From Microsoft and Dell to ASUS and Acer, almost all the leading laptop makers gave us a taste of AI this year. These introduced us to AI-only CPUs like the Intel Core Ultra and even the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370. Well, Intel is finally giving desktop PC the same treatment with the launch of its Core Ultra 200S Arrow Lake CPUs. Not only do they bring on-device AI for the very first time to desktops, but there’s also a major focus on power efficiency. Read on to know more.
Intel Core Ultra 200S Specifications
The latest Intel Arrow Lake CPUs are the very first “NPU-enabled” processors for desktops. Additionally, they also arrive with an in-built X GPU that, according to Intel, brings “state-of-the-art media support.”
The latest Arrow Lake series features five CPUs, from the vanilla Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF to the top-of-the-line Core Ultra 9 285K. These processors are capable of offering a boost clock speed of up to 5.7 GHz alongside 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores.
Also, do note that there’s no hyper-threading anymore. So, the performance cores feature a single thread just like the efficiency cores. With that, here’s a quick rundown of the processors’ specifications:
| Intel Core Ultra 200S CPU | Cores | Threads | Max Boost Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285K | 24 (8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores) | 24 | Up to 5.7 GHz |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 265K | 20 (8 P-Cores, 12 E-Cores) | 20 | Up to 5.5 GHz |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 265KF | 20 (8 P-Cores, 12 E-Cores) | 20 | Up to 5.5 GHz |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor 245K | 14 (6 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores) | 14 | Up to 5.2 GHz |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor 245KF | 14 (6 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores) | 14 | Up to 5.2 GHz |
From the looks of it, Intel is well aware of how power-hungry their desktop CPUs can be. As a result, the Intel Core Ultra 200S sees a 58% power draw reduction in regular applications. In addition, Intel also claims that these processors require up to 165W lower system power when gaming.
All Core Ultra 200S variants offer a maximum Maximum Turbo Power of 250W, except Core Ultra 5 245K and KF, which deliver 159W.
Robert Hallock, VP and general manager of AI and Technical Marketing at Intel, states:
“The new Intel Core Ultra 200S series processors deliver on our goals to significantly cut power usage while retaining outstanding gaming performance and delivering leadership compute. The result is a cooler and quieter user experience elevated by new AI gaming and creation capabilities enabled by the NPU, and leadership media performance that leverages our growing graphics portfolio.”
However, while the processors are extremely power efficient, they are said to deliver 6% faster single-threaded and 14% faster multi-threaded performance. As for the NPU, there are 36 platform TOPS to power AI tasks for content creation and gaming, with each of the chips capable of up to 13 TOPS. Intel also claims that these chipsets pack 28% more gaming performance as compared to other flagship processors in the segment.
Further, we also get to see support for up to 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes, up to 10 USB 3.2 ports, as well as up to 8 SATA 3.0 ports. As for connectivity options, the latest Intel Core Ultra 200S processors support 20 CPU PCIe 5.0 lanes, 4 CPU PCIe 4.0 lanes, up to 2 integrated Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.
Intel has also thrown a new memory controller into the mix, bringing support for the new and fast CUDIMM DDR5 and XMP memory, with up to 48GB per DIMM. Intel Extreme Tuning Utility also sports one-click overclocking enhancements now, Intel states.
Intel Core Ultra 200S: Pricing and Availability
The Core Ultra 200S series launches globally on October 24. Pricing starts at $294 for the Core Ultra 5 245KF. Meanwhile, the regular Core Ultra 5 245K will cost $309. The Core Ultra 7 265K and 265KF CPUs cost $394 and $379, respectively. Finally, the top-of-the-line Core Ultra 9 285K comes with a price tag of $589.
So, what do you think about Intel’s latest generation of AI processors for desktops? Drop your thoughts in the comments down below!