Intel has launched two new desktop processors in its refreshed Arrow Lake lineup, introducing the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus – chips the company says deliver its fastest desktop gaming performance to date.

The new CPUs will go on sale globally from March 26, priced at US$299 and US$199 respectively (roughly A$420 and A$280 based on current exchange rates).

The release forms part of Intel’s ‘Core Ultra 200S Plus’ refresh, aimed at improving gaming performance and price competitiveness against AMD’s Ryzen 9000-series processors.

The flagship of the pair, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, features eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, along with boost speeds up to 5.5GHz.

Intel claims the chip delivers significant improvements in multi-threaded workloads and gaming, aided by a faster internal connection between chip components and new software optimisations.

The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus targets the mid-range desktop market, offering six performance cores and 12 efficiency cores for a total of 18 cores, with boost speeds up to 5.3GHz.

Intel says gaming performance on the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus improves by around 15% on average compared with its predecessor, based on testing across dozens of titles. The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus is expected to see similar gains, with Intel citing performance improvements of up to 90% in multi-threaded benchmarks depending on workload comparisons.

A key change in the refresh is a 900MHz increase in die-to-die interconnect speed, which boosts bandwidth between the CPU’s chiplets and reduces latency – factors that can influence gaming performance.

Intel has also introduced a new Binary Optimisation Tool, designed to improve instructions-per-cycle (IPC) performance by optimising applications and games for its architecture, even if the software was originally tuned for other platforms.

Both chips support faster DDR5 memory speeds up to 7200MHz and are compatible with existing Intel 800-series motherboards, providing a drop-in upgrade for many current systems.

The aggressive pricing suggests Intel is aiming to win back desktop gaming enthusiasts after the original Arrow Lake processors faced criticism for weaker gaming performance compared with AMD’s Ryzen rivals.

With launch-day benchmarks still pending, the new processors could intensify competition in the enthusiast PC market, particularly if their performance claims hold up in independent testing.