its 14th generation CPUs.
At first, it was believed that Arrow Lake would launch with a series of CPUs from Bartlett Lake, but those are now expected to make their debut in early 2025. After a year of speculations and leaks, Intel has finally come clean and provided us with a wealth of tasty information. This is all the information you require about Arrow Lake.
Pricing and availability
In October 2024, Intel disclosed the pricing and anticipated release date for their flagship K-series Arrow Lake CPUs. The first CPUs were scheduled to launch on October 24, however they were originally unveiled on October 10.
In terms of cost, the top Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is expected to launch at $589. Prices for the Core Ultra 7 265K and 265KF will be $394 and $379 upon launch, respectively. At $309 and $294, respectively, the more affordable Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF will be available for purchase.
Should these chips prove popular, initial shortages could affect pricing temporarily, driving up the cost shortly after launch.
Intel Arrow Lake specs
An inbuilt GPU and additional accelerators for AI and video transcoding coexist with performance and efficiency cores in Arrow Lake’s tile-based architecture, which is similar to that of recent Intel processor generations. On October 10, Intel made the official specifications for Arrow Lake public after months of speculation and leaks.
The long-running rumor that Intel was discontinuing hyperthreading for this generation was validated by these specifications. As a result, each of these CPUs has fewer threads overall than their predecessors. Although multi-threading performance does not appear to have been affected, the efficiency benefits may have been due to this generation’s modest clock speed reductions.
In fact, Intel has promised far higher gameplay efficiency over the 14th generation, even if the specs indicate that these CPUs can draw up to 250 watts. It states that, in addition to lower temperatures, gaming would rarely use more than 165W, but performance will be on par with or even marginally poorer than the 14900K from the previous generation.
While the efficiency cores will be based on a new Skymont design, the performance cores are based on a new Lion Cove architecture. A new neural processing unit (NPU) that can produce 13 tera operations per second (TOPS) on its own, with an additional potential of 8 TOPS from the GPU and 15 TOPS from the CPU, is also included, along with a new generation of onboard Xe graphics that Intel claims can be up to twice as fast as their predecessors.
With more pins than the 13th and 14th generation designs on the LGA 1700 socket, Arrow Lake is based on a new LGA 1851 socket design. This implies that upgrading from 12th-, 13th-, or 14th-generation PCs will not be possible without a new motherboard for Arrow Lake processors. Coolers should work with it, though, because it will be the same physical size as the LGA 1700.
Along with a new generation of motherboard chipsets, that new socket requires DDR5; Intel boards of this generation no longer support DDR4. Support for DDR5 6400 memory speeds up to 48GB per stick, with a system-wide limit of 192GB. Additionally, Arrow Lake will support Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6E, with motherboard manufacturers possibly adding support for Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt 5. For Arrow Lake, we had assumed Intel would use its own 20A node.
It did, however, disclose at IFA 2024 that it is changing course in order to create a smaller node, 18A. Thus, Arrow Lake is referred to as being produced by “external partners,” most likely referring to TSMC, Intel’s rival fabricator.
Arrow Lake performance
As the October 24 launch date approaches, we will learn more about the third-party standards for Arrow Lake. As of right now, Intel has provided us with some performance graphics of its own to think about. While they do demonstrate remarkable efficiency gains, they are not very intriguing in terms of raw performance.
The graph above shows that the 285K uses significantly less power than its predecessors while showing some minor performance gains in specific games. The graph below, however, makes it evident that while some games do benefit from running on Intel technology, other well-known games, such as Cyberpunk 2077, have a significant performance edge for AMD’s top games.
Additionally, Intel boasted about the cooler gaming temps, which is usually good but not necessarily a sign of improved performance. That would normally imply the reverse, in fact.
According to Intel, in some CPU benchmarks, its 24 core, 24 thread 285K can outperform AMD’s 16 core, 32 thread 9950X and the 14900K from the previous generation.
According to reports, in certain creative applications and under certain conditions, this sheer power translates into some more concrete advantages. Even on Intel’s own slide, though, the overall differences seem to be very insignificant.
Intel’s performance results do not give Arrow Lake a very positive impression. Yes, they are more efficient, and in some situations, they might perform marginally better in terms of productivity than AMD’s alternatives, but this difference is rarely noticeable, and in terms of gaming, which AMD’s original Ryzen 9000-series CPUs were not very well-received for, it is a tie at best. AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 9000 X3D CPUs will likely significantly raise the gaming performance bar, so it will not be enough to compete.
In order to bring Intel back to performance and efficiency parity with AMD and provide a significant improvement over the lackluster 14th generation Raptor Lake redesign, Arrow Lake was supposed to be a savior design after a difficult few years for the company. According to Intel’s own measures, that does not seem to be the case, and that is not encouraging if this generation is trying to make a good impression. Although there is always a chance of an over-delivery if Intel is under-promising, we will not be hanging our breath on this one. More details will be available in the upcoming weeks, with a thorough review coverage scheduled on October 24.
