Intel's Arrow Lake chips may have lower clock speeds than previous CPUs — Core Ultra 9 QS achieves 5.7 GHz boost and 5.4 GHz across all P-cores

Hardware leaker Jaykihn on X has leaked the alleged specifications for one of Intel's looming Arrow Lake processors. The clock speeds suggest that Arrow Lake, which will contend against the best CPUs, may not be as impressive as Intel's previous processors.

Jaykihn didn't reveal the exact model of the Arrow Lake chip. However, the 8+16 configuration points to the Core Ultra 9 285K or Core Ultra 9 275. The leaker highlighted the clock speed improvements from the engineering sample (ES) to the qualification sample (QS).

Qualification samples are some of the last units produced before a CPU goes into production. As a result, qualification samples are generally the most similar to their eventual production-ready counterparts. On the other hand, engineering samples are more similar to prototypes, which is why the clock speeds are significantly lower.

The ES chip seemingly operates with a maximum rated turbo frequency of 4.7 GHz for up to two P-cores, 4.5 GHz under an all-P-core workload, and 3.9 GHz for an all-E-core workload. Meanwhile, the QS chip reportedly runs at significantly higher clock speeds. The maximum turbo frequency is 5.7 GHz for single and dual P-core workloads. For all core workloads on the P-cores, the maximum rated boost is 5.4 GHz. Finally, the E-cores are rated at 4.6 GHz (when all the E-cores are fully loaded). The supported memory speed is seemingly DDR5-6400, a significant improvement over Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh's DDR5-5600.

Regardless, the clock speeds on the Arrow Lake-S qualification samples suggest that Arrow Lake will have a clock frequency regression compared to outgoing Intel architectures, Raptor Lake, and Raptor Lake Refresh. Intel's Core i9-13900KS and Core i9-14900K have a peak turbo clock of 6 GHz flat — 6.2 GHz on the Core i9-14900KS. Assuming the flagship Arrow Lake-S part comes with a 5.7 GHz turbo clock, Arrow Lake's flagship SKU will have a 300 MHz clock deficit compared to the Core i9-13900KS/14900K and a 500 MHz deficit compared to the Core i9-14900KS.

Nonetheless, clock speeds aren't the be-all and end-all of a processor. Remember that Arrow Lake wields Intel's Lion Cove and Skymont cores, which are substantial upgrades over the Raptor Cove and Gracemont combination on current Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh parts.

Arrow Lake is slated to launch in October, so we'll know soon enough if the new CPU architectures can mitigate the rumored lower clock speeds. More importantly, it will be exciting to see if Arrow Lake can rival AMD's existing Zen 5 chips.