Intel Core Ultra 9 285 24-core LGA 1700

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285 is a 24-core desktop processor with elite single-thread performance and best-in-class efficiency. It's a productivity monster that handles gaming well but is overkill for pure gaming builds. Pricing varies wildly, so shop around before you buy.

The Core Ultra 9 285 posts a PassMark multi-thread score of 14,751 and a single-thread score of 1,997. That single-thread number puts it in the 99th percentile of every CPU in our database, which means it's basically the fastest thing you can buy for lightly-threaded tasks right now. The multi-thread score is also strong, landing in the 94th percentile. In practice, that means video exports, code compiles, and 3D renders will chew through work without breaking a sweat.

Efficiency is where this chip really shines. It scores an 89.4 out of 100 in our efficiency metric, which is the absolute best we've seen, 100th percentile. That's impressive for a 24-core part with a 65W TDP. The 8 P-cores boost up to 5.6 GHz while the 16 E-cores handle background noise, and Intel's Thread Director does a decent job of keeping everything routed correctly. The integrated NPU is there for AI acceleration, and while it's not going to replace a discrete GPU for heavy machine learning, it handles lighter inference tasks without breaking a sweat.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the obvious alternative if gaming is your main thing. It's got that 3D V-Cache that AMD fans love, and it trades blows with the Core Ultra 9 285 in games while costing less. But the Intel chip pulls ahead in heavily multi-threaded productivity work thanks to those 24 cores. If you're rendering video or running VMs all day, the Core Ultra 9 285 is the better tool.

The Core i9 BX80673I99960X is another Intel option, but it's an older platform at this point. You'd be buying into a dead socket with less efficiency. The Core Ultra 9 285's efficiency advantage is real, 100th percentile in our database, and that matters if you run your machine 24/7. The G.Skill Trident Z Neo isn't a CPU, so that's not a direct comparison, but it shows up in our competitor list because people often bundle it with these high-end builds. For pure workstation duty, the Core Ultra 9 285 is the most balanced option in this group.

Value is the weak spot here, and it's not close. Our affordability score for the Core Ultra 9 285 is 70.3 out of 100, which lands in the 13th percentile. That's rough. The EUR pricing tells the story: EUR 540 to EUR 952 depending on which vendor you hit. If you're in Europe, the best deal in our data is from the vendor at EUR 540, which is a massive discount compared to the EUR 952 listing. Shop around before you buy, because paying nearly double for the same chip is a bad time. In the US, it's listed at USD 604, which feels more reasonable for what you get, but still not cheap. If budget matters, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D offers strong gaming performance for less money in most markets.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285 sits in that awkward space where Intel is trying to convince you it's not just another Raptor Lake refresh. It's a 24-core desktop processor with 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores, built for the LGA 1851 socket. If you're searching for a high-end CPU for productivity and gaming, this one lands in the premium tier, though pricing is all over the place depending on where you shop. We're seeing EUR 540 to EUR 952 across European vendors, which is a wild spread for the same chip.

Intel packed this thing with their hybrid architecture, a 5.6 GHz boost clock, and an integrated NPU for AI workloads. It's aimed at people who do serious content creation, run virtual machines, or just want a ton of headroom for multitasking. The boxed cooler situation is a bit confusing, some listings mention a fan, others say no thermal solution included. Our data shows it ships with a boxed cooler, but you'll probably want something beefier anyway.

Is the Core Ultra 9 285 good for gaming? Short answer: yes, but it's overkill for most people. The single-thread performance is top of the charts, which matters for games, but you're paying for 24 cores when most titles barely use 8. This is a productivity monster that happens to game well, not the other way around.

Skip the Core Ultra 9 285 if you're building a gaming-only rig. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D delivers comparable gaming performance for less money, and you won't be paying for cores you'll never use. Also skip it if you're on a tight budget, the affordability score is one of the worst we've seen for a mainstream desktop chip. And if you're already on a recent Intel platform like LGA 1700, the upgrade cost includes a new motherboard, which makes this a much more expensive proposition than the chip price alone suggests.

Should you buy the Intel Core Ultra 9 285? If you need a high-core-count CPU for productivity, content creation, or heavy multitasking, and you're already planning an LGA 1851 build, then yes. It's efficient, fast, and handles everything you throw at it. The single-thread performance is elite, and the efficiency is genuinely best-in-class.

But if you're mostly gaming, save your money. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D will give you similar frame rates for less cash, and you won't be paying for 16 efficiency cores that sit idle during your Apex Legends sessions. The Core Ultra 9 285 is a workstation chip that happens to game well, not a gaming chip. Know which one you need before you drop the cash.