The Arrow Lake range is dead! (well, not yet) Long live the Arrow Lake Refresh range!
Between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027, Intel is set to experience a minor revolution with the release of the Nova Lake generation, which will enable the American giant to make its new Intel 14A etching process available to the public - on desktops and notebooks alike. Dozens of changes should enable the group to get back into the power race... and that's all we wish for it!
In the meantime, before the release of Nova Lake, Intel couldn't sit back and let AMD have its way. So it's only natural that an evolution of the Arrow Lake range is planned. We're talking evolution here, because there's no question of major changes for these chips, which should not completely eclipse the Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K and Core Ultra 5 245K we've known for just over a year now. Three processors are planned for this variant, which tech specialists are calling Arrow Lake Refresh, in a faint nod to the Raptor Lake Refresh generation.
Details of Intel's future Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus © VideoCardz
The three Arrow Lake Refresh processors have already been described by the VideoCardz website, even though Intel has not yet detailed all aspects. Subject to changes - unlikely today - we should therefore be able to count on the release of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, each with a little more than the previous range. On the high-end, only the operating frequencies really change, whereas on the Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 5, Intel has decided to boost the number of effective cores a little. It's also worth noting that Intel is taking advantage of this upgrade to support slightly faster memory: from DDR5-6400 to DDR5-7200.
A gentle evolution, then, but one that should enable these new chips to meet with a slightly more favorable reception from the public... if, of course, Intel doesn't set the "price" bar too high. Along with the exact release dates of these three processors, Intel's pricing policy remains the only major unknown today.
