Something to look forward to: After a long stretch of disappointing news and underwhelming products, Intel may finally have something to get excited about. The upcoming entry-level Core Ultra 3 205 is expected to launch soon, and some reviewers have already begun testing the chip under stress.
Despite preparing for the launch of the Arrow Lake Refresh series, Intel still has one "original" Arrow Lake processor left to release. The Core Ultra 3 205 is expected to round out the Core Ultra Series 2 family of CPUs, offering four P-cores and four E-cores with boost frequencies of 4.9GHz and 4.4GHz, respectively.
The Core Ultra 3 205 is expected to arrive soon, though Intel has yet to provide details on the release date or suggested price. In the meantime, a Korean YouTuber managed to secure an early sample and published a review. The early testing reportedly confirms the chip's base specs, suggesting it could be a compelling option for low-cost PCs.
According to the review by Bulls Lab, the Core Ultra 3 205 is indeed based on a hybrid architecture with four P-cores and four E-cores. Testing was conducted on a budget H810 motherboard paired with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, though neither the processor nor the board is currently available on international markets.
Bulls Lab's tests showcased the improvements Arrow Lake brings to the entry-level market. The 65W CPU reportedly requires a third-party cooling solution, as the stock heatsink struggles to keep up.
When paired with adequate cooling, the Core Ultra 3 205 delivers solid performance, even handling 8K YouTube playback. Of course, only a handful of regions outside South Korea currently have the home internet bandwidth to support such demands.
The review also highlights a notable performance jump for the upcoming Arrow Lake chip. In synthetic multi-threaded benchmarks (Cinebench R23), the Core Ultra 3 205 is said to be 48 percent faster than the Core i3-14100. Its single-thread score of 1,983 points also surpasses both the Core i3-14100 and the Core i5-14400.
In addition, the Core Ultra 3 205 features a capable integrated GPU with two Xe cores. This configuration is sufficient to deliver triple-digit frame rates in MOBAs and other mainstream titles, though more demanding games predictably push the system to its limits. Both the CPU and GPU showed high utilization during testing.
The Core Ultra 3 205 has already appeared on Korean retail sites for about $140, aligning with Intel's expected $150 price point for Western markets. Bulls Lab also pointed to a $360 pre-built system featuring the chip alongside 8GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD.
Intel may ultimately restrict the entry-level Arrow Lake CPU to OEM and pre-built systems, with no boxed version available through third-party sellers. Time will tell.