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Key Takeaways

1. Intel is updating the Core Ultra 200 Arrow Lake CPU architecture with significant improvements, expected in a few months, without a complete redesign.

2. The Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs will maintain the same core count but feature higher clock speeds, with a potential boost clock reaching up to 6 GHz.

3. Intel plans to enhance the Ring Bus clock frequencies to improve data transfer rates between CPU components, while avoiding previous stability issues.

4. The die-to-die clock speed will also be increased, allowing for quicker data transfer between different silicon dies in a CPU package.

5. Performance expectations suggest a 7-10% gaming performance boost over existing Arrow Lake chips, but it may still lag behind AMD’s Zen5X3D CPUs.

Intel is said to be working on an updated version of the Core Ultra 200 Arrow Lake CPU architecture. This new Arrow Lake Refresh CPU architecture, which is expected to arrive in a few months, won’t be a full redesign but will include some significant improvements, based on recent leaks from Moore’s Law Is Dead.

Core Specs and Enhancements

Earlier, MLID reported that the Arrow Lake Refresh chips would maintain the same core count as the first-generation Arrow Lake products, with the main updates being higher clock speeds and the introduction of a new NPU4. However, later information contradicted the presence of the NPU4. Now, MLID indicates that while there won’t be a new NPU in the Arrow Lake Refresh chips, several important tweaks are still anticipated.

The leaker emphasizes that the clock speeds for the Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs will be increased, although no exact figures were shared. Nevertheless, MLID suspects that the boost clock may reach as high as 6 GHz but is not expected to touch the 7 GHz level rumored for AMD’s Zen 6 chips.

Clock Frequency Changes

Interestingly, MLID suggests that Intel is planning to enhance the Ring Bus clock frequencies in the Arrow Lake Refresh products. The Ring Bus serves to connect various components of a CPU, such as cores, L3 cache, and I/O. This connection acts like a highway, facilitating smooth data transfers between parts. A higher Ring Bus clock can improve the data transfer rates, but excessively high voltage can lead to system instability, a problem seen in Intel’s 13th and 14th generation CPUs.

According to MLID, Intel has reportedly kept the Ring Bus clock lower in the original Arrow Lake CPUs to sidestep potential instability problems. This choice might have hindered the performance of Arrow Lake CPUs, which is why Intel is said to be raising the Ring Bus clocks in the upcoming Core Ultra 200 series.

Performance Expectations

In addition to the increased Ring Bus frequency, Intel is also believed to be enhancing the die-to-die clock speed. The die-to-die interconnect links different silicon dies within a single CPU package. Elevating the clock speed of this interconnect should allow for quicker data transfer between the different dies.

MLID predicts that with these improvements, the Intel Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs will deliver a gaming performance boost of 7-10% compared to the existing Arrow Lake chips. While this is a solid performance increase for a minor architectural update, it’s unlikely to surpass AMD’s Zen5X3D CPUs. For example, in our review, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D was approximately 40% faster than the Core Ultra 9 285K in gaming scenarios.

In conclusion, the Intel Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs appear to be better than what was initially suggested. We will need to wait for the official release to assess the final performance of these CPUs and see if Intel’s decision to refresh Arrow Lake was wise. Until then, it’s best to take this information with some skepticism.

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