Intel Arrow Lake processors finally bring on-device AI to desktops

Intel Core Ultra chipsets, now in their second generation, have brought perks of on-device artificial intelligence to laptops across brands for over a year now. Thanks to an NPU alongside the CPU and GPU, these chipsets can offload low-level AI tasks like edge detection in Windows Studio effects away from the CPU and GPU.

Now, Intel’s newest processors bring these same perks to desktops. They also focus on efficiency, an aspect that has been a concern with Intel’s previous desktop processors.

ALSO READ: What is an NPU?

Here’s everything you need to know about the new Intel Core Ultra 200S series, also known as the brand’s ‘Arrow Lake’ line of processors.

Intel Arrow Lake processors: What’s new?

The new Intel Core Ultra 200S series processors offer up to five unlocked desktop processors, including three K-series processors and two KF-series ones. The K-series processors include built-in GPU cores, allowing them to run without a graphics card, while the KF series feature no GPU cores, and will need a graphics card.

ALSO READ: Intel Lunar Lake Laptop CPUs announced: Here’s what’s new

The series comprises the following processors:

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K: The most powerful chip in the series, the 285K comes in a single variant with four GPU cores and a 13-TOPS (trillion operations per second) NPU. It also features 24 cores (8 performance cores + 16 efficiency cores) and can clock up to 5.7GHz.

Intel Core Ultra 7 265K/KF: The mid-range Core Ultra 7 gets a K and KF variant, both of which come with 20 cores (8 performance + 12 efficiency) cores which can clock up to 5.5GHz, along with a 13-TOPS NPU. The K-variant offer four GPU cores too.

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K/KF: The 245K/KF are the entry-level processors in the series, offering a 14 core CPU (6 performance cores + 8 efficiency cores) that can clock up to 5.2GHz and offer a 13-TOPS NPU. The K-variant offer four GPU cores too.

Intel claims the new Core Ultra 200S processors offer up to 50 per cent faster AI performance next to unnamed competitors. The processors are also claimed to offer 15 per cent better multi-thread performance compared to Intel’s own Raptor Lake processors. However, the standout feature is the 58 per cent lower power consumption.

The price of the new processors starts at $294 (about Rs 24,691) for the Core Ultra 5 models and go all the way up to $589 (about Rs 49,467) for the top Core Ultra 9 model. Details on India pricing and availability are yet to be revealed.