Intel has significantly reduced the prices of two Core Ultra 5 SKUs. The Core Ultra 5 225 now sells for $193.79 onAmazonandNewegg, while theCore Ultra 5 225F is available for $194.32 on AmazonandNewegg.There’s a slight price difference of a few dollars depending on which retailer you purchase the processor from.
In the absence of any Core Ultra 3 or Pentium SKUs, the Core Ultra 5 225 serves as the entry-level option for consumers seeking to upgrade to aCore Ultra 200S(codenamed Arrow Lake) processor. A purported Core Ultra 3 model, namely the Core Ultra 3 205, is reportedly under development; however, unless it becomes a reality, the Core Ultra 5 225 remains the most economical option within Intel’s Arrow Lake product lineup.
The Core Ultra 5 225 launched with an MSRP between $236 and $246. However, the chip is now available for as low as $193.79 onAmazonandNewegg, 21% below its MSRP. The Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor with six E-cores and four E-cores. The processor features a 4.9 GHz boost clock with a 65W PBP (Processor Base Power).
Get 14% off the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 desktop processor. It comes with a 10-core configuration, six performance cores and four efficiency cores, and 22MB cache.
Even cheaper than the 225 is the 225F, which doesn’t come with any integrated graphics, so you’ll need a discrete GPU to make this one work.
The Core Ultra 5 225F, the iGPU-less variant of the Core Ultra 5 225, has also enjoyed a nice price reduction. Initially sold for between $221 and $231, the Core Ultra 5 225F retails for $211.24 onAmazonandNewegg, representing a 9% discount from the MSRP. Performance-wise, the Core Ultra 5 225F is identical to the Core Ultra 5 225, except that it doesn’t have the integrated Arc Xe-LPG graphics engine. Therefore, you must pair the Core Ultra 5 225F with a discrete graphics card.
PBP / MTP (W)
$193.79
$236 - $246
10 / 10 (6+4)
3.3 / 4.9
2.7 / 4.4
20
65 / 121
$211.24
$221 - $231
DDR5-6400
The price cuts aren’t just exclusive to the U.S. market, either.Andreas Schillingreports that the Core Ultra 5 225 and Core Ultra 5 225F are down 26% and 22%, respectively, in Germany. Meanwhile, hardware leakerHarukaze5719noticed that Core Ultra 5 225F’s price has dropped by 26%.
The Core Ultra 5 225 and Core Ultra 5 225F look more enticing with their revamped pricing. However, there’s still some competition in the segment, such as AMD’s latestRyzen 5 9600X, which hovers around the $200 mark. For consumers who want more value but don’t mind using an older part, there’s also theRyzen 7 5800Xat $175.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.