Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU Review

How Much Does it Cost?

The new CPUs are the latest flagships for the Intel range, and obviously their performance, features and core counts are reflected in the price tags. The Intel Core U5 245K is the cheapest of the bunch that we’ve tested today, coming in at just $309/£278.99. The faster Intel Core U7 265K is a little more expensive at $394.00, and of course, the flagship Intel Core U9 285K is the most expensive at $589.00. However, I do think the price gap is quite a leap to the i9, but no doubt more CPUs will hit the market to fill out the pricing stacks, below and in between these CPUs. You can check for up-to-date stock and prices from Scan.co.uk here.

Conclusion

These first-gen Core Ultra CPUs are certainly interesting. While they’re still the 15th Gen and latest evolution following CPUs like the i9-14900K, the differences are certainly interesting. While performance was not a huge departure from the last generation, it rarely is with new CPUs unless you’re looking to upgrade every few generations. What this feels like is what the 14th Gen should have and could have been.

HyperThreading

Intel has left their HyperThreading design in the past, it’s time to move into a new way of thinking. However, HyperThreading has been so commonplace that some software kind of expects it. This results in some of our benchmarks, including some games such as CyberPunk actually suffering from worse performance on these new CPUs. As software developers adapt their code to optimize for CPUs without HyperThreading, either through simple updates or more extensive revisions, the impact should lessen over time. It’s expected that future software patches will address these issues, and I anticipate revisiting performance benchmarks after these updates are implemented.

Increased Cost

As with any new generation, the cost of upgrades can be pretty hefty. However, with the new Core Ultra it’s more compounded than usual. Obviously the CPUs cost a little more than the last generation, but the need for a new chipset and motherboard isn’t cheap, and of course, a set of high-speed DDR5 memory to take full advantage of it. While previous generations could use more affordable DDR5-7600, this one needs DDR5-8200 for optimal performance, which can double the memory cost compared to a typical DDR5-7200 kit. The enthusiast crowd may not care about the cost as much, but your average consumer may have a keener eye on the 14th Gen hardware simply based on cost.

First Gen

What’s really staggering about these new CPUs is their efficiency. Sure, that’s not the most exciting keyword in the world. While peak power draw (CPU Package) was largely the same, Idle was significantly lower, as was the total system power draw. However, looking at our power and temperature gaming averages, the real-world usage results speak for themselves. The U8 285K used around 135 watts compared to the 214 watts of the 14900K. This is drastically reflected in the temperatures too, with the 14900K hitting around 87C on our AIO-cooled setup, but the U9 285K was just 60C. That means it’s easier to cool, generates less heat, and uses less power, and this results in the CPU being able to maintain higher clock speeds and boost clocks more often.

Retesting?

We’ve had no end of troubles with testing, but largely it doesn’t seem to be Intel’s fault. The review testing started the same week Windows rolled out its latest update, which just didn’t sit well with Intel’s new metal, but we rolled back, and things improved greatly. As with any launch, BIOS updates, software updates, and Windows updates will no doubt improve things a lot, and I really feel that while performance was decent on this U7, there is still performance left on the table, and I look forward to seeing what comes up when we re-test in the coming weeks.

Should I Buy One?

I think the Intel Core Ultra 9 shows a lot of potential, and the improvements to the power and temperatures are going to make living with a flagship Intel CPU a lot easier, as it doesn’t get anywhere near as hot as its predecessors. I think the overall cost is going to put some customers off, due to the need for a new motherboard and high-performance memory. However, when it comes to AI features, improved power delivery and thermal performance, I think this CPU still has more to give, and suspect that retesting in a few weeks will show more noticeable gains for gaming and in our other benchmarks.