4 ways buying an Intel Core Ultra 200 CPU makes sense

Intel has a bad reputation when it comes to modern CPUs. The 14th Gen Intel Core launch wasn’t great and the CPUs had numerous issues. Our own Lead Technical Editor Adam Conway had to endure months of watching his poor 14900K slowly decay. Still, Intel wasn’t going to let this defeat the company and in 2024 we saw the release of Arrow Lake and the Core Ultra 200 series of desktop chips. They were a substantial upgrade over the 14th Gen Core predecessors, notably for thermals, but it wasn’t the launch Intel needed. Still, there are some reasons you should consider picking an Intel Core Ultra CPU.

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Amazing performance for video editing

Attention, all creators! Intel is still king of productivity. That’s not to say AMD processors cannot be used inside workstations as they absolutely can and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is an absolute beast of a chip. But in our extensive testing, we still found the Core Ultra 285K to be the champion of our creator and productivity tests, trading blows with the outgoing 14900KS, without melting or causing too much system instability. A primary concern from me around the new socket is support from Intel before moving on to the next great thing. AMD is nailing chipset and socket support and I hope Intel takes note.

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Excellent integrated Arc GPUs

AMD may have some killer APUs in the form of the Ryzen 5 8500G and Ryzne 7 8700G with beefy integrated graphics for impressive 1080p gaming, Intel Arc on Core Ultra chips are considerably more advanced than previous-gen UHD and Iris graphics. These are great for powering through creative software and even running the latest games inside small form factor systems. Intel also worked in AI processing ahead of AMD, allowing its Core Ultra CPUs to offer higher TOPs than even the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 9950X.

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Core Ultra 200 includes some great processors

If you buy an Intel CPU, you won’t feel like you’ve missed out. AMD processors are generally better across the board, especially for gaming with the impressive AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. However, Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K is still a powerhouse with plenty of internal guts to force its way through even the most demanding tasks. There’s no fancy Hyperthreading anymore, allowing Intel’s Arrow Lake architecture to go full steam ahead with the latest P-cores and E-cores, allowing the chip to ramp up high when required and sip power in the background when idling. It’s why we’re big fans of the latest Intel mobile chips.

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You already own a discrete Arc GPU

Already own an Intel Arc GPU? An Intel Core Ultra 200 series CPU may make sense if you wish to stick with the same brand for the processor and graphics card. Using both also makes it possible to use Intel’s Graphics Software to monitor both parts, though I strongly advise against using this as your sole purchasing reason. As I wrote, the Intel Arrow Lake chips aren’t terrible CPUs. They have their merits and should be used instead of AMD if you seek the absolute most powerful options for heavier software loads, but while Intel may have lost these past few generations to AMD, the company isn’t quite out yet.

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Competition is great for the future

AMD is finally landing some serious blows against Intel and with Ryzen 9000 and Core Ultra 200 out in the wild, we will have to see how platform maturity will play a role in further improving stability and performance across the board. I’m excited to see what AMD and Intel have next to release and the competition is surely heating up. We’ve got the best gaming processors from AMD with its X3D series hitting the 9000 family. Intel is still holding on with excellent productivity and creative scoring, and Intel Arc GPUs are doing surprisingly well. Here’s hoping Panther Lake makes a larger (and more stable) splash.