Intel Cancels Core Ultra 9 290K Plus Amid Lackluster Performance Gains

Intel's decision to cancel the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus from its Arrow Lake refresh lineup comes as a surprise, particularly given the anticipation surrounding its release. Recent benchmarks of an engineering sample suggest that the performance improvements over the existing Core Ultra 7 270K Plus are too slim to justify including this CPU in the lineup.

The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus was intended to be a slightly enhanced version of the Core Ultra 285K, maintaining a 24-core configuration (8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores) with minor adjustments in clock speeds and support for DDR5-7200 memory. It would have featured Intel's binary optimization tool, further confirming its legitimacy during the engineering phase. However, results from a Chinese review show that the performance gains in both gaming and professional applications are minimal.

Performance Overview

Benchmarks indicate that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus offers an average improvement of just 2% in gaming compared to the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus. In various popular titles tested at 1080p, the differences are often negligible. For example, the 290K Plus scored 368 FPS in Counter Strike 2, while the 270K Plus achieved 364 FPS, reflecting an increase of only 1.1%. The most significant gain was in Delta Force, where the new chip outperformed its predecessor by 8.3%.

At higher resolutions like 1440p, the performance gap narrows further since games increasingly rely on GPU capabilities. In these tests, Delta Force again showed the largest difference, with the 290K Plus being 6.8% faster than the 270K Plus. However, it struggled to maintain an advantage in other titles like Black Myth: Wukong and Resident Evil 9.

Productivity Performance

For productivity tasks, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus demonstrated an average improvement of about 4% over the 270K Plus. Yet, it still fell short against AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D in most tests, outperforming it only in specific scenarios such as Ansys Fluent Simulation, where it led by 9.3%. This slight performance edge does little to bolster Intel's competitive position against AMD’s products.

Implications of the Cancellation

Intel's decision to cancel the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus appears to stem from strategic market considerations. With the current lineup already providing strong value, introducing a flagship chip with only marginal benefits could misrepresent Intel's offerings. Such a move might have risked destabilizing the competitive balance within the series, especially if the higher price tag for the Core Ultra 9 SKU did not align with performance expectations.

As Intel continues to refine its product lineup, the impact of this decision on its future strategies and the high-performance processor market remains to be seen. Attention now shifts back to existing models, particularly the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, which may receive renewed interest as a standout choice for consumers seeking performance without a premium price.

Conclusion

The cancellation of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus highlights Intel's ongoing challenges in providing compelling upgrades in a competitive market. With minimal performance gains and the need to maintain a cohesive product strategy, Intel's decision reflects a practical approach to ensuring its remaining offerings stay competitive and appealing to consumers.