Intel is giving its Arrow Lake CPUs a significant performance boost completely free of charge with the new ‘Intel 200S Boost’ update. This update, which started rolling out this week, focuses on enhancing gaming performance through an overclocking profile. It’s designed for unlocked Intel Core Ultra 200S-series processors paired with compatible Intel Z890 motherboards and specific Intel XMP RAM modules.
This isn’t Intel’s first attempt at optimizing Arrow Lake performance; previous BIOS updates have yielded mixed results. However, early testing of the 200S Boost profile by Tom’s Hardware shows an impressive average improvement of 7.5% in gaming performance compared to officially supported memory speeds. This improvement is attributed to the profile’s ability to achieve higher fabric, die-to-die, and memory frequencies, crucial for low-latency tasks like gaming.
The best part? Intel assures users that applying this boost profile won’t void their CPU warranty. The supported processors include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, and Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF. The application process is straightforward, involving a BIOS update, enabling the 200S Boost profile in the BIOS settings, restarting the system, and running stability tests to ensure everything is working correctly. Intel provides detailed instructions on their website, along with a list of compatible motherboards and RAM modules to avoid compatibility issues.
While this free performance boost is a welcome development, it’s important to note that some motherboards and RAM may not be compatible. Intel provides a comprehensive compatibility list on their support page. This free update is a promising step for Intel, showing a commitment to improving the performance of their latest CPUs and addressing previous concerns. It remains to be seen how widespread the performance gains will be across different games and configurations, but initial results are certainly encouraging for gamers utilizing these processors.
