Intel’s next generation CPUs may confuse you with their names, but whatever Arrow Lake is called, it will have an uphill battle against AMD Zen 5
Intel’s Arrow Lake processors are on the way for desktop PCs and should arrive later this year, and we’ve just discovered a leak about the name of these chips.
This comes from one of the more mainstream leaks on X (formerly Twitter), and as always, sprinkle a lot of spice on the claims.
Leaker’s theory Raichu (through VideoCardz) is that the first launches for Arrow Lake will be the 285K, 265K and 245K – which should be the equivalent of the current generation Core i9, Core i7 and Core i5 CPUs (Raptor Lake Refresh).
So Arrow Lake’s initial CPU names can be done as follows:
- Core Ultra 9 285K
- Core Ultra 7 265K
- Core Ultra 5 245K
After that, the non-K releases (i.e. locked processors, those that cannot be overclocked, unlike K chips) will not use the same number – as was previously the case, with the ‘K’ simply dropped (14900K , 14900). These will be branded entirely differently as the Core Ultra 275, 255, and 240 (VideoCardz theorizes these would be the Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 5 models).
There’s another suggestion that we could get a Core Ultra 9 290K later, which would be the equivalent of the ‘KS’ limited edition chips (14900KS).
The battle for the next generation of CPUs is starting to take shape
If this is what is happening, are these new names confusing? Well, they’ll undoubtedly cause some bewilderment among buyers at first. For desktop CPUs, this represents a big change from the typical 14900K, 14700K and so on that we have long been accustomed to.
However, these names make sense based on the naming scheme for Meteor Lake (laptop) CPUs, and it’s fully expected that Intel will switch to the Core Ultra branding for all chips, not just laptops.
In any case, while the names may change and there may be confusion for some, the underlying core specifications should not. With the next generation of Arrow Lake desktop processors, the top chip should still run with 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, as is the case with Raptor Lake Refresh (and all recent generations).
According to another recent rumor, the other main chip on which Intel will base Arrow Lake CPUs will have six performance cores plus eight efficiency cores – there will, as always, be a number of variants on both chips.
Arrow Lake seems to be in a strange place right now. Previous leaks certainly suggested that these next-gen CPUs will represent a huge performance leap for Intel – although that hype has died down somewhat (though it’s far from extinguished).
What has recently come to light are doubts that Intel will bring Arrow Lake to market on time this year, with the prospect that these desktop CPUs won’t hit shelves until late 2024.
The problem for Intel in that case is that AMD’s Zen 5 processors could come out in the third quarter, if other rumors emerge, and that could mean that these next-generation Ryzen CPUs – which are also expected to be a healthy move will be forward, in terms of performance. – will still have room to really dominate for a while.
Especially if Arrow Lake’s volume is shaky to begin with, as other speculation has indicated, and the Zen 5 (Ryzen 9000) is more affordable. All things considered, AMD could be in a prime position to threaten Intel’s position in our rankings of the best CPUs. Add your own skepticism, of course, but that’s how things seem to be looking now.
The glimmer of positivity here is that now that the naming scheme is spreading, perhaps this is an indication that Intel’s Arrow Lake CPUs aren’t as far off the mark as some leakers seem to believe. Be even more cautious about that prospect, but still – we honestly need all the good vibes around Arrow Lake we can get. The fiercer the competition between this new generation of desktop processors, the better it should ultimately be for consumers.