It finally happened. Intel killed Hyper-Threading on its desktop CPUs. The new Arrow Lake range, called Core Ultra 200S, ditches the simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) feature that Intel has held onto for more than a decade. And according to Intel, it doesn’t need the extra threads to still deliver a generational performance improvement, even up against the best processors.
Intel says the new range, which we break down in detail in our post focused its gaming potential, can deliver an 8% performance improvement in single-threaded workloads over the previous generation, and a 4% uplift compared to the Ryzen 9 9950X. Those are pretty small margins, but the real impressive stuff comes in multi-threaded performance. In multi-threaded performance, Intel says its new Core Ultra 9 285K delivers 15% higher performance than the last-gen Core i9-14900K, and 13% higher performance than AMD’s new Ryzen 9 9950X. That may not sound huge, but it is. Intel is delivering higher performance with 24 threads than AMD can deliver with 32, at least according to Intel’s own numbers. Moreover, Intel says it can deliver this performance while cutting power demands by up to 58%, as you can see in the chart below.
Arrow Lake is a big departure for Intel, but we already know quite a bit about how the processors work. They use the same Skymont and Lion Cove designs as Intel’s new Lunar Lake laptop CPUs, which we first saw in the Zenbook S 14. The architecture is the same, but Intel is bumping the core counts, feeding more power to them, and squeezing out higher clock speeds — up to 5.7GHz on the Core Ultra 9 285K. Breaking out to more productivity apps, Intel says the Core ultra 9 285K will trade blows with the Ryzen 9 9950X, just with fewer threads. Video workflows will massively benefit from the new chips, however, showing up to a 7.3x improvement, according to Intel. That’s particularly due to support for Sony’s new 4K and 8K XAVC codecs. Intel says Arrow Lake chips are the first desktop CPUs to support the new codec.
Even a year ago, it was unthinkable that Intel would abandon the SMT feature that it spearheaded, but here we are. And based on Intel’s numbers, killing Hyper-Threading might’ve been the best choice, at least for productivity apps. We won’t know for sure until the processors arrive on October 24. Although the market share would tell you otherwise, the battle between AMD and Intel is quite fierce right now, and it’s AMD that often tops the list of the best processors in the last couple of years. Intel, while it holds a bigger part of the CPU market, is less of a go-to for gamers than AMD these days, and this is reflected in Amazon sales. Just yesterday, AMD held the top 15 spots on the list of Amazon’s CPU best sellers. Today, Intel is making its way back. As spotted by TechEpiphany on X (Twitter), AMD really dominated Amazon CPU sales just recently. Every single CPU in the top 15 belonged to AMD, with Intel nowhere to be seen. Surprisingly, the top processor turned out to be the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which is a favorite among gamers.
Intel’s next-generation Panther Lake laptop processors, originally expected to launch in late 2025, may now be delayed until the first quarter of 2026. The delay appears to be linked to challenges with Intel’s 18A process node, which plays a critical role in the Panther Lake architecture. This shift could affect Intel’s competitive timeline as rival chipmakers continue advancing their own next-gen processors. According to slides obtained by VideoCardz, Intel has listed Panther Lake for a Q1 2026 release, suggesting a delay from previous expectations. These internal documents also hint that Panther Lake could be branded under the Core Ultra 300 series when it finally launches, following Intel’s recent shift in naming conventions.
The day is finally here: AMD is adding to its list of best processors, and gamers have something to be happy about — they both have the same recommended list price (MSRP) as their last-gen counterparts. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D both feature AMD’s famous 3D V-Cache tech that makes them gaming beasts, but unlike the 9800X3D, they sport more cores — making them better picks for productivity. The initial batch might sell out quickly, so check out where to get them once they go on sale today.
