Overclocker Alva Jonathan, aka Lucky_n00b, has shared some head-to-head testing of Intel’s latest Core Ultra 5 250K Plus processor, showing that its small iGPU is still capable of delivering very usable frame rates at 1080p resolution. Intel’s Xe+ architecture still has some juice to squeeze.
While there is no doubt about the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus’ great value when it comes to CPU performance, its smaller iGPU may not get much attention, at least at first glance. As a reminder, unlike the Panther Lake and Lunar Lake chips which pack up to 12Xe cores, this desktop processor only comes equipped with four Xe cores, of an older architecture on top of that. Nevertheless, Alva gave it a chance to show its potential, but this time focusing on seeing if it can deliver a playable experience instead of blasting it with graphics qualities it clearly can’t handle. And the results were quite good, all things considered.
Starting with synthetic benchmarks, this four Xe-core GPU scored 5,147 points in the 3DMark Fire Strike test, putting it slightly above the Steam Deck‘s 8CU RDNA2 GPU, and slightly behind AMD’s Ryzen 5 8500G APU with its 4CU RDNA 3 iGPU. In games, the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus delivered an average 91fps in Counter Strike 2 at 1080p Low with FSR Balanced, 60fps in Genshin Impact at 1080p Low with FSR 0.8x, 30fps in Horizon Zero Dawn at 1080p Original with FSR Ultra Quality, and 34fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p Low.
Interestingly, the 250K Plus’ iGPU achieved this level of performance on a mid-tier DDR5-6000 kit, instead of the usual DDR5-7200+ recommended for high-performance Intel setups. This means that some extra performance may still be untapped, whilst not forgetting that iGPU overclocking is also a possibility. That said, those who opt for the iGPU on a desktop PC generally do so as a stopgap until a dedicated graphics card becomes available, and these tests show that one can still enjoy some gaming while waiting.
Nevertheless, context is important. Alva’s tests also shows that even entry-level graphics card such as the Arc A380 or GTX 1650 run circles around this iGPU, let alone a modern mid-range card. But in a pinch, the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus offers a useful backup option. On top of that, this iGPU offers AV1 encoding up to 4K 60fps without burdening the CPU or dedicated GPU, making it a valuable addition to streamers. Looking at all of this in sum, the £10 or so saved by opting for an iGPU-less F CPU model seems less enticing.
