The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K aims to bring a new level of efficiency and performance to the mid-range market, built on Intel’s Arrow Lake architecture. With a mix of six performance cores and eight efficiency cores, it promises a balance of power and energy savings at a competitive price of around $309. It also supports the latest technologies, including DDR5-6400 memory, PCIe 5.0, and comes with an unlocked multiplier for overclocking, making it an appealing choice on paper for builders looking for flexibility.
In productivity and creative workloads, the Core Ultra 5 245K delivers solid results. Benchmarks in applications like Blender and Handbrake show significant gains over Intel’s previous generation Core i5-14600K, as well as AMD’s Ryzen 5 9600X. General computing tests confirm its strength in day-to-day performance, where it consistently comes out ahead of its closest rivals. Content creators and users who rely on multi-threaded performance will appreciate how much faster it feels in demanding tasks compared to older chips.
However, the Core Ultra 5 245K stumbles when it comes to gaming. In tests across a variety of modern titles, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Hogwarts Legacy, it falls behind both the older i5-14600K and AMD’s Ryzen 7 9700X. In some cases, it lags by over 10 percent compared to its competitors, which makes it a tough sell for anyone building a system focused primarily on gaming. Average gaming benchmarks show it struggling to keep up, and its slower frame rates make it less attractive in this space despite its otherwise modern platform.
One area where the processor impresses is efficiency. It uses considerably less power under load than competing chips, which keeps heat and noise levels down. Even during gaming, the 245K’s power draw stays much lower than both the 14600K and Ryzen 7 9700X. This makes it a good fit for compact systems or builds where power consumption and cooling are concerns, and it delivers its productivity gains without drawing excessive power.
The mixed performance has left many buyers and reviewers divided. While it shines in creative workloads and is a clear step forward for energy efficiency, its gaming performance simply does not match the expectations set by its price. For gamers, other mid-range options like the i5-14600K or AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 are better suited to delivering the best frame rates.
The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is a capable processor with a clear focus on productivity and energy savings, but it struggles to compete in gaming. For users who need strong content creation performance and prefer an efficient, cooler-running system, it is still a solid choice. For those whose priority is gaming, however, it may be worth looking elsewhere for better value and performance in that category.
