Report claims Intel will no longer launch the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus "Arrow Lake Refresh" gaming CPU

According to a recent report by VideoCardz, Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 200S Plus flagship CPU, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, is no longer expected to see the light of day. This is despite the plethora of leaks and benchmarks we have already witnessed.

It would not be accurate to consider this a cancelation, since the product was never announced in the first place. The company had seriously considered launching it - evident from the fact that it had already distributed units to partners - but has now backtracked its decision.

Too many 24-core gaming CPUs in the lineup

VideoCardz appears to have a reason as to why this decision was made, stating that Intel had product placement concerns with the upcoming Core Ultra 200K Plus lineup. Since the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is already expected to boast a 24-core setup similar to the existing 285K and the rumored 290K Plus, Intel ultimately decided that there was far too much product overlap in the lineup.

While not untrue, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus was rumored to boast a 100 MHz higher thermal velocity boost, which gave it the 10% performance uplift that we noticed in leaked benchmark runs. For enthusiasts, having a high-end CPU is never a bad thing, and a 10% uplift is not meaningless by any means.

That said, with Nova Lake gaming CPUs reportedly on track for later this year, gamers loyal to team blue can still have a lot to look forward to.