The latest generation of Intel processors is getting more expensive, even though price was precisely their main selling point.
Earlier this year, Intel decided to refresh its Arrow Lake architecture with the release of the Arrow Lake-S Refresh chips. A simple update, if you go by the name, but in reality, a comprehensive optimization for chips that offered a real breath of fresh air to the American chipmaker. Consider that the new flagship of the lineup, the Core Ultra 7 270K, was just as powerful—and sometimes even more so—than the Core Ultra 9 285K, the former flagship. Better yet, it was more energy-efficient and—perhaps most importantly—achieved all this at a significantly lower price. To a lesser extent, the situation was quite similar for the Core Ultra 5 250K compared to the Core Ultra 7 265K.
The Arrow Lake Refresh lineup had a real performance-to-price advantage that allowed it to hold its own against AMD’s chips. Well, that was then.
Prices of the Core Ultra 7 270K and Ultra 5 250K at launch. © Intel
That was before Intel decided to revise its pricing policy and implement a significant price increase for its Core Ultra 5 250K and Core Ultra 7 270K. This information comes from the website HardwareLuxx, which obtained it directly from Intel. While the American company initially seemed intent on partially offsetting the incredible inflation in DDR5 prices by offering reduced prices on its processors, that is no longer quite the case: according to HardwareLuxx, the price of the Core Ultra 5 250K is set to rise from $199.99 to $229.99, an increase of about 15%. The increase is even slightly higher for the most powerful chip in the lineup.
The Core Ultra 7 270K was launched at $299.99, an impressive price compared to the Core Ultra 9 285K’s $589. Unfortunately, we’ll have to factor in a price hike of about 16%, bringing the Core Ultra 7 270K up to $349.99. But don’t put words in our mouths: the prices are still attractive, and Intel continues to stay competitive with these Arrow Lake Refresh chips. The problem is that while motherboards are relatively expensive, DDR5 memory is exorbitantly priced, and the LGA-1851 platform is expected to be phased out with the arrival of Nova Lake, let’s just say that the Core Ultra 5 250K and Core Ultra 7 270K have fewer selling points.
