Intel Core Ultra Series 2: Series 2 vs Series 1, Intel 14th Gen, and AMD’s Top CPUs

October 30, 2024 – Intel has just released the first batch of its highly anticipated Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors (based on the Arrow Lake architecture and also known as the Intel Core Ultra 200S series) following the release earlier this year of the first batch of Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs (based on the Lunar Lake architecture and also known as the Intel Core Ultra 200V series).

Yes, unlike the previous Series 1, which was exclusive to laptops, this time the new CPUs are aimed at both laptops and desktops, but with some important differences.

According to Intel, these new processors are great for productivity tasks, content creation, and gaming, and they are also very power efficient. But before we dive into more details, let’s clarify some naming conventions Intel has adopted for this new batches of processors:

• All Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs from this first batch end with the letter “V” and come with an integrated GPU, specifically an Intel Arc Graphics (130V or 140V).

• The current batch of Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs, on the other hand, can end with the letters “K” or “KF”. Only CPUs ending in “K” possess an integrated Intel Graphics GPU.

As you may recall, Series 1 had “Standard” and “Ultra” versions, with only the latter featuring an integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) dedicated to accelerating AI-related tasks. Now, all Series 2 processors (both laptop and desktop) come with an NPU, so they are all “Ultra”.

Below is the full list of all the new CPUs, separated between laptop and desktop versions.

Series 2 Laptop CPUs	Integrated GPU (iGPU)
Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 288V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 140V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 268V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 140V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 266V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 140V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 258V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 140V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 256V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 140V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 238V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 130V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 236V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 130V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 228V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 130V
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 226V	Intel® Arc™ Graphics 130V
Series 2 Desktop CPUs	Integrated GPU (iGPU)
Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 285K	Intel® Graphics
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 265K	Intel® Graphics
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 265KF	no
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 245K	Intel® Graphics
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 245KF	no

Keep in mind that more batches of Intel Ultra processors (Series 2) will be released in early 2025, and they’ll bring some additional product line suffixes (for desktops: F, T, or no suffix; for laptops: HX, H, or U).

The 2025 desktop Series 2 processors will all be slightly less powerful (i.e., lower clock speeds and lower base power) but more affordable variants of those released this year and discussed here.

On the other hand, the 2025 laptop Series 2 CPUs, which unlike the current batch will be based on the Arrow Lake architecture, promise to bring more power to the table.

So, are these first two batches of Series 2 CPUs any good? Stay with us as we dive into some detailed comparisons with their alternatives.

Intel Series 2 vs Series 1 and 14th Gen Laptop CPUs

The laptop versions of the new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs are primarily intended for thin and lightweight laptops, optimized more for creative tasks than intense gaming.

This is clearly reflected in their main tech specs, summarized in the table below and compared to those of Intel’s older Series 1 and 14th Gen laptop CPUs.

Based on single-threaded performance (often indicative of gaming performance), the new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs are a step forward compared to their Series 1 predecessors (see for example this comparison between the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by NanoReview).

But they fall short compared to their 14th Gen counterparts (see this comparison between the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V and the Intel Core i9-14900HX by NanoReview).

Where the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs excel is power efficiency, as shown by the table above, where you can see that their TDP is only 37W.

Intel stated that: “Intel® Core™ Ultra processors (Series 2) provide discrete-level graphics for thin & light laptops,” but testers from Tom’s Hardware and Laptop Mag have shown that gamers shouldn’t expect much from these CPUs.

Claire Tabari at Laptop Mag tested a laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, and while they were impressed that an iGPU could run some graphically demanding games, the gameplay experience was subpar as games ran at less than 60 fps, with numerous stutters and slowdowns.

Jarred Walton at Tom’s Hardware conducted similar tests on the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V, and while performance was slightly better than with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, the results were still not impressive (e.g., only 32 fps at 1080p, medium settings, on Black Myth: Wukong).

Keep in mind that both of these tests were done without a discrete GPU, but here’s the catch: Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop processors are not intended to be paired with one. This also means that these CPUs won’t be found in gaming laptops.

Gamers will likely need to wait for the release of the new Arrow Lake-based Laptop CPUs in 2025, especially the HX and H versions, if they are looking for an upgrade.

With that said, the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs look more promising for gamers, as we discuss below.

Intel Series 2 vs 14th Gen Desktop CPUs

The table above highlights how the main specs of the new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs are comparable to those of Intel’s 14th Gen. But how does the most powerful Series 2 desktop processor, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, stack up against Intel’s 14th Gen flagships, the Intel Core i9-14900K/KS?

According to CPUBenchmark, in single-threaded tasks the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K takes the lead followed by the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, while the Intel Core i9-14900KS takes third place.

NanoReview, on the other hand, considers the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K a close match for the Intel Core i9-14900KS, although it’s superior in both power efficiency and iGPU capabilities.

But what about actual gaming performance? First of all, while the new Intel Graphics iGPU performance can approach that of some low-end discrete GPUs like the GeForce GTX 1630, pairing these new CPUs with a powerful discrete GPU is still recommended for serious gaming.

Thankfully, unlike their laptop counterparts, Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs can in fact be paired with a discrete GPU.

The Verge compared the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and the Intel Core i9-14900K (both paired with an Nvidia RTX 4090 discrete GPU) and found that the latter outperformed the former in 3 out of 5 games tested, while the performance was close in the remaining two.

TechPowerUp also tested some graphically demanding games and found that the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K was generally outperformed by the Intel Core i9-14900K.

Intel Series 2 vs AMD‘s Top Desktop CPUs

And how do Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs compare to AMD’s recently released 9000 series flagship, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, or the older but very capable AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D?

CPU	# Cores/ Threads	Max Speed	Cache (L3)	TDP	Price*
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K	24/24	5.7 GHz	36 Mb	250 W	$589
Intel Core Ultra 7 265K	20/20	5.5 GHz	30 Mb	250 W	$394
Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF	20/20	5.5 GHz	30 Mb	250 W	$379
Intel Core Ultra 5 245K	14/14	5.2 GHz	24 Mb	159 W	$309
Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF	14/14	5.2 GHz	24 Mb	159 W	$294
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X	16/32	5.7 GHz	64 Mb	170 W	$649
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D	16/32	5.7 GHz	128 Mb	120 W	$699
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D	12/24	5.6 GHz	128 Mb	120 W	$599
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D	8/16	5.0 GHz	96 Mb	120 W	$449

In single-threaded tests by CPUBenchmark all these CPUs are outperformed by the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, although the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is not very far behind.

According to NanoReview the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K wins by a very small margin over the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X in single-threaded and multi-core performance, as well as in power efficiency.

There is agreement between CPUBenchmark and NanoReview regarding the clear overall superiority of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K over the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D in terms of single-threaded performance.

But again, how does this translate to actual gaming performance? Testers from Forbes.com have shown how AMD’s top processors often outperform the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in the games tested. However, at least in some instances, this performance gap could be due to software issues, something that a future drivers update could potentially fix.

A similar result comes from TechPowerUp, who found that the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and other Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop CPUs generally fall short of the above-mentioned AMD processors in most games tested.

A notable exception is Spider-Man Remastered, where the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K surpasses all other processors. This once again hints at the possibility that a driver update may boost Intel Core Series 2 performance across the board.

Keep in mind that these performance differences are more noticeable at 1080p and a bit less at 1440p. At 4K the discrete graphics card fully takes on the heavy lifting and differences between CPUs generally shrink to only a couple fps.

Conclusions

While the first batch of Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptop CPUs may disappoint those looking to turn thin and lightweight laptops into gaming powehouses, their desktop counterparts are a nice addition to the lineup of gaming CPUs and a solid step forward for creative tasks (e.g., rendering, video editing) and power efficiency.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in particular performs comparably to, but does not surpass, Intel’s 14th Gen and AMD’s best CPUs in actual gaming scenarios.

Nonetheless, the improved power efficiency of the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors makes them a valuable option, especially for those playing at high resolutions (1440p, 4K), where a good discrete graphics card does most of the heavy lifting and these CPUs save power without sacrificing performance.

However, if you are a competitive gamer who prioritizes frame rates above all else and looks forward to even better power efficiency, it may be worth waiting before committing to a new CPU.

Rumor has it that AMD will release its highly anticipated Ryzen 7 9800X3D desktop CPU on November 7th. We can’t wait to see how it performs, stay tuned!

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