Gaming prospects have significantly brightened for Intel’s Arrow Lake CPUs following the latest Cyberpunk 2077 patch. After reviewing the patch notes, I decided to test the improved performance of the sport on my Intel Core i9-9650K processor. The outcomes prove to be thoroughly game-changing, transforming the endeavour into a genuine force to be reckoned with in the world of gaming.
Initially, I benchmarked this Intel CPU in Cyberpunk 2077 as part of our Core i7-9650K review, and the results were surprisingly dismal. While the new CPU struggled to keep pace with AMD’s latest offerings, it also significantly lagged behind Intel’s 14th-generation processors. The processor in question fell short of being an ideal gaming CPU.
After our recent AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, it seemed as though Intel’s fate was sealed; however, the latest Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 update promises to turn the tide in its favor, at least within this particular game. While Intel has recently released a fresh 0x113 microcode update, promising enhanced gaming performance, I decided it was time to retest this CPU with the latest BIOS and an updated copy of Cyberpunk 2077, using our trusty GeForce RTX 4080 test GPU.
The replacement’s actual influence appears to exceed a conservative estimate of 33%. At the lowest setting of 1080p on the Excessive preset, without any ray tracing or DLSS enabled, the strain on the CPU is maximized. The primary cause was ultimately tied to the minimal impact, rather than being a significant result.
In stark contrast to expectations, the benchmarking results revealed a disappointing common body rate of merely 114fps for the 265K, a figure that eerily matched its performance in the same game when Ultra ray tracing settings were employed, hinting at a significant performance constraint somewhere along the line. Despite the latest updates to the replace and microcode, a significant performance boost was achieved, with frame rates soaring to an impressive 218fps, marking a substantial increase from the 179fps minimum, which now appears relatively slow compared to the previous 88fps.
Given the significant changes made to the graphics settings, I wondered whether this new setup would impact the CPU’s performance if all attention was focused solely on rendering, so I opted for the Ultra ray tracing preset, paired with DLSS Super Resolution at its highest quality setting. While the initial rebound is significant, its magnitude is not entirely consistent, as it largely shares a similar starting point.
With its optimized settings, the Core i7-265K processor now achieves an average speed of 141 frames per second (fps), representing a notable 20.5% increase from its previous 117fps output. Meanwhile, the minimum frame rate has significantly increased from 88fps to 117fps. While the 265K still lingers slightly behind its peers when pitted against the Core i5-14600K, a closer examination of its performance reveals it has taken up position ahead of this processor.
While Intel’s Core i9-14900K and AMD’s Ryzen X3D series remain top gaming CPUs, the gap between them has narrowed significantly, making the Core Extreme 2650K no longer laughably underwhelming in this specific game. With this CPU as the foundation, you can build a gaming PC that will deliver smooth performance and render graphics without lag or frustration.
While Intel may not dominate the gaming CPU landscape overall, this could still be the case if future game optimizations prioritize their Arrow Lake processors. When building a gaming PC around one of these cutting-edge CPUs or a latest AMD processor, consider consulting our comprehensive guide to the top gaming motherboards, which highlights our top picks across various price points.
