Intel has reportedly canceled its top-tier Core Ultra 9 290K Plus processor, part of the upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh lineup. This decision comes despite the chip appearing in benchmarks and showing significant performance gains over existing models, raising questions about Intel’s product strategy for its new desktop platform.
Key Takeaways
- The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, an anticipated flagship for Intel’s Arrow Lake Refresh, has allegedly been canceled.
- Despite the cancellation, benchmark results have surfaced, showcasing impressive single-core and multi-core performance.
- The chip appeared to be launch-ready, with samples reportedly reaching partners before the cancellation.
- Intel officially announced only the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K/KF Plus.
A Powerful Chip That May Never See the Light of Day
Recent benchmark leaks have revealed the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, a 24-core processor (8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores) with clock speeds reaching up to 5.6 GHz. In Geekbench tests, this unreleased CPU achieved scores of 3,747 in single-core and 26,117 in multi-core performance. These figures represent a notable improvement over the existing Core Ultra 9 285K, with some reports indicating gains of up to 15-20% in multi-core performance.
The benchmark results, often appearing on motherboards like the ASUS ROG STRIX Z890-E GAMING WIFI with 64GB of DDR5-6800 memory, suggest that the 290K Plus had progressed significantly through development and validation stages. It’s speculated that samples may have even been distributed to partners before Intel made the final decision to pull the plug.
Strategic Product Positioning
Intel’s official announcement for the Core Ultra 200S Plus series, also known as Arrow Lake Refresh, included the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the Core Ultra 5 250K/KF Plus. The absence of the 290K Plus from this lineup confirms earlier reports of its cancellation. Industry analysts suggest that Intel may have opted to streamline its offerings, potentially to avoid market confusion or to focus on the value proposition of the released SKUs.
The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, for instance, is positioned as a strong performer at a more accessible price point, potentially making it a more attractive option for a wider range of consumers compared to a higher-priced flagship.
Florian Maislinger the Tech Communication Manager for Intel Germany released the following statement to PC Games Hardware, which confirms the cancellation of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus…
Intel is excited to deliver exceptional value with our Intel Core Ultra 200S Plus series processors. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus are positioned to deliver outstanding gaming performance and incredible value compared to our competition. Our objective was to maximize performance for the desktop SKUs that are most widely available. As a result, Intel is not launching a U9 290K Plus SKU.
The Fastest CPU That Wasn’t
The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is now poised to be remembered as one of the fastest consumer x86 processors that never officially reached the market. While its cancellation is a disappointment for performance enthusiasts, Intel’s decision highlights the dynamic nature of product roadmaps and market strategies in the competitive CPU landscape. The released Core Ultra 200S Plus chips are expected to offer a solid upgrade path for users on the LGA1851 socket.
