The launch of the Intel Core Ultra 200S processor did not go as planned. In gaming tests it lagged behind its predecessors, drawing concern from enthusiasts and industry watchers. Intel acknowledged the issues and outlined a patch strategy with the first fixes slated for November, aiming to restore performance and stability for gamers in both the United States and Canada.
Acting Intel Vice President and General Manager Robert Hollow told Tom’s Hardware that the disappointing performance stemmed from an optimization hiccup on the Arrow Lake platform, which could cause BIOS and operating system crashes in some configurations. Engineers are actively pursuing the bugs, with at least two updates expected by the end of November to address the problems and improve overall reliability for North American buyers.
Intel researchers also flagged a memory latency issue that could reach up to 180 nanoseconds in certain setups. This delay did not appear to reduce gaming frame rates in practice, the company noted, but it prompted an official audit to understand the root causes of the launch hiccup and to guide future improvements for the product family.
Meanwhile, financial results reflected the rocky start as the company reported losses in the billions. Early sales of the Core Ultra line fell short of expectations, and many buyers shifted their attention toward AMD’s competing offerings during the critical launch window in North America.
The final STALKER 2 configurations have shipped