Intel Arrow Lake Refresh Flagship CPUs Surface in Geekbench Leaks
Recent entries in the Geekbench Browser have revealed early performance benchmarks and key specifications for two of Intel’s upcoming “Arrow Lake Refresh” flagship processors. On January 13, the unreleased Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus mobile CPU was spotted powering a new Acer Predator Helios gaming laptop. Around the same time, the desktop variant—Core Ultra 9 290K Plus—appeared in a test system built on Gigabyte’s high-end Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard, paired with 48 GB of DDR5-8000 memory.
According to the leaked Geekbench 6.5 results, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, featuring a 24-core configuration, achieved a single-core score of 3456 and a multicore score of 24,610. These results have prompted immediate comparisons with both Intel’s current flagship, the Core Ultra 9 285K, and AMD’s top-tier Ryzen 9 9950X3D “Granite Ridge” processor.
Performance Gains Over Previous Generations
The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus demonstrates notable improvements over its predecessor. Based on multiple benchmark entries, the new chip delivers a 7% increase in single-core performance and a 9% boost in multicore performance compared to the Core Ultra 9 285K. When stacked against AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Intel’s refreshed flagship is approximately 2% faster in single-core tests and 11% ahead in multicore scenarios.
Another model in the lineup, the Core Ultra 9 270K Plus, was benchmarked in December, posting scores of 3235 (single-core) and 21,368 (multicore). This positions the 290K Plus as roughly 7% faster in single-core and 15% faster in multicore performance than its 24-core sibling. Both processors share an (8P + 16E) core architecture, but minor differences in clock speeds suggest that Intel has further optimized the higher-end model for maximum performance.
Upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh Lineup and Launch Window
Leaked diagnostic data and industry reports indicate that Intel’s Arrow Lake Refresh desktop family will include the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, Core Ultra 9 270K Plus, and an 18-core (6P + 12E) Core Ultra 5 250K Plus. According to sources such as Golden Pig Upgrade, the launch window for these new processors is expected to fall between March and April.
As Intel prepares to introduce its next generation of desktop CPUs, these early benchmark results suggest meaningful performance gains for enthusiasts and professionals seeking top-tier computing power. The Arrow Lake Refresh series is shaping up to be a significant step forward in Intel’s ongoing competition with AMD in the high-performance desktop market.
