The desktop Intel Core Ultra 200 processors failed to impress several reviewers (including us) when they launched last October as the company's new flagship lineup, codenamed Arrow Lake-S. While they perform well enough in compute tests, the gaming performance of the Intel Core Ultra 200 has been uneven, with the chips outpaced by their Raptor Lake predecessors in many titles.
The update that didn't deliver - Update (January 18): We haven't yet tested the fixes Intel has claimed for its Arrow Lake chips, but Tom's Hardware quickly ran a few gaming tests on the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K. In short, the updates don't fix the underwhelming gaming performance of a high-end chip like this.
In some cases, performance even dropped after the updates, while the previous-generation Raptor Lake Refresh chips benefited more from the required operating system update, widening the gap further. In the end, we can't justify the way Intel is trying to spin this story beyond what can be proven, and making misleading promises does more harm than good.
Here is the original problem:
Intel moved quickly to investigate, and by December it had a clear idea of what was causing the performance problems. It turned out to be a combination of power plan issues, anti-cheat settings and a handful of other miscellaneous problems, although the biggest issue was a missing Power & Performance Management (PPM) package.
The first round of fixes arrived before the holidays in a mandatory Windows 11 update, along with some patches from game publishers. But Intel said we would have to wait until CES in January for the second wave: a key BIOS update to truly unlock the untapped potential of the Ultra 200. Well, that update has just been released, and according to Intel's internal testing, it resolves the performance problems thoroughly.
Intel's data shows some notable gaming improvements. In Cyberpunk: 2077, for example, Intel says the fixes can deliver up to a 26% increase in frames per second on patched Ultra 200 systems, according to PC World. Far Cry 6 can also see gains of up to 16% in FPS.
The performance gains don't stop at games, though. Intel also ran the 3DMark TimeSpy synthetic benchmark and says patched Ultra 200 systems can see overall scores jump by as much as 97%.
We need to run a few tests of our own before we can confirm Intel's lofty numbers. But all of the software and BIOS updates are available now, so if you own an underperforming Arrow Lake system, you should download them. Make sure you're running the latest version of Windows, and check with your system or motherboard manufacturer for the key BIOS update.
Now that the desktop Ultra 200 problems have (hopefully) been resolved, Intel can focus on ensuring a smooth, high-performing launch for its new Core H and HX CPUs for gamers and creators. These processors are expected to ship soon, so we hope Intel can deliver a successful release this time.
