# Intel Arrow Lake: Core Ultra 200 CPUs Guarantee Equivalent Performance with Improved Power Efficiency
Intel has formally announced its next-gen **Arrow Lake** processors, highlighted by the **Core Ultra 200** series. In a press announcement, the tech behemoth underscored a substantial enhancement in power efficiency while achieving performance metrics aligned with its predecessor, **Raptor Lake**. This signifies a crucial change in Intel’s approach, prioritizing energy optimization over increasing clock speeds.
## Main Features of Intel Arrow Lake
The Arrow Lake series brings a new socket, **LGA1851**, meaning users must acquire new motherboards to utilize these CPUs. Nevertheless, Intel has guaranteed that current coolers will remain compatible with the new platform, owing to similar hole spacing.
The initial lineup features five processors, with U.S. prices officially disclosed:
– **Intel Core Ultra 9 285K**: $589
– **Intel Core Ultra 7 265K**: $394
– **Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF**: $379
– **Intel Core Ultra 5 245K**: $309
– **Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF**: $294
While pricing in Euros was not available at the time of the release, these U.S. prices provide an early glimpse into the pricing structure of Intel’s latest products.
## Performance and Energy Efficiency
Intel’s assertion of **comparable performance** to the Raptor Lake flagship, the **Core i9 14900K**, comes with a notable caveat: **half the TDP (Thermal Design Power)**. This is made possible through architectural advancements and the removal of hyper-threading in the performance cores (P-cores). The new **Lion Cove** P-cores feature a 9% enhancement in **Instructions per Cycle (IPC)**, while the **Skymont** efficiency cores (E-cores) tout a 32% IPC enhancement.
Intel has also pointed out the improved energy efficiency of the Arrow Lake series, especially in home office environments, where it claims a **58% improvement in energy efficiency** compared to Raptor Lake.
### AI and NPU Performance
Arrow Lake is crafted with AI tasks in consideration. The built-in **Neural Processing Unit (NPU)** can deliver **13 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second)**, positioning these CPUs as formidable candidates for AI-centric applications. This clearly illustrates Intel’s preparation for a future where AI assumes a more prominent role in computing.
## Gaming Benchmarks: A More Efficient 14900K
In gaming scenarios, the **Core Ultra 9 285K** is positioned as a counterpart to the **Core i9 14900K**, but with significantly enhanced power efficiency. In games such as **Black Myth: Wukong** and **Total War: Pharaoh**, the performance reflects levels of the 14900K, but with power savings between **34 to 58 watts**.
A notable instance is **Warhammer Space Marine 2**, where the Core Ultra 9 285K achieves **4% more FPS** while utilizing **165 watts less** than the 14900K. However, there are a few titles where the Arrow Lake flagship slightly lags, including **Far Cry 6** (13% lower performance) and **F1 24** (7% lower performance).
When contrasted with AMD’s **Ryzen 9 9950X**, Intel asserts that the Core Ultra 9 285K can surpass it in the **Cinebench multithread benchmark**. In gaming performance, both CPUs are said to provide similar results, with significant variances in games like **Total War: Warhammer III Mirrors of Madness** (28% better on Intel) and **Cyberpunk 2077** (13% worse on Intel).
## Core Ultra 200 Series Specifications
The following table outlines the essential specifications of the five Arrow Lake processors:
| Processor | Cores (P + E) | P-Core Clock (Base/Boost) | E-Core Clock (Base/Boost) | Base Power | Max Turbo Power |
|———————-|—————|—————————|—————————|————|—————–|
| **Core Ultra 9 285K** | 8 P + 16 E | 3.7 / 5.5 GHz | 3.2 / 4.6 GHz | 125W | 250W |
| **Core Ultra 7 265K** | 8 P + 12 E | 3.9 / 5.4 GHz | 3.3 / 4.6 GHz | 125W | 250W |
| **Core Ultra 7 265KF**| 8 P + 12 E | 3.9 / 5.4 GHz | 3.3 /