Intel says game optimization remains a key factor for hybrid CPUs
Intel says gaming performance gaps are not always caused by CPU hardware. In an interview with PC Games Hardware, Robert Hallock argued that software optimization now plays a larger role in gaming performance than many PC users assume. The comments were made in the context of Intel’s hybrid CPU design, where some users still disable E-cores to improve game performance.
Hallock said Intel has seen cases where reviewers reported higher performance with E-cores disabled. However, he rejected the idea that the E-cores themselves are the main reason. According to Hallock, the gaming difference between P-core-only and hybrid configurations can be much smaller than some users expect.
“There were reviewers… who were observing faster performance with all the E-cores turned off. They are virtually identical in performance…it’s about 1% difference.”
– Robert Hallock, Intel
Hallock said the bigger issue is how software uses modern CPUs. His view is that games, operating systems, drivers, firmware and scheduling logic all affect final performance. Intel already made similar comments after the Core Ultra 200S launch, when Hallock said Intel had found “multifactor issues at the OS level” and “BIOS level” that affected launch performance. This was stated in November 2024 , hard to imagine Arrow Lake is this old, isn’t it?
Performance waiting to be unlocked
According to Hallock, many games can leave a large amount of performance unused when they are not optimized for a given CPU. Hallock placed that unused performance in the 10% to 30% range. PC Games Hardware also notes that Intel sees technologies such as Thread Director and binary optimization as part of this software-side approach.
“And that performance is, yes, you can make the game faster with a faster piece of hardware, but there’s always going to be 1 0, 20, 30% performance hidden behind the fact that that game was just not optimized for your CPU.” […]
“What gamers have literally asked me to do is like, hey, don’t do this software thing. Just make faster hardware. And what they’re really asking me is, hey, just leave 20 % performance behind. Seriously. That is not the kind of business I want to run.”
– Robert Hallock, Intel
This does not change the current gaming ranking by itself. AMD’s Ryzen X3D processors remain the reference point in many gaming benchmarks, while Intel has been trying to address Core Ultra 200S performance through BIOS, OS, driver and platform updates. Intel also launched 200S Boost last year, which raises fabric, die-to-die and memory clocks on supported Z890 platforms.
Software optimizations are important for sure, but let’s not forget Intel is brewing its XD3 competitor set to launch next year, the Nova Lake-S bLLC series. Hopefully Intel is optimizing it already.
Source: PC Games Hardware , Wccftech
