Your Intel Core Ultra 200-series computer might already be fast. But one perk you have by buying newer hardware is that sometimes, new optimizations are found that can make things even faster. Arrow Lake users can now enjoy faster performance—and more importantly, for free.

Intel is rolling out a new, free update designed to provide a boost in gaming performance for owners of specific Core Ultra 200S-series CPUs. The update comes in the form of an overclocking profile named “Intel 200S Boost.” This new profile is available for unlocked Intel Core Ultra 200S-series processors, specifically those with a “K” or “KF” suffix (K indicates CPUs with an unlocked multiplier that can be overclocked, while KF is just K chips without integrated graphics) when installed on compatible Intel Z890 chipset motherboards and paired alongside appropriate Intel XMP-enabled RAM modules. This is basically an officially-supported slight overclocking profile, which Intel says won’t void your warranty if you enable it—in case you were worried about that particular part.

How much of a difference does it actually make? As per independent testing conducted by Tom’s Hardware using the new profile, various games reportedly showed an average performance improvement of 7.5% compared to the officially supported, standard profile for the platform. The fact that it’s an overclocking profile might scare some of you unless you’re power users, but in theory, this one should be fine to enable.

The processors confirmed by Intel to be compatible with the new 200S Boost profile are:

• Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
• Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
• Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF
• Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
• Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF

If you happen to have the hardware, it will take a few steps if you want to take advantage of this. Mainly, you’ll have to update your BIOS—head to your motherboard’s manufacturer website to download the latest update, if it’s available. From there, boot into your BIOS and, within the overclocking or performance tuning section, look for and select “Intel 200S Boost” from the available preset profiles. And make sure to play around before actually firing up any games, to ensure that your computer is running stably. It should be fine, but the silicon lottery might play against you in some units.

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Improving performance in Arrow Lake chips has been a goal of Intel for a while. Back in November, the company committed to rolling out updates that would make the processors faster one way or another following user complaints that the chips had disappointing performance. Some of the efforts by Intel toward that goal have had mixed results, but an overclocking profile should be fairly straightforward.

You should keep in mind that not all Z890 motherboards or all Intel XMP RAM modules might support the 200S Boost profile, even if they meet the general chipset and RAM type requirements. Intel has a handy page to check compatibility, and you might want to check that out before you do anything you’ll regret. If you do notice unstable performance after turning it on, go back into your BIOS and disable the profile immediately.

If your motherboard is eligible, go grab your BIOS update so you can have faster games.

Source: The Verge