Intel reportedly axes Core Ultra 9 290K PLUS CPU
Intel reportedly cancels its Arrow Lake Refresh flagship over value concerns
Intel has reportedly axed its Core Ultra 9 290K PLUS CPU, the flagship of the company’s upcoming “Arrow Lake Refresh” lineup. The long-rumoured CPU has reportedly been cancelled due to value concerns. With Intel’s Core Ultra 7 270K PLUS featuring the same CPU core count, Intel saw no need for its higher-speed variant to exist.
Simply put, the 290K PLUS was going to look like bad value compared to its Ultra 7 counterpart. By cancelling this model, Intel’s more value-oriented Core Ultra 7 270K PLUS will headline their refreshed Core Ultra 200S series lineup. With this tweak, Intel’s refreshed Arrow Lake range will receive a much stronger critical reception. After all, the 270K PLUS and 250K PLUS will offer buyers higher clock speeds and more cores.
If this leak is true, it is easy to see Intel’s logic here. The 290K PLUS won’t be much better than the Ultra 9 285K, and will only feature a minor clock speed boost over the Ultra 7 270K PLUS. It’s effectively an Ultra 9 285KS, or an Ultra 7 270KS PLUS. PC builders with an eye for value will flock to the 270K PLUS over its higher-end counterpart. After all, a few hundred MHz isn’t much these days.
Based on our information, Intel explains the change as a shift towards performance-per-value. The company plans to keep the Core Ultra 7 270K PLUS ad Core Ultra 250K PLUS in its lineup, according to materials shared with partners.
| Cores (P+E) | Intel TVB (Up to) |
Intel TBMT 3.0 (Up To) |
P-core Turbo (Up To) |
E-Core Turbo (Up To) |
CPU Base/Max Power | Memory Support | Integrated graphics | |
| Core Ultra 9 290K PLUS (Cancelled) | 8P + 16E | 5.8 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 125/250W | DDR5-7200 | Yes |
| Core Ultra 9 285K | 8P + 16E | 5.7 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 125/250W | DDR5-6400 | Yes |
| Core Ultra 7 270K PLUS | 8P + 16E | – | 5.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 125/250W | DDR5-7200 | Yes |
| Core Ultra 7 265K | 8P + 12E | – | 5.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 125/250W | DDR5-6400 | Yes |
| Core Ultra 5 250K PLUS | 6P + 12E | – | – | 5.3 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 125/159W | DDR5-7200 | Yes |
| Core Ultra 5 245K | 6P + 8E | – | – | 5.2 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 125/159W | DDR5-6400 | Yes |
A good move for Core Ultra
This rumoured change to Intel’s Core Ultra 200S refresh lineup is a good move from Intel. At best, the 290K PLUS would be seen as an expensive upgrade over the 270K PLUS for a minimal upgrade. If Intel maintains current Core Ultra 200-series pricing with this refresh, the Ultra K-PLUS series will be seen as a great value refresh. However, with Nova Lake launching later this year, is now too late to refresh Arrow Lake?
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