Ebay listing sees Intel's Core Ultra 7 265K offered one day before release — but its not exactly a bargain

Intel has already handed out samples of its upcoming Arrow Lake 200S series of processors to independent reviewers. But with just one day left before the official launch, it appears that one Core Ultra 7 265K has made its way to eBay in the United Kingdom - though the seller isn't exactly offering a bargain.

The Core Ultra 7 265K has been listed for £450 or $580 but let us remind readers that this is the expected price tag of Intel's flagship Core Ultra 9 285K - so consider the upcharge as an early adopter's tax. The details mention that this CPU is boxed, unused, and comes with a 3-year Intel official warranty.

(Image credit: eBay)

(Image credit: eBay)

We discourage anyone from using unofficial channels to purchase CPUs, typically there is no recourse or support once the purchase is made - that and the 20% extra on what is believed to be the official list price. It would've at least made sense if an LGA 1851 motherboard was part of the equation.

Assume, hypothetically, you've dropped half a grand, trusted the seller, and snagged the CPU - now what? Without an LGA 1851 motherboard, that CPU is paperweight or literally a pile of useless sand, especially if you were hoping to use the CPU one day earlier than everyone.

In any case, ahead of the launch tomorrow, the Core Ultra 7 265K offers 20 cores divided into eight Lion Cove based performance cores and twelve Skymont based efficient cores. The CPU offers a respective boost clock of 5.5GHz in tandem with 70MB of total cache. We expect Intel to price the Core Ultra 7 265K in the ballpark of $400, but let's wait for official numbers.