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Intel Core Ultra 9 285K review: a necessary fresh start for the next generations

A fresh start and foundation for Intel to work on
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Reviewed By: Sebastian Kozlowski

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K review: a necessary fresh start for the next generations
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Intel is restarting its processor brand, moving away from the well-established Core i SKUs to the Core Ultra naming scheme. Well, it’s already out on laptops, but now it comes to its best CPUs for desktops as well, with this release not being the Intel Core i9-15900K but instead, I’ll be getting hands-on with the Core Ultra 9 285K.

Either way, it might be a good opportunity for Intel to start fresh on its range of desktop processors whether it is from the stagnation in its hardware of the previous generations or the recent instability issues that plagued its top chips. But the naming here hasn’t improved much as it can still be hard to get your head around and is still rather long. Anyway, I won’t stay on that too much longer as I’m sure you want to see how it performs, so here are the details and our review.

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  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU on box, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K front on in box, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in hand, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K pads on back, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K reverse, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K box profile, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU on box close up, Image by PC Guide
Highly Recommended
4 /5
Editor’s Rating
How We Review
Specifications
  • Cores: 24
  • Threads: 24
  • Boost clock speed: 5.7GHz
  • Base clock speed: 3.7GHz P-cores/3.2GHz E-cores
  • L3 Cache: 36MB
  • TDP: 125W base/250W max
  • Platform: LGA 1851 (Arrow Lake)
What We Think

The Core Ultra 9 285K is a great processor there’s no doubt about it. Even as it cut back on the thread count and hyper-threading I was worried about its multi-core processing power, but that seems to not be the case as it leads in benchmarks for multi-core performance. In fact, it’s the single core performance that sort of disappoints, as it achieves on par or below performance to its direct competition.

Its switch to TSMC’s much smaller process has led to improved temperatures as compared to its predecessors, that’s even though it still boasts the same high TDP without reaching boiling temperatures and throttling its performance. That should give it some longevity and life without cooking itself, and also comes from the fact it’s a new socket and generation, that should hopefully give you something down the line if needed.

Reasons to Buy

  • Great temperatures even under full loads
  • Impressive multi-core performance
  • Plenty of cores and threads with a good split into performance and efficiency

Reasons to Avoid

  • Not the best gaming performance
  • No longer supports DDR4 like its predecessors
  • Falls behind the 14900K in plenty of scenarios

Specifications

SpecCore Ultra 285KCore i9-14900K
Cores (Performance/Efficient)24 (8/16)24 (8/16)
Total threads2432
Max turbo/Base P&E Frequency5.7/3.7 & 3.2GHz6/3.2 & 2.4GHz
Intel Smart Cache/L236/40MB36/32MB
Base Power/Max Turbo power125/250W125/253W
LithographyTSMC N3BIntel 7
SocketFC LGA 1851FC LGA 1700
Launch dateQ4’24Q4’23
Launch price$589.00-$599.00$589.00-$599.00
Intel Core Ultra 285K and Core i9-14900K specs, Source Intel

With a year between the release of these two, there is quite a bit of difference, which may not be surprising considering the 14th Gen release was more of a 13th refresh than a full new set of hardware. This time, however, the Core Ultra certainly is a new bit of kit with a few changes.

Firstly with the change in sockets. It might be a bit of a meme in the community as Intel changes its sockets seemingly every couple of generations, especially if compared to AMD which only has had AM4 and AM5 in the time of multiple Intel ones. But this one is increasing with now fitting in 1851 pins on the motherboard and an equal amount on pins of the CPU. Increasing by 151 over the previous generations. That does mean a new spec generation of motherboard and a drop in compatibility making you start from scratch for the new gen.

There is also quite a big change in the hardware inside the processors as Intel has thrown in the towel and gone to the market leader in the foundry market. Its new Ultra 200s are created with TSMC’s 3nm process after many iterations using its own fabs that were seemingly stuck at a 10nm process size. This means it can now fit plenty more transistors in the same space and give it that improvement in thermal performance.

However, that doesn’t seem to change the power design as it keeps the base power at 125W, although according to specs does boost to just 3W less than the 14900K. It does also not boost to as high frequencies as it falls short of the 6GHz mark, but you never know what overclocks will allow it to achieve, especially if it is more energy efficient with the smaller process on board.

Intel has also dropped hyper-threading leading to a drop in the number of threads to match the number of cores instead. As they can no longer work on multiple cores, so there’s no need for the extra threads to waste valuable space. It instead adds a bit more L2 cache onboard for the processor to use. All that comes at the same price as the previous initial flagship so it might be a worthy alternative.

Test setup and performance

ComponentName
GPURTX 4070 Ti
MemoryCorsair Dominator Titanium 64GB DDR5 @ 6800MT/s
MotherboardASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero
CPU coolerCorsair Elite LCD Capellix 360mm
Power supplyASUS ROG Thor 1000W
CaseCooler Master Masterframe
PC Guide testing lab for the Core Ultra 285K testing

Here’s where it matters, installing the processor into one of the new Z890 motherboards I can finally put it through our CPU tests. Seated alongside an RTX 4070 Ti, and 64GB of DDR5 memory running at 6800MT/s, powered by a 1000W power supply, and cooled by a 360mm AIO cooler, that thankfully continues compatibility with the previous socket.

I’ve also pulled in some of our previous CPU benchmarks for comparison. Collecting the results from our Intel Core i9 14900K and Ryzen 9 9950X reviews we can see how the new processor does with the direct competition and its predecessor. But with the caveat that the setup will have been different in those the results may not be directly comparable as they were not done at the same time with as close hardware as we’d like. It also lacks some results and benchmarks I did for the 285K, so some graphs have fewer results in them.

Synthetics

Starting off with the Blender results, we see the 285K mostly on par but slightly falling behind the 9950X in the various rendering scenes. Particularly in the Junkshop scenario, where it drops 16 points behind compared to the couple in the classroom or monster. Although it is a good benchmark tool, it’s unlikely you’ll be using your CPU for pure rendering as graphics cards are a lot more powerful in that regard.

Then for the single-core scores, we have a range of results for the three processors. In the majority, the AMD CPU is the one that leads for the most part, with a score of nearly 400 points more in Geekbench, along with 200 more in Cinebench r23 as the 285K also drops over 100 points behind the 14900K. However, in the CPU Z single, the 9950X falls behind even the 285K by around 20 points, with the 14900K then another 30 points ahead.

Next up was the multi-core performance where things were a bit closer together. In fact, the new Intel 285K was in the lead in our range of tests. As it leads in CPU Z by 700 points, Cinebench r23 is ahead of the 14900K by 1,500 and 9950X by 600, and in Geekbench that is further sedimented with an 800 lead over the predecessor and over 1,000 over its rival.

Gaming

I only had one comparable game from previous reviews to use, that being Cyberpunk 2077, which was set to the low preset at 1080p. This is to make sure we’re limited by the processor rather than the GPU and are more affected by the CPU. Here we see the 285K just within a couple of FPS of the 14900K, whilst falling behind the 9950X. Although with the big spike of the 9950, I’m not too sure if that is an accurate comparison.

Temperatures and power

During my testing, I also tracked the temperatures and power usage of the processor with HWInfo. I kept track of the maximum temps the processor reached in the tests I conducted but then pushed it to its limits in a Furmark 2 stress test to see what it might rise to if running at full power.

There the 285K reached a max of 78°C in the run of various benchmarks and tests, not even close to reaching the temperature limit of 100-105°C. That means it’s not going to throttle down and lose performance as it may spike to this first and then drop down. Even running the stress test for nearly 30 minutes the CPU only rose up to 84°C as all its cores were loaded up to the max. Showing that the new smaller process and redesign has in fact improved the thermal efficiency.

As for the power draw, it is still rather high rated for basically the same as the 14900K. With a boost up to 250W, in my tests, the average package power reached 233.5W in general workloads. Whilst in the Furmark 2 stress test it only capped out at 236.7W anyway, which isn’t an insignificant amount and is a consideration for your total system power and power supply needs.

Price

When it comes to the price of the Core Ultra 9 285K, it stays the same as the previous generation. Intel’s product page quotes a recommended customer price of $589-599. That leaves it at the same price as the previous generation, which did have a price on the lower end of that range and you can expect that from the new one too. As for the competition, the 9950X had a launch price of $649, so it is a bit more expensive than the Arrow Lake S processor.

Alternatives to the 285K

As the flagship processor for its generation at release, there are just a couple of options that will be targeting a similar level of performance and with various pricing options. Here are a couple I would suggest if you’re not sold on the 285K or looking for something comparable, with a bit of an explainer on why below.

First of all, there is obviously the i9-14900K, the predecessor to the newer release. This one is about on par if not ahead in some tasks, and now with the newer generation out you might get it for cheaper. It also still supports DDR4 on some motherboards which will give it a lower cost too, making it a stronger choice if you want to save on the build in general. Although it is now on a dead-end platform and tends to run hotter, so you won’t have a good upgrade path or have to consider a good cooler on top for it.

On the other hand, AMD has some alternatives that might be worthy of consideration. As seen in some of the comparisons, the 9950X is the equivalent choice that has plenty to offer in performance. It does drop the amount of cores in comparison though as it doesn’t split its cores into performance and efficiency like Intel. Along with being on the AM5 platform that is promised to last for years, much like AM4, there are plenty of upgrades and support you can expect for it.

However, AMD is known for its 3D cache and gaming superiority. So if that is what you’re after, the 7950X3D or 7800X3D are what you want. The stacked cache works well with games and gets a higher performance in those tasks even if that doesn’t translate to the same in certain workloads. As of writing though there are also rumors of the 9800X3D release date soon, so it might be a consideration if you’re willing to wait.

Conclusion

  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU on box, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K front on in box, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in hand, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K pads on back, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K reverse, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K box profile, Image by PC Guide
  • Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU on box close up, Image by PC Guide
Highly Recommended
4 /5
Editor’s Rating
How We Review
Specifications
  • Cores: 24
  • Threads: 24
  • Boost clock speed: 5.7GHz
  • Base clock speed: 3.7GHz P-cores/3.2GHz E-cores
  • L3 Cache: 36MB
  • TDP: 125W base/250W max
  • Platform: LGA 1851 (Arrow Lake)

Overall, the Intel Core Ultra 285K is likely a much-needed restart for Intel. With the range of problems in the business and recent CPU woes, this generation goes back to basics. Intel gave in and went to trusted TSMC to create its silicon, resulting in a much cooler running chip even though its power usage is still at the same level.

Even with cutting the thread count and hyper-threading, it seemingly hasn’t diminished the multi-core performance as I saw in my results. That makes it a worthy choice for high workloads for productivity tasks, and it will of course be good for gaming, although it’s unlikely to match the prowess of the X3D range from AMD for the most part if that’s what your main use case will be.

About the Author

With a fascination for technology and games, Seb is a tech writer with a focus on hardware and deals. He is also the primary tester and reviewer at BGFG and PCGuide.