Intel has released a suite of updates designed to address performance issues with its Core Ultra 200S processors, code-named Arrow Lake-S, which debuted in October.
The fixes tackle four out of five identified problems, with a final BIOS patch scheduled for January 2025. These updates aim to bring gaming performance in line with Intel’s benchmarks after launch-day reviews exposed discrepancies.
“We recently concluded our investigation and determined five distinct topics that could alter performance or functionality,” Intel stated in its announcement. The company urged users to install the latest BIOS and Windows updates, specifically Windows 11 build 26100.2314, for immediate performance gains.
A Challenging Launch Leads to Systematic Fixes
When Intel introduced the Core Ultra 200S lineup, expectations were high, especially regarding gaming benchmarks. However, third-party reviews painted a starkly different picture, with performance inconsistencies ranging from diminished gaming scores to crashes caused by specific software configurations.
As a result, Intel began an investigation into these issues. The company now says it identified five root causes affecting processor performance and is releasing targeted updates. These resolve four known issues immediately, another one will require further firmware validation.
Missing Performance and Power Management (PPM) Package
The absence of a PPM package meant Windows Power Plans couldn’t optimally manage the CPU. PPM packages are a set of presets that optimize processor power settings to balance performance, energy efficiency, and responsiveness
This reduced efficiency across multiple parameters, including frequency ramp speeds and latency, causing performance losses of up to 30%. Intel corrected the problem via Windows Update (build 26100.2161), which has been available since November.
Intel Application Performance Optimizer (APO)
Intel Application Performance Optimizer (APO) is a tool designed to improve thread scheduling in games, but its functionality was compromised by the missing PPM package. This resulted in a 2–14% performance gap, depending on the game. With the recent updates, APO now functions as intended.
Easy Anti-Cheat Crashes
An outdated Easy Anti-Cheat driver caused frequent blue screens of death (BSOD) when launching certain games. Intel says it collaborated with Epic Games to distribute an updated driver through game-specific updates, resolving the issue.
BIOS Misconfigurations
Several BIOS settings, including PCIe Resizable BAR and compute tile ring frequency, were incorrectly configured in early motherboard firmware.
Resizable Base Address Register (BAR) is an optional PCI Express interface technology that allows the CPU to efficiently access the entire frame buffer of a GPU. The ring frequency refers to the clock speed of the interconnect between various components within the CPU’s compute tile.
Updated BIOS revisions for Z890-based motherboards now harmonize these settings, restoring expected functionality.
Upcoming Firmware Optimizations
The fifth issue involves additional BIOS-level optimizations currently undergoing validation. Intel plans to release this update in January 2025, promising modest but noticeable gaming performance improvements.
Intel’s fixes will culminate in a final firmware update, set for January 2025, which will mark the conclusion of its corrective measures. At CES 2025, the company will present a comprehensive analysis of the performance improvements achieved, including before-and-after benchmarks across multiple applications.
In an official statement, Intel expressed gratitude to the gaming and tech communities for their input. “Whether it was sharing performance traces and test data, or conversation on services like Reddit and Bluesky, this feedback helped us triangulate the right answer for complicated issue spaces. You have our gratitude,” the company noted.
Intel encourages users to apply the available updates now or wait for the January release for the most complete fixes. By resolving these issues, Intel aims to restore confidence in its Core Ultra 200S series ahead of future processor releases.
