Intel’s Core Ultra 200s are clearly not enjoying the same success as Raptor Lake or even their AMD rivals. So, if the Blues hope to sell CPUs, they have no choice but to sell them off. Prices are dropping significantly in China, with reductions of up to 46% on their initial MSRP!
Arrow Lake: no choice but to sell out!
Broadly speaking, Intel finds itself having to seriously reduce selling prices in order to sell its Arrow Lake chips. In China, for example, the Core Ultra 9 285K is priced at 3599 yuan, compared with 4799 yuan at launch. We’re already at a 25% discount. For the Core Ultra 7 265K, the price cuts are even greater, with a retail price 36% below its MSRP (2049 yuan vs. 3199). And it’s even worse if we look at the Core Ultra 5 245 and 225, which are down 42% and 46% respectively!
At Microcenter in the U.S., the Core Ultra 9 285K can be found for $499, compared with $249 for the Core Ultra 7 265K. The KF version drops a little further to $229, while the Ultra 5 245K is available for $199. Amazon is also offering low prices: $219 for the 245KF and $157 for the 225F.
If prices fall in this way, it could be interpreted as Intel’s failure to convince consumers with this Arrow Lake offering. As a result, significant discounts must be made for the CPUs to sell. Once again, the CPUs don’t particularly shine in terms of gaming performance, but they are very good in applications. Obviously, the fact of having to invest in a new motherboard that will be obsolete as soon as the next generation of CPUs arrives is also an obstacle to the adoption of these processors. So it’s not surprising that Raptor Lake is still selling well, as people clearly prefer CPUs that are more at ease in games.