Intel is ready to unveil its latest Core Ultra desktop CPU series. With a tile-based design, Arrow Lake marks a major architectural shift, aiming for improved performance.
we can finally take the covers off Intel’s latest CPU generation, the “Core Ultra” series, codenamed Arrow Lake. The Arrow Lake architecture is new for desktop systems, using a tile-based processor design, with the goal of moving away from a large monolithic chip based on the latest node and instead splitting the CPU into blocks, or “tiles”, as they’re commonly referred to.
This approach allows Intel to develop the CPU cores and iGPU using cutting-edge nodes, while other aspects of the processor, such as I/O interfaces, can be built using an older, more cost-effective node. This approach is similar to what AMD has been doing with Ryzen.
Since Arrow Lake represents such a radical change from the previous Raptor Lake generation, we could spend a lot of time discussing the architectural and platform changes, some of which we’ve been covering over time in anticipation for this release. However, since most of you are here for the benchmarks and actual performance results, we’ll quickly go over the flagship CPU we’re testing today, touch on the new platform, and then dive into the graphs.
The new flagship is the Core Ultra 9 285K. Yes, it’s not the best name, and yes, the ‘Ultra’ is unnecessary, but Intel is just following the trend – modern product names tend to be unnecessarily long and somewhat uninspired, so that box is checked.
The 285K features 8 P-Cores with 8 threads, as Hyper-Threading is no longer used. These P-Cores have a base frequency of 3.7 GHz, boosting up to 5.6 GHz, with a thermal velocity boost of 5.7 GHz – resulting in a 5% frequency reduction compared to the 14900K.
There are also 16 E-Cores, each with 1 thread, as there is no SMT support here. These E-Cores operate at a base frequency of 3.2 GHz, with a boost up to 4.6 GHz, which is a 5% increase over the E-Cores in the 14900K.
In total, there are 36 MB of L3 cache and 40 MB of L2 cache. Each P-Core gets 3 MB of L2 cache, while the E-Cores are grouped into clusters of four, with each cluster sharing 4 MB of L2 cache. Finally, the base TDP is 125W, with a max turbo TDP of 250W. Intel is pricing this at $590 per 1,000 units, so we expect an initial retail price of at least $600.
It’s also worth noting that all K-SKU models, which are the only ones announced so far, support dual-channel DDR5-5600 UDIMM memory or DDR5-6400 CUDIMM memory. CUDIMM memory includes a small clock driver circuit directly on the module, enabling more precise timings required at higher memory speeds.
All CPUs provide 20 PCIe 5.0 lanes and 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes, along with an 8-lane Direct Media Interface 4.0 bus to the chipset. As usual, the K-suffix processors have an unlocked multiplier, making them ideal for overclocking.
With Arrow Lake, Intel has moved away from the LGA1700 socket, switching to LGA1851. Despite the increased pin count, the new socket maintains the same dimensions and cooler mounting hole spacing as LGA1700, ensuring continued compatibility with existing CPU coolers.
For testing, we used a number of new motherboards, primarily the Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero and MSI MEG Z890 Unify-X. A substantial number of BIOS updates were needed to achieve the performance figures we’re about to present, so it’s fair to say the Arrow Lake review process has been far from smooth.
First, to be transparent, we had very limited time to prepare this review, as Intel only sent us the review kit three days before the embargo lifted. Three days is not enough time to run all the tests we’d like to, so some tests will be covered in follow-up content.
Since these CPUs will be available for purchase on October 24th, we wanted to have a review ready to help guide your buying decisions. However, delays in receiving review samples turned out to be the least of our concerns, as Arrow Lake is currently a bit of a hot mess, so much so that we’re not sure where to start.
Let’s start with Windows 11. Many of you know that Windows 11 24H2 was released a few weeks ago, significantly improving gaming performance for modern Ryzen processors in some cases. It even benefits 13th and 14th-gen Intel models. However, when updating our data, we noticed that 12th-gen Intel CPUs performed noticeably worse on 24H2 compared to 23H2.
This issue wasn’t limited to 12th-gen processors. We encountered serious performance and stability problems with Arrow Lake on 24H2. After multiple fresh installs failed to resolve the issue, we had to revert to testing on 23H2. This is less than ideal, as we know some games perform worse on the older version of Windows 11.
Even with a fresh 23H2 install, we still experienced stability issues with the 285K. Games would occasionally crash, as would certain applications. The problem was worse when using the DDR5-8200 memory provided for testing. This persisted even after numerous BIOS revisions for two different motherboards.
We expect these teething issues will be addressed quickly, though we are unsure why 24H2 caused so many problems. It’s particularly odd because Intel reportedly did all their benchmarking on 24H2 using the Insider Preview build from August and did not report any issues. Nevertheless, we’ve spoken with multiple reviewers who also encountered problems, even with 23H2, and board manufacturers confirmed there are issues with 24H2.
Before we get into the benchmark data, here are the test specs and systems used. One thing to note is that we benchmarked the 285K with both DDR5-7200 and DDR5-8200 memory.
The 7200 CL34 memory runs with much tighter timings compared to the DDR5-8200 CL40 memory. If an application or game is more latency-sensitive, the 7200 memory may perform better. However, if bandwidth is the limiting factor, the 8200 kit might have the advantage.
Now, let’s see how the numbers shake out.
First, let’s take a look at how the 285K behaves under load. For cooling, we are using the new MSI MAG Coreliquid I360, which was provided in our review kit and is specifically designed and optimized for the new Arrow Lake CPUs.
MSI has developed a unique bracket that shifts the cold plate north, resulting in a 3-degree reduction in temperature as it better targets the hotspot on these new CPUs. A nice feature of this design is that the unique mounting bracket also provides optimal coverage for LGA1700, AM4, and even AM5 processors, making it a versatile, one-size-fits-all solution.
With the Coreliquid I360 installed, we loaded up the 285K with Cinebench and observed an average clock frequency of 4.6 GHz on the E-Cores and 5.3 GHz on the P-Cores, all while staying within the stock 250W power limit. The CPU reached a peak core temperature of 84°C, which is well below the 105°C TjMAX.
Now for the benchmark graphs: the Cinebench multi-core performance looks very strong. We already know that E-Cores work well in this type of workload, based on previous models. The E-Cores in the 285K are based on an updated architecture and run at slightly higher clock speeds. Using either DDR5-7200 or 8200 memory, we saw a score of just over 2,500 points, making the 285K 14% faster than the 14900K and 7% faster than the 9950X.
When we look at single-core performance, the Arrow Lake P-Cores continue to impress, with the 285K being 13% faster than the 14900K and 6% faster than the 9950X – another great result.
Next, let’s discuss power consumption. This part of the review gave us some trouble, but thanks to Steve from Gamers Nexus, we were able to catch an issue with the testing. The Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero has a unique design: instead of delivering all the CPU power through the dual EPS12V rails, four of the vCore power stages are connected to the 24-pin ATX power cable.
Initially, we were puzzled as to why the 285K, with a 250W limit, was drawing only 196W. After Gamers Nexus alerted us to this, we confirmed that about 50-60W of power was being supplied via the 24-pin ATX cable.
