Cyber X Gaming PC - Intel Core Ultra 9 285K 24 Cores 24 Threads, NVIDIA RTX 5080 16GB, 32GB DDR5 RAM 7000MHz, 2TB SSD Gen 4, 1000W PSU, 360mm Liquid Cooler, Wi-Fi + BT

ntel’s latest desktop processors mark a fundamental shift in design thinking. Productised as Core Ultra 200 Series but known to you and me as Arrow Lake, there’s heck of a lot that’s new.

Then there’s the tiled design, bringing together various facets through company-specific Foveros packaging technology. Want more? Arrow Lake is the first Intel desktop CPU to include a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) for emerging AI tasks, and it’s DDR5 only to boot.

Today’s review focusses on performance delivered by top-stack 9th Generation Processor ( 5.7 GHz / 24 Core / 24 Threads ). It’s one of three K-suffixed CPUs available right now, along with a couple of KF models that do the same jobs but bereft of integrated graphics. Following tradition, Intel will doubtless release a full roster of chips come early next year. It’s worth me talking you through some of the high-level changes before moving on to all-important benchmark prowess.

SPECIFICATIONS