We already knew that Intel was planning to drop the ‘Core ix’ branding with its next generation of Intel Arrow Lake desktop CPUs, but now we’ve got our first glimpse of what looks like the names of the new gaming CPUs. All of them have the Core Ultra branding we’ve already seen on Intel’s Meteor Lake laptop CPUs, but there are some interesting features in the names as well.
Intel is rumored to be gearing up to launch its new Arrow Lake desktop CPUs before the end of 2024, but it’s going to have a battle on its hands, as AMD is also expected to launch its new Zen 5 CPUs first. There are going to be some big changes coming up on our best gaming CPU guide by the end of the year, but we don’t yet know whether Intel or AMD is going to win out overall.
Back to the names of these new CPUs, while Intel is definitely ditching the Core i branding it’s used since 2008, it looks as though it’s keeping a few familiar elements of the Intel CPU model names we’ve come to know. One of these is reportedly the ‘K’ suffix, which denotes a CPU with an unlocked multiplier, meaning it can be easily overclocked beyond its stock clock speeds. As before, there will also reportedly be non-K CPUs with a locked multiplier, and also lower numbers in their model names.
The new names have been reported by Videocardz, based on a protected post on X (formerly Twitter) by tech leaker OneRaichu, which shared the rumored names of six CPUs. OneRaichu only named the model numbers with and without the K suffix, but we expect this new lineup of desktop CPUs to also follow the naming scheme of Intel’s Meteor Lake desktop CPUs.
That would involve the Core Ultra 9 being at the top of the range, followed by Core Ultra 7, and Core Ultra 5. Given these are K-series CPUs, we expect these chips to have the ‘Ultra’ brand, as CPUs with unlocked multipliers are marketed at enthusiasts.
If that’s the case, these are the expected desktop Intel Arrow Lake CPU names:
- Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
- Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
- Intel Core Ultra 245K
According to RaichuOne, the model numbers for the multiplier-locked CPUs are 275, 255, and 240, and it’s quite possible these CPUs will end up without the ‘Ultra’ in the brand, to help distinguish them further. They also have notably lower numbers than the ones in the K-series CPU names.
Of course, none of this has been confirmed by Intel, so take this all with a pinch of salt for the moment, but we’re excited to see what Intel has in store for us this year either way. In the meantime, if you’re looking to buy a new gaming CPU, check out our Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, as this is our favorite overall gaming chip right now.