The mysterious Intel Core Ultra 3 205 has emerged once again, demonstrating far greater performance than its spiritual predecessor, Core i3-14100. Packing eight cores and threads and integrated graphics, this could CPU could be a real boon to those on a tight budget.
Intel previously listed Core Ultra 3 205 on its website, before pulling the processor from its database. Since then the processor has become available in select regions, with no word on a worldwide launch for the moment.
South Korean outlet BullsLab grabbed one inside a prebuild for 499,000 KRW, translating to about $360. The processor itself, though, seemingly cost the equivalent of $120, making it the cheapest SKU in the Core Ultra Series 2 lineup.
In terms of specs, Core Ultra 3 205 houses four Performance-cores and four Efficient-cores, for a total of eight cores. The P-cores are capable of running up to 4.9GHz, while the E-cores fall slightly behind at 4.4GHz. That makes for a respective boost of 200MHz and 900MHz relative to Core i3-14100.
BullLabs put Core Ultra 3 205, Core Ultra 5 225, and Core i3-14100 head-to-head, uncovering large generational performance leaps. More specifically, the ultra-budget Arrow Lake chip pulled ahead of its Raptor Lake precursor by 48% in Cinebench R23 and a whopping 75% in 3DMark.
Lastly, the Core Ultra 3 205 was quite a capable standalone solution for esports gaming, averaging 146fps at FHD high settings in League of Legends, and 217fps at FHD low settings in Valorant. BullsLab indicates that the CPU was perfectly capable of running multiple tasks simultaneously, all while consuming just 65W of power. Furthermore, the CPU stayed below 60°C even using an affordable single-tower cooler.
