Intel Core Ultra 5 245K Review: Why So Slow for Gaming?

Intel’s Core Ultra 5 245K is the successor to the Core i5-14600K and is priced at $320, directly competing with the Ryzen 7 9700X. We are excited to see how these processors compare in both productivity and gaming tasks.

Here are some key specifications of the Core Ultra 5 245K:

The 245K features 6 P-Cores with a base frequency of 4.2 GHz, boosting up to 5.2 GHz. It also has 8 E-Cores with a base frequency of 3.6 GHz, boosting up to 4.6 GHz. The processor has 24 MB of L3 cache and 26 MB of L2 cache, with a base TDP of 125W and a max turbo TDP of 159W.

Notably, all K-SKU models support dual-channel DDR5-5600 UDIMM memory or DDR5-6400 CUDIMM memory, along with 20 PCIe 5.0 lanes and 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes. These models also feature an unlocked multiplier for overclocking capabilities.

Test System Specs

Here is the test system configuration used for benchmarking:

Productivity Benchmarks

Cinebench Clock Behavior

Under load with the MSI MAG Coreliquid I360 cooler, the 245K maintained an average clock frequency of 4.6 GHz on the E-Cores and 5.0 GHz on the P-Cores, staying within the stock 159W power limit.

Cinebench 2024, Multi-Core

In the Cinebench multi-core test, the 245K outperformed the 14600K by 9% and the 9700X by 26%.

Cinebench 2024, Single Core

In single-core performance, the 245K matched the 9700X with a score of 137 points, a 12% increase over the 14600K.

Cinebench 2024 Power Consumption

While the 245K was 26% faster than the 9700X in the multi-core test, it consumed 46% more power at 139 watts, showing a 37% reduction compared to the 14600K.

7-Zip File Manager Compression

In compression performance, the 245K was slightly slower than the 14600K and only 8% faster than the 9700X.

7-Zip File Manager Decompression

Decompression performance was also underwhelming, with the 245K matching older models like the 12700K and 5800X3D.

Blender Open Data

In Blender Open Data results, the 245K showed improvement, outperforming the 14600K by 7% and the 9700X by 16%.

Corona 10 Benchmark

The 245K performed well in the Corona 10 Benchmark, surpassing the 14600K by 7% and the 9700X by 11%.

While the margin may be small, there is still a noticeable performance gain with the 245K CPU. In Adobe Photoshop 2025, adjustments have been made to improve performance, bringing it closer to expected levels. However, there is still room for improvement as it remains 8% faster than the 14600K and 10% slower than the 9700X. In Adobe Premiere Pro 2024, the 245K matches the 14700K, showing an 11% increase over the 14600K and a 14% improvement over the 9700X.

Moving on to gaming benchmarks, the 245K delivers underwhelming performance in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, performing 7% slower than the 14600K and 12% slower than the 9700X. However, it performs better in The Last of Us Part 1, matching the 9700X’s performance and offering a 2% gain over the 14600K. In Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, the 245K lags behind, trailing both the 14600K and 9700X by a significant margin. The results in other games such as Hogwarts Legacy, Assetto Corsa Competizione, and Remnant II also show modest performance gains or falls short compared to other CPUs.

In terms of power consumption, the 245K exhibits efficiency in some games like Cyberpunk 2077 but falls behind in performance compared to the 9700X. The cost per frame analysis also reveals that the 245K may not offer the best value for gaming, costing more than the 9700X and other CPUs in terms of performance.

Overall, Intel’s latest CPU generation, including the 245K, has shown disappointing results, especially for PC gamers. While there were hopes for the 245K to be a standout performer, it falls short in various gaming benchmarks and cost per frame analysis. The performance of the 245K in compression and decompression tasks fell behind the Core i5-14600K, although it showed reasonable gains in other workloads. However, it didn’t always outperform the 9700X.

Productivity performance is a strong suit for the 245K, and its power efficiency is competitive, almost matching AMD’s efficiency. However, gaming performance was a struggle for the 245K, with inconsistent results across different titles.

Ultimately, the Core Ultra 5 245K is not a good value for gamers compared to other options like the Core i5-14600K or Ryzen 7 7700X. Even with a price reduction, the 245K would need to improve its performance consistency to be a viable option.

In a world without the 7700X or 14600K, the 245K would still have to compete with the Ryzen 7 9700X, which generally offers better gaming performance. While the 245K has an edge in core-heavy productivity tasks, there are better alternatives available.

At $320, the 245K offers decent productivity performance, but Intel needs to address Arrow Lake’s issues to fully unlock its potential. Until then, it’s hard to recommend these CPUs.

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