The Intel Core Ultra 200S processor family brings AI capabilities to desktop PCs

Intel has unveiled the Intel Core Ultra 200S, a processor family that the company says will "usher in the first enthusiast desktop AI PCs." The top-of-the-line Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K features 24 cores: 8 are Lion Cove performance cores (P-cores) and the remaining 16 are Skymont efficiency cores (E-cores). Additionally, three of the five processor models—the Intel Core Ultra 9, Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, and the Intel® Core Ultra 5 245K—include 4 built-in Xe GPU cores to boost resource-heavy gaming or context creation workloads.

New to the Intel Core Ultra 200S is the inclusion of a neural processing unit (NPU) in all processor models to offload AI workloads, thus freeing up the GPU, accelerating gaming frame rates, driving energy consumption down, and enabling accessibility features such as face and gesture tracking without compromising gaming performance. Although the Core Ultra 200S processors are marketed emphasizing their role as Intel's first offering for AI desktop PCs, the processor family was built to deliver exceptional AI, content creation, and gaming performance. Claims about the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K are made based on benchmarking results against the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, a similarly marketed competing processor.

Intel plans to start selling Intel Core Ultra 200S processors online, in stores, and through OEM partners starting October 24, 2024.