First Look – Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus Processor

Final Thoughts

Intel may not have a refreshed Core Ultra 9 (though they said that was something they could have done), but what they do have is a big price cut and a small performance bump. The price drop has very real implications in the era of $400 32GB DDR5 kits, so right now Intel is making a pretty good case for going team blue for your next build (though this is probably the end of the road for this particular socket).

A more comprehensive look at Intel CPU performance is planned, with 14th Gen added back to the charts, and a look at Core Ultra 5 / 5 Plus. Ryzen 5 and 7 processors must also be added, as suddenly Intel is playing in the value segment, rather than the high-end ~$600 flagship CPU space.

Bottom line for this launch, from what we have seen so far Intel has a really good value proposition with the Core Ultra Plus. The refreshed processors add performance, offer unique optimization possibilities, and the $199/$299 price points are excellent. Now if only Intel would go back to their pre-CPU memory production roots and offer similar prices for 32GB and 64GB kits…