Hold onto your butts, Gigabyte is readying its Socket LGA1851 motherboards for ‘upcoming Core Ultra 2-series processors’, AKA Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs. The brand’s recently published new BIOS versions for its Z890, B860, and even H810 boards, suggests the launch of the new Intel chips is imminent.
Intel hasn’t provided a solid release date for Arrow Lake Refresh beyond a broad 2026 release window. However, given the timing of Gigabyte’s BIOS publications, I’m confident we’ll see the CPUs hit store shelves shortly after the brand’s January 5 keynote at CES 2026.
However, I wouldn’t expect a great amount of fanfare to accompany these chips. Instead, Panther Lake processors destined for mobile devices will undoubtedly be the focus of Intel’s presentation. If we’re lucky, we’ll also see the brand’s long-rumoured BMG-G31 GPU materialise in some fashion. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an Arc B770.
For those out of the loop on Arrow Lake Refresh, these new processors are unlikely to be massive departures from existing stock. Like Raptor Lake Refresh (14th-gen Core) before them, I’m anticipating minor uplifts. A recent Arrow Lake Refresh specs leak suggests as much, with a would-be Core Ultra 9 290K Plus offering little more than a 100-200MHz advantage over the Core Ultra 9 285K.
Leaks for Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus are a little more enticing, with suggestions each chip will carry four additional E-cores. This will make the former a match for the existing flagship in terms of core count, potentially creating uncomfortably little distance for Intel between the two.
A recent Geekbench 6 benchmark featuring the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, on a Gigabyte motherboard no less, points to such an outcome. Comparing the results of this listing with our Core Ultra 9 285K review, there’s a mere 110pts in single-core and 707pts in multi-core separating the upcoming processor from Intel’s current top dog. It’s difficult to see value not favouring the ‘Plus’ model over both Core Ultra 9 CPUs if Intel doesn’t radically shift pricing from present offerings.
As much as Arrow Lake Refresh looks to be a damp squib of a release, I’m keen to see the chips in action with the hope that Intel can pull a proverbial rabbit out of the fab. However, as rumours of Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 continue to swirl, the road to redemption for Intel’s Core Ultra 2 series will probably be difficult.
You can expect coverage of all things Intel and more as Club386 attend CES 2026 come January. Ahead of the show, make sure you’re following our Google News feed so you don’t miss any announcements.
