GoKawiilThe Core Ultra 5 225 is too expensive to justify, falling short on all counts against the Ryzen 5 9600X for the same price. With a slight cut, however, it becomes much more compelling, as recent budget CPUs below $150 have largely dried up.
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It’s easy to write off Intel’s original Arrow Lake range, especially now that we’ve seen Arrow Lake Refresh chips in action, both of which have earned spots among the best CPUs for gaming . Although the main range of Arrow Lake CPUs got a lot of attention — for worse more than better — one chip slipped through the cracks: Intel’s budget-oriented Core Ultra 5 225.
Typically, this is an important class of CPU for Intel. Although the lower-specced Core Ultra 5 ranks lower in our CPU benchmark hierarchy for any given generation, this class has traditionally represented the best bang-for-your-buck when it comes to gaming performance. The Core i5-12400 was our go-to recommendation for the best budget CPU , as were the Core i5-13400 and 14400, which offer largely similar performance. The Core Ultra 5 225, on the other hand, never fit that mold.
It’s fallen even more out of favor in the face of Arrow Lake Refresh, as well. At the time of writing, the Core Ultra 5 225 will run you about $180. For around $220, you can pick up the new Core Ultra 5 250K Plus , which is leaps and bounds faster in both application and gaming performance. With a price cut, however, the Core Ultra 5 225 could be a compelling CPU, especially considering the current state of budget offerings.
There aren’t a ton of options in the $100 to $150 price bracket right now. AMD has the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 8400F, and Intel has the Core i5-12400F and Core i3-14100F. The long-rumored Core Ultra 3 205 never managed to make its way to the market, and it’s looking increasingly likely that it never will. There’s a gap here, and a gap that the Core Ultra 5 225 would fit wonderfully if only it were a bit cheaper.
As it stands now, the Core Ultra 5 225 competes well against AMD’s Ryzen 5 9600X and 7600X in applications, but it’s about a generation behind in gaming performance. The elephant in the room is the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, however, which offers a much better value on both fronts.
We’re still going to look at the Core Ultra 5 225’s performance across our full test suite, including application, gaming, and power testing. Hopefully, we’ll see a price cut on the Core Ultra 5 225 so it can occupy a space in the market that’s largely been ignored by AMD and Intel over the past couple of years.
Intel Core Ultra 5 225 specifications and pricing
Swipe to scroll horizontally CPU / (MSRP) Street Price Architecture Cores/Threads (P+E) Cache (L2 + L3) Base/Boost Clock (GHz) TDP / Maximum Power Core Ultra 9 285K ($590) $557 Arrow Lake 24 / 24 (8+16) 76 MB 3.7 / 5.7 125W / 250W Core Ultra 7 270K Plus ($300) $350 Arrow Lake Refresh 24 / 24 (8+16) 76 MB 3.7 / 5.5 125W / 250W Core Ultra 7 265K ($400) $284 Arrow Lake 20 / 20 (8+12) 66 MB 3.9 / 5.5 125W / 250W Core Ultra 5 250K Plus ($200) $220 Arrow Lake Refresh 18 / 18 (6+12) 60 MB 4.2 / 5.3 125W / 159W Core Ultra 5 245K ($320) $202 Arrow Lake 14 / 14 (6+8) 50 MB 4.2 / 5.2 125W / 159W Core Ultra 5 225 ($183) $180 Arrow Lake 10 / 10 (6+4) 42 MB 3.3 / 4.9 65W / 121W
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