Intel is taking steps to address the high heat and power consumption of its desktop CPUs. The new Core Ultra 200S series, set to be released on October 24, focuses on improving performance per watt, aiming to run cooler and more efficiently than the previous 14th Gen processors. Known as Arrow Lake S, these are Intel’s first enthusiast desktop CPUs featuring a built-in neural processing unit (NPU) for enhanced AI processing capabilities.
Josh Newman, Intel’s General Manager and VP of Product Marketing, stated that Arrow Lake would deliver top-tier performance for desktop and mobile enthusiasts at significantly reduced power levels compared to previous generations. These advancements also introduce the first AI PC for enthusiasts in both sectors.
The architecture of Arrow Lake centers on reducing power consumption. The 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core CPUs were notably power-intensive, often surpassing AMD counterparts in power draw. The new Core Ultra 200S series promises to halve power usage during basic tasks and significantly reduce wattage during gaming sessions.
Robert Hallock, Vice President of Intel’s Client Computing Group, mentioned that these chips would consume about half the power in single-core usage. While gaming, power consumption could vary between 50 to 150 watts depending on the game’s requirements.
Intel demonstrated the capabilities of the new chips with a comparison between its Core Ultra 9 285K and the current Core i9-14900K, showing similar or improved performance with 80 watts less energy consumption in games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Power reduction extends to other games, potentially shaving off up to 58 watts in some cases.
The Core Ultra 9 285K is expected to achieve a temperature drop of approximately 13 degrees Celsius compared to the 14900K during 1080p gaming with a 360mm AIO cooler. The transition to the new LGA-1851 socket requires new motherboards, with assurances that existing AIO coolers are compatible.
Intel is utilizing its latest 3D packaging technology for the Core Ultra 200S series, resulting in a 33 percent size reduction from the 14th Gen. The flagship Ultra 9 285K will have 24 cores, 24 threads, and a boost clock of 5.7GHz, with the removal of hyperthreading to enhance power efficiency.
The chip includes eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, each upgraded for better processing and reduced latency. It is anticipated to be about 8 percent faster in single-thread tasks and roughly 15 percent faster in multi-threaded tasks compared to the 14900K.
For gaming, Intel has provided benchmarks indicating that the Ultra 9 285K will compete with AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X but will trail AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Despite this, Intel claims superiority in creator and AI workloads, incorporating an NPU to accelerate specific AI tasks, though it won’t meet the requirements for Microsoft’s Copilot Plus due to its 13 TOPS capacity.
New motherboards with the Z890 chipset will be required for the Core Ultra 200S series. These boards offer extensive connectivity support and improved memory capabilities but drop support for DDR4. Intel’s 800 series chipset promises various connectivity improvements, including PCIe lanes and USB ports.
Intel has not committed to the longevity of the LGA-1851 socket, with speculation about an upcoming transition to Nova Lake. The recent resolution of stability issues with Raptor Lake processors ensures that Arrow Lake chips will not be affected.
The Core Ultra 200S lineup includes the $589 Core Ultra 9 285K, the $394 Core Ultra 7 265K, and the $309 Core Ultra 5 245K, with KF variants available at slightly reduced prices without a built-in GPU. These products are set to ship starting October 24th.
