The Intel Core Ultra 200 CPU series will reportedly only feature up to 24 threads as it lacks hyper-threading. This marks a regression compared to the current 14th Gen offerings, which top at 32 threads.
Based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture, Core Ultra 200 processors will debut a new naming scheme for the desktop lineup. Instead of the usual Core i9, i7, etc, from now on, we’ll have Core or Core Ultra, followed by a three-digit number. For example, a hypothetical Core i9-15900K will be called Core Ultra 9 285K. This is similar to the brand’s mobile segment, which includes a Core Ultra 9 185H chip.
Though the naming is close to the mobile series, these desktop chips carry up to 50% more cores. According to Benchlife, the Core Ultra 200 series will include a 14-core (6P+8E) Core Ultra 5, a 20-core (8P+12E) Core Ultra 7, and a 24-core (8P+16E) Core Ultra 9. These will likely be called Core Ultra 5 245K, Ultra 7 265K, and Ultra 9 285K, respectively. All models will likely have a 125W power budget. Though seeing how current Intel chips don’t always adhere to that, reality may be different.
Like with its 14th Gen series and prior, leaks suggest Intel will release non-K variants of these CPUs. These might have a 65W target with overclocking locked. There’s also talk about Core Ultra 5 240 that reduces the core count to 10 (6P+4E), rated for 65W. This one sounds like a great bang-for-your-buck gaming chip.
We don’t know much about the iGPU-less F series, apart from two potential Core Ultra 5 models. The same is true for frequencies. In total, whispers suggest Intel will launch at least 13 models, but more may come later. What is sure is that these processors will require a new socket – LGA 1851, and, thus, a new motherboard/chipset. Lastly, these are unlikely to support DDR4 at all, moving towards DDR5.