Clock speed regression expected – Intel “Arrow Lake” to max out at 5.5 GHz
Slower clocks, but faster performance – Intel Arrow Lake may not reach 6 GHz
It looks like Intel’s next-generation flagship will not be as aggressively clocked as its predecessors. Rumour has it that the Intel Ultra 9 285K “Arrow Lake” processor will run at clock speeds of up to 5.5 GHz. That’s much slower than the 6.2 GHz clock speed of Intel’s i9-14900KS.
Intel’s Ultra 9 285K reportedly features the same number of P-cores and E-cores as its Raptor Lake predecessor. This will give the CPU 24 cores, with eight P-cores and sixteen E-cores. This means that Intel’s performance gains with their next-generation “Arrow Lake” CPUs will come from architectural enhancements, not higher core counts.
With lower clock speeds, high-end “Arrow Lake” CPUs from Intel will have their performance gains from IPC enhancements countered by lowered core clock speeds. This means that Intel needs to deliver major architectural improvements to deliver large performance gains with their next-generation CPUs.
(Posts from wxya, via WCCFTECH)
According to wxya, Intel’s Ultra 9 285K CPU will be faster than Intel’s i9-14900KS. That said, it may not be much faster. Performance gains of around 12% are expected, though it remains to be seen how Intel’s next-generation CPUs will actually perform.
Are reduced clock speeds an issue for Intel Arrow Lake?
Ideally, Intel’s next-generation processors would feature clock speeds that are similar to or higher than their predecessors. After all, there are two ways to make a CPU faster. You can increase the processor’s clock speeds, or you can increase the amount of work that a CPU can complete per clock cycle. This is typically referred to as increased IPC (Instructions Per Cycle/Clock).
With Arrow Lake, Intel will be relying heavily on architectural enhancements to allow their newest CPUs to complete more work per clock cycle. This needs to counter Arrow Lake’s clock speed regressions and deliver further performance improvements.
You can join the discussion on Intel’s rumoured Ultra 9 285K clock speeds on the OC3D Forums.
