Intel today launched the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus desktop processors, priced at $199 and $299 respectively. These new chips are drop-in compatible with existing Intel 800-series chipset motherboards, though some boards may require UEFI firmware updates. Both processors are based on the current Arrow Lake microarchitecture and use TSMC's disaggregated silicon technology.

The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus features a 6P+12E core configuration with 30 MB of shared L3 cache, up from the 6P+8E and 24 MB on the 245K. Its P-core boost frequency increases to 5.30 GHz from 5.20 GHz. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus maximizes the Arrow Lake-S silicon with 8P+16E cores and the full 36 MB L3 cache, compared to the 265K's 8P+12E and 30 MB. Both chips support DDR5-7200 memory natively and include quad-rank DDR5 CUDIMM support.

These processors are designed to replace the 245K and 265K at their current price points, effectively offering more cores, larger caches, and higher memory speeds for the same money. Intel also announced a Binary Optimization Tool to help users maximize Arrow Lake-S performance. The new chips will be available starting March 26, 2025, with warranty coverage for memory overclocking up to DDR5-8000.