Intel Core Ultra 9 285K 3.7GHz 24 Core 36MB 125W

Background on Intel Core Ultra 200S Series

Intel debuted the Core processor brand way back in 2006, first with mobile processors and then later on desktops. Now, almost twenty years later, they are refreshing their mainstream CPUs with new branding: Core Ultra. This name debuted on laptops first, in late 2023, and is now coming to desktops as well.

Not only do these CPUs carry new model names, but they also feature architectural shifts that represent substantial changes from the former Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen chips. Foremost among these is the removal of Hyperthreading, Intel?s version of simultaneous multithreading that had been found across many Intel CPU products since even before the Core brand itself launched. Despite this change, multi-core performance in the new Core Ultra 200S Series processors should match or exceed the previous generation in most applications. In fact, we found in the past that some workloads perform better without Hyperthreading!

These new CPUs also feature higher base clock speeds and increased efficiency compared to last-gen models. Another upgrade is the inclusion of Intel?s Neural Processing Unit, or NPU, which provides hardware acceleration for certain types of AI operations without, or alongside, a dedicated GPU. An all-new Intel Xe-LPG on-chip graphics accelerator is present as well, except in -KF models. This new iGPU supports ray tracing and a host of other DirectX 12 features. Graphics performance is roughly doubled compared to previous Intel Core generations, along with upgraded video encoding functionality.