GoKawiilThe mid-range CPU segment has become competitive once again with Intel releasing new desktop CPUs as part of its Arrow Lake refresh lineup. We recently compared the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, where Intel emerged as the winner in our six-round gauntlet. Today we are going to take a look at the more affordable Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, which offers excellent value thanks to its aggressive pricing of $200, with gaming performance that outperforms the more expensive Core Ultra 7 265K and a price that earned it a spot among our best CPUs for gaming.
Competing against Intel's new value chip is the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, an efficient Zen 5 CPU that targets mainstream gaming and productivity without breaking the bank. While both CPUs look promising at their current market price, it is important to understand that real-world behavior can differ depending on the workloads. The 250K Plus comes with a significantly higher number of cores compared to the 9600X, which sticks to a more traditional design with fewer cores but competitive clock speeds and a lower TDP. This contrast makes the comparison even more interesting.
Let's take a closer look at how these two CPUs stack up against each other and determine which of the two is more suitable for your next PC build. The data below was gathered with our CPU benchmark hierarchy, where you can find our most up-to-date test results.
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Features and Specifications: Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus vs AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
Swipe to scroll horizontally CPU Street (MSRP) Arch Cores / Threads (P+E) P-Core Base / Boost Clock (GHz) Cache (L2/L3) TDP / PBP or MTP Memory Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus $219 ($199) Arrow Lake TSMC N3B (3nm) 18 / 18 (6+12) 4.2 / 5.3 60MB (30+30) 125W / 159W DDR5-7200 MT/s AMD Ryzen 5 9600X $185 ($279) Zen 5 TSMC 4nm 6 / 12 3.9 / 5.4 38MB (6+32) 65W / 88W DDR5-5600 MT/s
The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus is part of Intel's Arrow Lake refresh lineup which is built on TSMC’s 3nm process. Like the rest of the Arrow Lake lineup, it features a hybrid architecture with a total of 18 cores divided into six Lion Cove performance cores and 12 Skymont efficiency cores. Since Intel no longer offers Hyperthreading on its Core Ultra series CPUs, you get a total of 18 threads.
In terms of clock speeds, the P-cores on the 250K Plus can boost up to 5.3 GHz with the E-cores going up to 4.6 GHz. Intel has also bumped up the total cache on the CPU to 60 MB, with 30 MB dedicated to L3 cache, similar to the Core Ultra 7 265K. Additionally, the 250K Plus supports faster DDR5-7200 memory, which should give the CPU an advantage in specific tasks requiring higher memory bandwidth, especially at this price. Power limits have been kept similar to the Core Ultra 5 245K with 125W TDP and an MTP (Maximum Turbo Power) of 159W. It also comes with an unlocked multiplier for overclocking purposes and the chip continues to use the LGA 1851 socket with support for all Intel 800-series motherboards.
As for the Ryzen 5 9600X, it is based on AMD's Zen 5 architecture on TSMC's 4nm node. It continues to offer a more conservative six-core, 12-thread design which has been around ever since the Ryzen 5 1600X. The 9600X holds a minor advantage in clock speeds as it can boost up to 5.4 GHz, and has a slightly higher L3 cache of 32 MB. The CPU supports DDR5 memory at 5600 MT/s along with a rated TDP of 65W. The optional 105W TDP can boost power higher while still being covered under AMD's warranty.
Like the Intel chip, the 9600X can also be overclocked, although one may not gain a lot of benefits. As for motherboard compatibility, it is compatible with AMD's AM5 platform meaning it can run on both 600 and 800-series motherboards running on the latest firmware.
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