Intel’s next flagship desktop processor, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, has reportedly surfaced in a Geekbench listing, and the early numbers suggest a noticeable step forward for multi-threaded performance. If the leaked benchmark holds up, this chip could end up as Intel’s fastest mainstream desktop CPU for heavy productivity workloads in its generation.
The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is expected to sit at the top of Intel’s Core Ultra 200S Plus lineup, often described as an “Arrow Lake Refresh” family. Rather than a major redesign, the refresh is widely expected to keep the same core layout as the current flagship-class model: 24 cores and 24 threads in an 8P + 16E configuration. The main changes appear to be higher clock speeds and potentially adjusted power limits, which is typical for a refresh aimed at squeezing extra performance out of an existing platform.
According to the benchmark entry, the processor shows a 3.70 GHz base clock and boosts up to 5.80 GHz. That peak boost represents a small clock bump over the current model, so expectations for massive gains should be tempered—but even modest frequency increases can translate into real improvements in multi-core loads, especially when paired with fast memory.
The test system in the listing is clearly geared for maximum performance: a Gigabyte Z890 AORUS Tachyon ICE motherboard and 48 GB of DDR5-8000 memory. That kind of high-end setup can help showcase best-case results, particularly in synthetic benchmarks like Geekbench.
In the leaked results, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 3456 points in single-core and 24,610 points in multi-core. Compared to the Core Ultra 9 285K, that’s reported as roughly a 7% increase in single-core and around a 9% increase in multi-core performance. The same comparison also claims the 290K Plus slightly edges AMD’s top Ryzen 9 9950X3D in single-core by about 2%, while delivering an 11% advantage in multi-core.
For buyers focused on gaming, though, the story may not change much. The expectation is that gaming performance won’t be dramatically different from the existing Core Ultra 9 285K, and CPUs with extra 3D cache are still likely to hold a strong lead in many game-focused scenarios. In other words, this looks like a bigger deal for creators and power users than for pure FPS chasers.
The broader Core Ultra 200S Plus refresh lineup is also expected to include additional “Plus” models, and at least one Core Ultra 5-class refresh part has been mentioned, though full details aren’t confirmed. Overall, the refresh feels positioned as an extension of the current 800-series motherboard era ahead of Intel’s next major desktop platform shift. That next step is expected to be Nova Lake-S, which is rumored to move to a new socket called LGA 1954—meaning a new motherboard will likely be required for that generation.
Here’s a quick look at the listed/speculated lineup details included alongside the leak, showing the expected configurations and platform positioning:
With more leaks likely as launch timing gets closer, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is shaping up as a strong “last lap” flagship on the current desktop platform—especially for multi-threaded workloads like rendering, video editing, compiling, and heavy multitasking—before Intel moves on to its next socket and architecture generation.
