Before Intel It is expected to be launched in the first half of this year Arrow Lake Refresh processor, there are also reports that it will be released around the end of March, but in fact it seems to be earlier. According to the news obtained by well-known hardware foreign media, the Core Ultra 200K Plus series (codenamed Arrow Lake Refresh) will be officially released on March 11, which means next week.
Image source: VideoCardz
Intel Arrow Lake Refresh is expected to be officially released next week
As early as the end of 2025, Intel has confirmed that it will launch the Arrow Lake Refresh version in 2026. This update is not a new architecture, but a small optimization of the existing Arrow Lake platform. The purpose is to allow consumers to get better performance at a similar price, and is suitable for users who want to upgrade their computers but do not want to invest heavily. Among the changes, it is expected to increase the number of efficiency cores (E-core) of some models, slightly increase the clock speed, and increase the official memory support from DDR5-6400 to DDR5-7200 (CUDIMM specification).
foreign media VideoCardz Reportpointed out that according to information they obtained internally, Intel has set the release date of the Core Ultra 200K Plus series as March 11, 2026. In addition, the review release date (NDA) will fall on March 23, and those who want to know the actual test performance of Arrow Lake Refresh will have to wait until the end of this month. In addition, I would like to remind you that this date has not yet been confirmed by Intel, so everything still depends on the official announcement. However, if the conference is held next week, Intel should send out an invitation letter recently. We will keep track of any news at any time.
Image source: Wccftech
In addition to the date, recent rumors also show that Intel has canceled the originally expected flagship Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, leaving only the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus. The reason for the cancellation seems to be related to the shift in strategy to “balance between performance and price.” Compared with the previous generation, the latter two processors:
- The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus increases the number of E-cores from 12 to 16.
- The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus goes from 8 to 12.
In addition, the E-core maximum clock speed will also increase slightly, and the memory officially supports the upgrade to DDR5-7200 CUDIMM, but the base power consumption and maximum Turbo power consumption remain unchanged.
Selling price part, a while agoRomanian retailers also took the lead in exposing(Revealed by momomo_us) The price of this Plus version is almost the same as that of the previous generation, with a very small or even the same increase:
- Core Ultra 7 270K Plus ~$394 (previous Core Ultra 7 265K ~$382)
- Core Ultra 5 250K Plus ~$262 (same as previous generation)
- Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus ~$243 (same as previous model)
Image source: @momomo_us
Arrow Lake Refresh vs Arrow Lake specs comparison:
| model | Number of cores (P+E) | Turbo Boost Max | P-core Turbo | E-core Turbo | P-core base clock | E-core base clock | memory support | Base power consumption/Maximum Turbo power consumption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Ultra 7 270K Plus (new) | 8P + 16E | 5.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 3.2 GHz | DDR5-7200 | 125W / 250W |
| Core Ultra 7 265K (previous generation) | 8P + 12E | 5.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 3.3 GHz | DDR5-6400 | 125W / 250W |
| Core Ultra 5 250K Plus (new) | 6P + 12E | – | 5.3 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 3.5 GHz | DDR5-7200 | 125W / 159W |
| Core Ultra 5 245K (previous generation) | 6P + 8E | – | 5.2 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 3.6 GHz | DDR5-6400 | 125W / 159W |
Source: KOCPC Chinese