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As we await budget Arrow Lake chips next year, Intel China has initiated pre-orders for these processors ahead of their global rollout. The official account of Intel Consumer Products on Weibo announced JD as its partner for the pre-sale event, starting tonight with shipping scheduled for January 13, aligning these processors for a CES unveil. This is slightly unusual since Intel's launch procedures typically involve unveiling a given processor series, followed by retail availability once the set embargo date lifts. While this could be a small inadvertent error at Intel's end, it gives us some insight as to what CPUs are launching next month.
Although the Weibo post doesn't mention non-K CPUs, the release window suggests they're the target. Moreover, a quick look over the shared JD retail link spells out the following SKUs: Core Ultra 5 225F, Core Ultra 5 230F, Core Ultra 7 265F, Core Ultra 7 265, and Core Ultra 9 285. When compared against previous leaks, JD is missing a few SKUs but they'll likely surface when pre-orders go live. The pre-sale is expected to start at 22:00 in China tonight with deliveries slated for two weeks later on the evening of January 13.
Despite the focus on the locked non-K family, the accompanying images still showcase the boxed packaging of unlocked Arrow Lake processors. However, this could have been a small mistake since the text clearly mentions unreleased non-K SKUs. We were unable to find any 35W Arrow Lake-T or a Core Ultra 3 200 processor (successor to Intel's i3-series) in the marketing material. Early data suggests a small uptick in the pricing but we'll wait for an official announcement from Intel on that matter.
Intel revealed its Arrow Lake-S or the Core Ultra 200S processors in November. Based on our review of the initial flagship, the lackluster performance and subpar gaming numbers left a lot to be desired. Turns out, most of these issues probably stemmed from poor software which Intel addressed through Windows Updates and a set of BIOS optimizations. The 0x114 microcode is said to bring another uplift in performance measuring in the single-digit territory. We can expect this patch to arrive by January, however, some partners are already pushing beta BIOS updates with the new microcode and updated CSME firmware. Hence, the Arrow Lake platform is likely to be in decent shape for these new 65W processors, targeted at budget-conscious consumers.
Despite the apparent performance drawbacks, Intel's Arrow Lake architecture is quite efficient which should be a major selling point for budget 65W and 35W chips. Of course, you wouldn't expect the average consumer to pair these CPUs with a flagship Z890 motherboard. However, Intel China has not addressed the availability of mainstream motherboards. So, it seems we'll have to wait until CES for partners to unveil their B860 and H810 offerings.
In terms of platform adoption, AM5 has a significant edge as it was unveiled two years earlier; offering ample time for platform optimizations and for prices to settle. Moreover, AM5 will be supported into 2027 and might be compatible with Zen 6, if AMD follows a two-year cadence. Intel hasn't pushed a formal statement regarding the longevity of LGA 1851, leaving early adopters shirked.
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