Intel 15th Gen Arrow Lake: Everything we know

Intel’s 15th Gen CPUs are set to be launched in 2024. We’ve gathered all the leaks and rumors, including specs, price, and performance of Intel’s Arrow Lake CPUs right here.

The rivalry between Intel and AMD has been intense through the current generation of CPUs. AMD has seen some significant gains, particularly since its integrated GPU technology has been powerful enough to see extensive use in newly popular gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck.

Intel is therefore very keen to gain back the ground it has lost with its 15th Generation ‘Arrow Lake’ CPU lineup.

We’ve collected all the currently available information on Intel’s 15th Gen CPUs. Much of this information comes via rumors and leaks from industry insiders, so until Team Blue makes an official statement, it is best to take it with a pinch of salt.

Specification speculation

Very little confirmed information is available on the specifications for Intel’s 15th Gen chips, but Intel’s Arrow Lake lineup is expected to be the first to use what Intel calls a “20A” process node, which is the equivalent of a 2nm node.

This is a big step for Team Blue, as they currently use a 7nm process, while AMD is using a more efficient 5nm process. A smaller process node allows more transistors to be crammed into the processor, which means better performance.

Intel’s Arrow Lake chips are expected to have 24 cores, featuring eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. Leaker Moore’s Law is Dead suggests that Intel is not planning on utilizing Hyperthreading for the 15th Gen chips.

But, he’s gone on to claim that Intel has a roadmap that includes a mid-generation refresh which will increase the number of efficiency cores up to 32.

As reported by WCCFTech, a leak was obtained by the Chiphell forums that seems to be captured from an Intel partner presentation. This specified that the flagship Arrow Lake-S chip will have an 8+16 configuration, but also added two more SKUs with 6+8 and 6+16 configurations.

• Arrow Lake-S 8+16 (24 Cores / 32 Threads)
• Arrow Lake-S 6+16 (22 Cores / 28 Threads)
• Arrow Lake-S 6+8 (14 Cores / 20 Threads)

The leak also contained new information on what can be expected from Arrow Lak-S I/O capabilities. The CPUs will have native x16 PCIe Gen5 dGPU and x4 PCIe Gen5 M.2 lanes. An additional x4 Gen4 PCIe lanes for M.2 will also be included.

This means the Arrow Lake-S CPU I/O spec will be as follows:

• DDR5 UDIMM/SODIMM – 6400 MT/s Native
• 1×4 eDP 1.4b
• DP2.0 UHBR20/HDMI 2.1
• 2x USB 4.0 + TBT4/DP
• 2.0/HDMI 2.1 Type-C
• 24 Total PCIe Lanes
• 20 PCIe Gen5 Lanes (1×16 + 1×4)
• 4 PCIe Gen5 Lanes (1×4)
• 8 SATA III lanes

As of August, another leaker called OneRaichu supplied some performance figures that fill in some of the gaps. As reported by VideoCardz, three models were included in Raichu’s leak: Core Ultra 5 245, Core Ultra 3 235, and Core Ultra 3 205.

The clock speeds for each of these models are said to be as follows:

Integrated graphics speculation

Regarding Arrow Lake’s integrated graphics capabilities, it’s anticipated that Intel will base this on their Arc Alchemist GPUs. AMD has been dominating the APU market thanks to the performance of its Ryzen Z1 processor and RDNA 3 integrated graphics.

While the MSI Claw is the first handheld to use Arc within it, Arrow Lake’s improvements may make their way to future mobile processors, which could end up in future gaming handhelds.

Intel is also reported to be working on improving memory support, which may include support for DDR5-6400.

Motherboards and sockets

Intel did not reveal much more about Arrow Lake CPUs at Computex 2024. However, the Z890 motherboards were available to view on the show floor, providing a first look at the LGA-1851 socket.

This new socket type was originally designed for the cancelled Meteor Lake-S processors, and will now house the upcoming Arrow Lake-S series, also known as the Core Ultra 200(K).

According to a leak posted to the Chiphell Forums, the motherboards equipped with LGA-1851 sockets will include models such as the Z890, H870, B860, and H810 series. The flagship motherboards will feature up to DDR5-6400 memory capacity.

Performance speculation

Leaked benchmarks from Geekbench have shown that the flagship Arrow Lake CPU is capable of up to 20% improved performance in multicore tests compared to a 13th-gen 13900K. In single-core workloads, Arrow Lake reached an impressive 16% performance uplift in some tests.

This is backed up by information from renowned leaker and YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead, who claimed that Arrow Lake will have a performance boost of between 25% and 35% compared to current Meteor Lake chips.

However, earlier information based on a leaked presentation claims that Arrow Lake will see a 15% increase in multi-core performance, and a 5% improvement in single-core performance compared to its immediate predecessor.

The integrated GPU performance of Arrow Lake is also impressive in leaked benchmarks. In 3DMark’s Time Spy, the 15th Gen chip saw a massive 220% to 240% increase in performance when compared to an Intel i9-13900K, likely due to Arc GPU integration.

Intel has confirmed that stability issues suffered by the 13th and 14th generation chips will not affect Arrow Lake CPUs. This is due to the 15th-generation chips having lower power consumption, so previous issues with high voltages damaging the chips have been eliminated.

Release speculation

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger confirmed during a keynote during Computex 2024 that the Arrow Lake architecture will be released by the end of 2024.

The first in line for release is the Arrow Lake-S series, also known as the Core Ultra 200(K). As reported by WCCFTech, Arrow Lake desktop CPUs will begin appearing on retail shelves in October 2024, following an official unveiling at Intel’s Innovation event in September.

This was further backed up by a report from DigiTimes. This confirmed that Arrow Lake-S processors would be released in October 2024, alongside the Intel Z890 platform. If this information is accurate, it could mean that Intel’s strategy involves having chips and pre-built PCs available to consumers for the Holiday season.

If Intel’s previous product release pattern is used as a template, then unlocked Arrow Lake-S will be first on shelves in October, followed by non-K Arrow Lake-S CPUs. The B860 and H810 platforms would follow along later, likely seeing a release at CES 2025.

Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs have not produced impressive figures in terms of either performance or sales, which might account for rumors that Panther Lake, the 16th-generation successor to Arrow Lake, is scheduled to begin releasing in 2025.

Industry insider HXL threw some doubt on the October release date as of July 2024. Instead, HXL suggested that the Arrow Lake-S desktop processors would not be available until December 2024.

This remains only a rumor. Further concrete information is expected at Intel’s ‘ON’ event, scheduled for September 2024.

Arrow Lake’s naming scheme leaks as Intel ramps for launch

Intel’s naming schemes for the Arrow Lake chips have leaked. CPU-Z, a piece of software to gather information on your PC, has seemingly confirmed the naming convention in an update.

Team Blue is dropping the “i” branding entirely, something they’ve already done on mobile. Later this year, you’ll find the following CPUs ready for building around:

• Intel Core Ultra 9 285K 
• Intel Core Ultra 9 275
• Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
• Intel Core Ultra 7 255
• Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
• Intel Core Ultra 5 240

While the name has changed, the way you break it down isn’t too dissimilar. Intel provides a handy guide on how it names things. You can see this from the visual guide below.

With naming now in place, Intel is on track to release around the same time they do every year.

Price speculation

There is currently no information available on what the price structure will be for Intel’s 15th Generation of CPUs. But, the Flagship i9-14900K from the 14th Generation Raptor Lake series was priced at $599 at launch.

To contrast, the next generation of AMD chips, the Zen 5 is expected to have its flagship Ryzen 9 processor to be priced at around $699 when it launches.

Should you wait for Arrow Lake to launch?

There are plenty of powerful and capable CPUs on the market capable of handling anything that modern gaming has to offer.

The really impressive figures that have appeared for Arrow Lake so far have been in integrated graphics, so there is potential for some Intel-powered handhelds and other portable devices in the future. It is probably best to keep an eye out for those.

But, regarding desktop performance specifically, we’re not looking at any mindblowing jumps in performance, if initial leaks and benchmarks are to be believed.

However, many users of Intel 13th and 14th Gen CPUs have seen stability problems.

Those seeking to eliminate these issues might want to think about upgrading. Especially since Intel has promised that the 15th Gen will not be affected by the same fault.