I just finished up reviewing the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus desktop CPU and, thanks to the annual Intel Gamer Days sale, it may just be a great time to consider upgrading. Granted, it isn't the best time to be thinking about buying any of the best CPUs for gaming since the economy is in a foul state, but if you happen to have the rest of your rig assembled, or you're already on this motherboard socket and fancy an upgrade, listen up.
The TLDR here is that Newegg is currently selling the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus in a pretty decent bundle. Technically, at $219.99 at Newegg, the CPU is $20 over its launch price, which is hardly the foundation of a good deal. That said, Intel's Gamer Days means you can add a "free gift" onto your purchase, which scores you a Cooler Master AIO cooler worth $79.99 and two upcoming triple-A games, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Promo code BTS3113 also nets you $10 off the whole package to boot.
That pretty much means you're getting those two games (worth $119.98 in pre-order purchases) plus a cooler for that additional $10 (after the promo code) you're paying over the 250K Plus's price.
Despite the added bonuses, the CPU is really the star of the show here. After having understandably mixed experiences with the Raptor Lake CPUs, I felt like the brand had turned a new leaf after I tested the 250K Plus. Gone were the annoying temperature spikes and performance dips of the 14700K I had been using. While giving me a brilliant 4K companion to the RTX 5080 I was testing, it also stayed remarkably calm while gaming, creating content, or idling.
Temperatures were so controllable, and with an AIO installed on top of it, I had a hard time finding any task that would push it above 65 degrees Celsius. And it's no slouch in terms of value for money anyway, giving you 18 cores and 18 threads to play with.
Are there concerns about its motherboard socket not being supported for very long? Absolutely, but from everything Intel has done this year, I'm a lot more confident this is a brand that knows how vital long-term support for its platforms is going to be. If it hasn't learned that lesson by now, AMD is going to continue its momentum in the CPU market and steal a lot of its lunch.
I'd thoroughly recommend the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus. Even without a discount proper, it offers unreal value for money, even compared to some of AMD's X3D chips. That's going the extra mile for a processor this affordable - honestly, I'd have been satisfied with a non-volatile refresh.
For more, take a look at the best gaming PCs, the best RAM for gaming, and the best graphics card.
