We've seen the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K outperform its predecessors and the competition time and time again. While it may have the spotlight right now (outside of AMD’s 9800X3D), it seems its lesser-powered variant, the Core Ultra 8 285, isn't messing around either.

The Arrow Lake flagship and locked variant have 24 cores, each with 24 threads. On paper, this puts them at a disadvantage against processors like the 14900K and the Ryzen 9 9950X, which have more cores and 32 threads each. Regardless of the watered-down specs, let's see how it fared against the 14900K.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285 Geekbench performance 

Geekbench results for the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 are live. They are impressive, given that it has a slower base clock of 2.5GHz, compared to 285K's base frequency of 3.2 and 3.7 GHz, for E- and P-cores, respectively. Also, the 285K has a base power of 125W, while the locked variant of this processor has a 65W TDP, meaning the cores have less power to work with.

Despite this handicap, the Core Ultra 9 285 performed almost at the same level as the i9-14900K. It had a single- and multi-core score of 3,247 and 20,204, respectively. On the other hand, the latest Geekbench results for the 14900K gave it scores of 3,130 and 21,426.

So, the 285 has better single-core performance, but the 14900K takes the lead with a better multi-core score, but the difference in score is only 1,222 points. That said, the 285 was tested with 32GB DDR5 RAM running at 5,600 MT/s, while the 14900K had significantly more memory to work with as it had 48GB DDR5 RAM running at 7,400 MT/s.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285 Geekbench result

Intel Core i9-14900K Geekbench result with 32GB RAM

Intel Core i9-14900K Geekbench result with 48GB RAM

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If we were to even the playing field and give the 14900K the same memory to work with, how would it impact the outcome? Luckily, we have a Geekbench test result for the 14900K with 32GB RAM at 5,600 MT/s. This result shows that it has a better single-core score than the 14900K with 48GB RAM with 3,142 points, while the multi-core performance took a hit and dropped to 19,760.

However, its single-core score isn't able to match that of the 285, and with less memory available, it isn't surprising the multi-core score declined. Remember that these results don't necessarily translate to how a CPU will perform across the board because, as we've seen, just changing one aspect of the test bench can change the outcome for better or worse.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K has great performance across the board but, comparatively, lacks in gaming. Whether the Core Ultra 9 285 will also suffer from that, we'll have to wait and see when the Arrow Lake processors drop on October 24th.

About the Author

Ussamah Mehmood

Ussamah works as a content writer and editor at BGFG. He is experienced in tech, hardware, gaming, and marketing.