Intel preparing Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
Intel kind of likes pluses.
Who would have thought that today we would see not one, but two “flagship” Intel CPUs appear on the same day. Both leaks are from Geekbench, and both show the unreleased and unannounced Core Ultra 200K Plus series, also known as Arrow Lake Refresh. The first leak featured Core Ultra 9 290K Plus , a desktop SKU, and it looks like we now have a confirmation on a laptop version as well.
Quick recap: Intel did not announce the Refresh at CES 2026, although the writing has been on the wall for a long time. We did, however, notice that Minisforum leaked the name of the mobile SKU, because the refresh is not only for desktops, but also for laptops. Technically, the Minisforum product is not a laptop but a mini PC, but the point stands.
Based on a new leak, Intel will release a refresh for the Core Ultra 200HX series as well, which is basically a desktop platform in a mobile form factor, featuring as many cores as desktop variants. The Core Ultra 9 285HX, the current flagship SKU, will soon have a higher variant called the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus . This CPU will be used by the Acer Predator PHN18-I71 system (Helios 18 AI?) , which was not mentioned as receiving this specific SKU at CES.
Source: Geekbench
Unfortunately, the result does not include the full score. It looks like someone quit the benchmark after realizing it was connected to the internet. This means the maximum frequency reported by the Geekbench database of 5.4 GHz is actually lower than the 285HX. The detailed Geekbench data does not even show the CPU boosting to that frequency. Similarly, the LGA-1851 socket shown above is also incorrect, because the 200HX series uses the FCBGA2114 package.
We are still curious why Intel did not announce the Core Ultra 200K Plus and 200HX Plus refresh at CES, given these leaks and the amount of evidence that launch is close. Perhaps Intel did not want much spotlight on Arrow Lake, since the company’s CES event was dedicated to Panther Lake.
The HX series is not targeting the same market, since these are high-performance, desktop-class chips for the fastest gaming laptops. Still, it would not surprise us if some laptops equipped with both end up performing better with Panther Lake, thanks to the newer core architecture.
| Intel Core Ultra 200HX (Arrow Lake/Refresh) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz.com | Cores (P+E) | Max CPU Clock | Base power | Max turbo power | iGPU Xe-cores | iGPU max freq |
| Core Ultra 9 290HX🆕 | 24 (8+16) | 5.? GHz | TBC | TBC | 4 | TBC |
| Core Ultra 9 285HX | 24 (8+16) | 5.5 GHz | 55 W | 160 W | 4 | 2.0 GHz |
| Core Ultra 9 275HX | 24 (8+16) | 5.4 GHz | 55 W | 160 W | 4 | 1.9 GHz |
| Core Ultra 7 265HX | 20 (8+12) | 5.3 GHz | 55 W | 160 W | 4 | 1.9 GHz |
| Core Ultra 7 255HX | 20 (8+12) | 5.2 GHz | 55 W | 160 W | 4 | 1.85 GHz |
| Core Ultra 5 245HX | 14 (6+8) | 5.1 GHz | 55 W | 160 W | 3 | 1.9 GHz |
| Core Ultra 5 235HX | 14 (6+8) | 5.1 GHz | 55 W | 160 W | 3 | 1.8 GHz |
Source: Geekbench
