Intel's New Arrow Lake CPUs Use A Lot Of Power

Intel has generated significant buzz around the efficiency of its forthcoming Arrow Lake CPUs, which aim to rank among the top processors upon their release later this week. However, early benchmark results shared by HXL on social media indicate that these CPUs can consume a substantial amount of power if users deviate from Intel’s default power settings.

The benchmark results reveal that the Core Ultra 9 285K reached a peak power draw of 370 watts during the Cinebench R23 multi-core test. While the CPU is obscured in the post, the 24 cores identified by Cinebench make it clear that it is the Core Ultra 9 285K. Intel cites a maximum turbo power of 250W and a base power of 125W for this CPU.

5.6+4.9

Source: QQ pic.twitter.com/YuY1l0z92K

— HXL (@9550pro) October 21, 2024

Interestingly, there’s more to the performance picture beyond the maximum power draw. The Core Ultra 9 285K achieved a score of 46,289 points in the benchmark—one of the highest scores recorded. For comparison, AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X scored 42,707 points in our tests. Notably, the Core Ultra 9 285K accomplishes this superior performance using 24 threads, whereas the Ryzen 9 9950X utilizes 32 threads.

As reported by VideoCardz, this peak performance shouldn’t be expected in standard configurations. The site claims that the result showcases the Core Ultra 9 285K operating without power limits, which can usually be adjusted in the BIOS. Under default power settings, the score is predicted to be just above 42,000 points, based on several leaked benchmarks.

Intel has clarified that, for the Core Ultra 9 285K, the power levels PL1 and PL2 are equivalent. PL1 represents the maximum turbo power, while PL2 denotes the peak turbo power achievable for a short duration. Therefore, for this CPU, users can anticipate a constant 250W draw under maximum boost when adhering to Intel’s default settings. Past experiences with CPUs like the Core i9-14900K suggest that motherboard manufacturers may offer options to bypass these power limits for enhanced performance.

Given that HXL’s benchmark likely involved removed power restrictions, this bodes well for high-performance PC enthusiasts with sufficient cooling solutions. Nonetheless, it’s probable that most systems won’t replicate this extraordinary level of performance.

Intel is still trying to recover from previous complications with the stability of the Core i9-13900K and Core i9-14900K, which stemmed partly from unregulated power limits in the BIOS. In light of these ongoing challenges, Intel may have encouraged motherboard manufacturers to adhere to default power restrictions for Arrow Lake CPUs, at least in retail configurations.