Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus 24-core LGA1851

The 270K Plus posts a 5,079 single-thread PassMark score, the best we've ever recorded in this category. Multi-core hits 68,836 at the 97th percentile, and it does all that at a 125W base TDP. At USD 311 to USD 400, it's the best price-to-performance CPU on the market right now, assuming you're okay with a new motherboard and can live without XMP until Intel sorts out the stability issues.

The single-thread score of 5,079 is the absolute best we've seen in this category. That's the 100th percentile, full stop. For gaming and latency-sensitive workloads, this chip delivers top-of-the-charts responsiveness. The 5.5GHz boost clock on the P-cores does the heavy lifting there, and the 3nm process keeps things snappy without melting your motherboard.

Multi-core is nearly as impressive. The 68,836 PassMark score lands at the 97th percentile, which puts it ahead of most of the competition in our database. The 16 E-cores pull serious weight in rendering and productivity tasks. Efficiency also ranks at the 97th percentile, which is the real story here. You're getting near-flagship throughput at a 125W base power draw. Owners coming from a 13700K specifically call out the temperature improvements, with several noting they switched from AIO to air cooling without losing performance. Overclocking headroom is there too, with the unlocked multiplier and Z-series chipset support. Just be aware that the 200S boost feature has caused instability for some users, so you may want to stick with manual tuning or stock settings.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the obvious rival here, and it's a genuine fight. The 9800X3D's 3D V-Cache gives it an edge in cache-sensitive gaming titles, but the 270K Plus counters with a higher core count and better multi-thread throughput. Our data shows the 270K Plus at the 97th percentile for multi-thread, which puts it ahead of most Ryzen 7 parts in productivity workloads. The 9800X3D typically wins in pure gaming frame rates, but the 270K Plus closes that gap significantly at stock settings, and owners report overclocking brings it even closer. Against Intel's own previous generations, the 270K Plus is a massive leap. One owner who upgraded from a 13700K noted the temperature drop alone justified the switch. The D&H Core i9 X-Series part in our competitor list is a different beast entirely, older HEDT silicon that costs more and draws way more power. If you're choosing between the 270K Plus and anything from Intel's 13th or 14th gen, this is the clear winner on efficiency and platform features.

At USD 311 to USD 400 across six US listings, this chip is priced like a mid-range part and performs like a flagship. The USD 89 spread between vendors is worth paying attention to. The cheapest listing at USD 311 is the obvious pick if you're in the US. In Europe, prices range from EUR 319 to EUR 356, with the EUR 319 listing being the best deal we found. Canadian buyers see CAD 440 to CAD 478. The budget score of 99.2/100 in our database reflects exactly what owners are saying: this is Ultra 9 performance at Ultra 5 pricing. The catch is the platform cost. You need an Intel 800 Series motherboard with the LGA1851 socket, and that's not cheap. But if you're building fresh, the total cost still undercuts comparable AMD setups in most regions.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus posts a PassMark multi-core score of 68,836 and a single-core score of 5,079. Those numbers put it at the 97th percentile for multi-thread and the 100th percentile for single-thread in our database. That's not just good, it's the kind of result that makes you double-check the price tag. And at USD 311 to USD 400 depending on the vendor, this thing is aggressively positioned against AMD's best gaming chips.

Intel packed 24 cores into this Arrow Lake Refresh part, 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores, with a 5.5GHz boost clock and 36MB of L3 cache. The 125W base TDP and 250W turbo ceiling mean it sips power compared to the 13th and 14th gen chips it replaces. Owners are noticing too. The sentiment score sits at 82/100, with recurring praise for price-to-performance and power efficiency. A few verified buyers hit blue screens with XMP and the 200S boost enabled, but most report running stock without issues.

If you already own a 13th or 14th gen Intel chip on LGA1700, the upgrade math gets murky. You'd need a new motherboard, and the platform cost adds up fast. The user sentiment score of 51st percentile also suggests this chip isn't universally loved, the XMP instability reports are a real headache for early adopters. And if you're purely a gamer who doesn't touch productivity workloads, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D still holds the edge in frame rates. The 270K Plus is a fantastic all-rounder, but it's not the right pick for everyone. If you're on a tight budget and already have a working LGA1700 system, stick with what you've got.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is the best value CPU we've tested in this generation. A 100th percentile single-thread score and 97th percentile multi-thread score at this price point is rare. The 82/100 sentiment score from verified buyers backs up the specs, with consistent praise for price-to-performance and power efficiency. The XMP instability reports are a real concern, and Intel needs to address that with a microcode update. But most owners run stock or find workarounds, and the performance you get for the money is hard to argue with. If you're building a new system on the Intel 800 Series platform, this is the chip to buy.