Intel Core Ultra 200S might get closer to the Ryzen X3D processors but this is a specific update, targeting a single game. Intel is yet to release its upcoming 0x114 microcode, which supposedly fixes the overall gaming performance of Arrow Lake chips.
Cyberpunk 2077 developers roll out Update 2.2, delivering up to 33% better performance on Intel Arrow Lake CPUs
Cyberpunk 2077 was a mess when it came out. With regular patches and frequent updates, the game did improve over time, becoming one of the most-played triple-A titles on Steam. While the game is pretty demanding for both CPUs and GPUs, the difference can be apparent if the CPU can’t keep up with its demands.
Intel Arrow Lake was no exception and was quite disappointing when it came to the performance. Not just in Cyberpunk 2077 but also in most modern titles compared to the Ryzen 9000 series as well as its own predecessors, the Raptor Lake and Refresh series. Thankfully, this seems to be fixed with the latest Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.2, which the developers have just released.
The new patch fixes a plethora of issues and improves the gameplay but the biggest update is this:
Optimized threading system to improve performance by up to 33% on Intel Arrow Lake based CPUs
The details aren’t too obvious as the statement mentions “up to” and it could vary from SKU to SKU. The final results will also vary based on the graphical settings and whether the upscaling and frame generation are turned on or not. Nonetheless, the best-case scenario puts the best of Arrow Lake chips around the Zen 4-based AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D performance level.
The 7800X3D is the only CPU that follows the 9800X3D at the second position and is one of the most powerful gaming CPUs as of now. Getting the Core Ultra 9 285K and other high-end SKUs closer to this chip will make a noticeable performance jump and this could increase even further once Intel releases its anticipated 0x114 microcode, which seeks to fix the gaming performance of all the Core Ultra 200S chips.
At the same time, do keep in mind that this change may not bring the performance of these CPUs to the level of 7800X3D or 9800X3D as according to Intel, achieving their pre-release benchmarks is the goal. This would put the Arrow Lake equivalent or a bit faster than Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs but will still remain behind the latest X3D chips.
Update:
CAPFRAMEX has confirmed the performance boost. With the newest patch 2.2, the Arrow Lake CPUs (Intel Core Ultra 9 285K here) deliver a strong performance boost when paired with Radeon RX 7900 XTX. Here we are seeing 30% better lows than with the previous patch 2.13.
