Intel’s upcoming Nova Lake lineup will take over from the current Core Ultra 200 desktop processors, known as Arrow Lake. But before that transition happens, Intel still plans to release updated CPUs from this generation — much like what it did with Raptor Lake Refresh.
One of these upcoming chips, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, recently appeared on Geekbench, giving us a first look at its potential performance and hardware details.
So far, Intel hasn’t shared official information about this new lineup. What’s confirmed is that the next generation is expected to debut in early 2026, meaning there won’t be a brand-new architecture that year. However, 2026 will still be eventful for Intel, as the Nova Lake CPUs are set to arrive by the end of the same year, effectively bringing two major launches within twelve months.
Core Ultra 7 270K Plus: Essentially an Ultra 9 285K
The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus spotted on Geekbench was powering a Lenovo desktop system. Based on the benchmark listing, its configuration closely matches Intel’s current flagship, the Core Ultra 9 285K. The chip features 24 cores — eight high-performance and sixteen efficiency cores — with clock speeds ranging between 3.7 GHz and 5.5 GHz. These similarities suggest that the new model delivers performance nearly on par with the Ultra 9 285K.
This could hint at Intel reshuffling its product naming for the Arrow Lake Refresh series. What was previously labelled as a Core Ultra 9 might now fall under the Core Ultra 7 tier. If compared to the earlier Core Ultra 7 265K, which offered 20 cores, this is a notable upgrade.
That said, it’s unlikely that Intel will introduce an even higher-end Core Ultra 9 Plus with more cores in this refresh, as the company tends to keep silicon changes minimal in mid-cycle updates.
The Core Ultra 200 Plus CPUs will continue using the same LGA 1851 socket found in the current generation. This socket, however, will be phased out when Nova Lake arrives, continuing Intel’s pattern of relatively short platform support — a contrast to AMD’s longer-lasting approach.