Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus Appears on Geekbench With 5.3 GHz Boost Ahead of Arrow Lake Refresh Launch

Intel's Arrow Lake refresh processors, designated as 16th Gen Core Ultra CPUs, are scheduled for launch next month with at least three initial desktop SKUs. The mid-range Core Ultra 5 250K Plus has now appeared in Geekbench benchmark results, providing the first performance glimpse of this 18-core successor to the current Core Ultra 245K. The benchmark run occurred on an Asus Prime Z890-P WIFI motherboard with 32GB of DDR5 memory, recording boost clocks reaching 5.3 GHz during testing.

The Geekbench 6 results show the engineering sample achieving 3,113 points in single-core testing and 15,251 points in multi-core workloads. These figures present an interesting performance profile when compared to existing Core Ultra 245K processors. While the 250K Plus demonstrates approximately 4% higher single-core performance than typical 245K results (which cluster around 3,000 points), its multi-core score falls 15-18% below the 245K's typical 17,000-18,000 point range. This discrepancy occurs despite the 250K Plus featuring an upgraded core configuration with 6 Performance-cores and 12 Efficient-cores, compared to the 245K's 6P+8E arrangement.

Technical specifications confirm architectural refinements beyond core count adjustments. The P-core boost clock increases by 100 MHz over the 245K, while E-core base clocks decrease by 100 MHz. This power profile adjustment suggests Intel is prioritizing peak performance efficiency in the refresh cycle. The processor retains compatibility with Intel's LGA1851 socket while introducing native support for faster DDR5-7200 memory. New Z890 chipset motherboards will accompany the launch, though existing 800-series boards will maintain compatibility through BIOS updates.

Market implications center on Arrow Lake refresh positioning as Intel's final desktop architecture before Nova Lake arrives in late 2025. Recent pricing leaks indicate aggressive positioning against AMD's Ryzen 7000/8000 series, with the Core Ultra 5 tier expected to occupy the $300-$400 segment. Notably, Intel has eliminated the Core Ultra 9 tier for this generation, concentrating flagship efforts on Core Ultra 7 models instead. Production is reportedly underway at Intel 20A fabrication nodes, with volume scaling to meet what analysts project as a critical refresh cycle for maintaining competitiveness in the desktop CPU market during Intel's transition to next-generation process nodes.

The benchmark results suggest Intel's architectural optimizations focus on single-threaded performance gains, potentially trading some multi-core throughput for power efficiency. With embargoes reportedly lifting in October, retail availability should commence shortly after Intel's official announcement, completing the company's 2024 desktop roadmap before shifting focus to mobile-focused Panther Lake and next-generation Nova Lake architectures.