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At a glance Pros USB-C port with 96 watts of Power Delivery Good color performance and wide color gamut Easy-to-use menus with many options Up to 100Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync Cons Mediocre contrast, brightness HDR is available but disappoints Color accuracy is good but doesn’t beat peers Our Verdict The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV offers the color performance and connectivity required for professional productivity, content creation, and other work. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Asus ProArt PA278CFRV Retailer Price $379 View Deal Asus 379 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Asus ProArt line includes a wide range of professional content creation and productivity monitors, but its entry-level models often receive the most attention — and for good reason. Past Asus ProArt displays, like the PA278QV and PA279CRV, offered excellent color performance at a very low price. The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV continues this trend, meeting the expectations set by those prior offerings. Asus ProArt PA278CFRV specs and features The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV is a 27-inch monitor with a resolution of 2560×1440 and an In-Plane Switching (IPS) display panel. This is typical for a productivity and content creation monitor. The refresh rate stands out, however, as the monitor can handle refresh rates up to 100Hz. That’s not uncommon among general-use and gaming monitors, but among productivity monitors, some competitors are still at 60Hz or 75Hz. Display size: 27-inch 16:9 widescreen Native resolution: 2560×1440 Panel type: IPS Refresh rate: Up to 100Hz Adaptive sync: VESA MediaSync HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 400 Certified Ports: 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.4-out (for daisy-chain), 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 96 watts Power Delivery, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 downstream, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 downstream, 3.5mm audio-out VESA mount: 100x100mm Speakers: 2x 2-watt speakers Price: $379 MSRP Asus’ connectivity also stands out. The monitor has a USB-C port with DisplayPort and up to 96 watts of Power Delivery, which is perfect for powering and charging most laptops. It also has DisplayPort-out, which is handy if you plan to use multiple monitors but your PC only has one video-out port. The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV is designed for professional use with a focus on productivity and content creation. It features a reserved and subtle design, with the panel clad in charcoal-colored plastics. The stand, meanwhile, has a sleek silver finish. Further reading: See our roundup of the best home office monitors to learn about competing products. While the monitor is reserved, Asus does offer a distinctive design language for its ProArt monitors, which includes a heatsink-like ribbing on the back of the panel. This new monitor will complement any recent ProArt gear already on your desk. Foundry Foundry Foundry Asus offers an ergonomic yet functional monitor stand that adjusts for height, tilt, and swivel, and can also rotate 90 degrees for portrait orientation. While these features are common in office and productivity monitors, it’s still a welcome inclusion, especially considering that this monitor is more affordable than similar models from Dell’s Ultrasharp and BenQ’s photography monitor lines. The stand is stable and has a small, flat base that doesn’t take up much desk space. Its flat design also allows you to place small items or notebooks on it without issue. If you prefer using a third-party monitor arm, though a 100x100mm VESA mount is available. Asus ProArt PA278CFRV connectivity and menus The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV offers a lot of connectivity, which is arguably one of the best reasons to buy the monitor. Its video inputs include one HDMI 2.0 port, one DisplayPort 1.4, and one USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode. All of these inputs can support the monitor’s maximum resolution of 1440p at its maximum refresh rate of 100Hz. While it would be nice to see a fourth video input, the monitor compensates with DisplayPort-out, which can be used for daisy-chaining to a second display. This is a useful feature if your computer has only one video output or if you want to reduce cable clutter on your desk. Asus doesn’t pull any punches with the USB-C port. In addition to supporting DisplayPort, it provides up to 96 watts of USB Power Delivery, so it can fully power most laptops that don’t have discrete mobile graphics. The USB-C port also connects to a built-in USB hub, which includes one downstream USB-C port and three downstream USB-A ports. This is a solid range of USB connectivity for a monitor priced under $400. A 3.5mm audio-out jack rounds out the connectivity options. Foundry Foundry Foundry The monitor has a long list of options that can be accessed through a joystick control on the front bezel of the display. They’re flanked by a series of buttons, which is odd for a modern monitor; most choose to tuck the joystick and buttons out of sight. However, this makes sense for a professional monitor, as I assume people who buy this display are more interested than the average user in changing the options to fit their particular needs. The monitor’s options can also be controlled through DisplayWidget, a software utility available on Windows and Mac. And there’s a lot of options. The monitor supports a broad range of image quality adjustments, including settings for gamma, color saturation, color temperature, and preset modes for sRGB, DCI-P3, and AdobeRGB, among others. The monitor also includes features specific to visual artists, like a built-in grid that can be used to verify the alignment of images on the screen. I’m not sure Asus has any advantage over BenQ in this area, and Asus notably lacks the helpful remote some BenQ monitors provide. However, the range of options is stronger than recent Dell Ultrasharp monitors we’ve reviewed. The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV offers a solid range of USB connectivity for a monitor priced under $400. As an added bonus, the monitor has a built-in ambient light sensor that will adjust the brightness of the display depending on your environment. I find this to be an extremely helpful feature, especially for home and remote workers who might experience a lot of variance in room lighting throughout the day. A light sensor can ensure that your display is never so bright that it causes unnecessary eye strain. The monitor also includes a pair of two-watt speakers. While it’s nice to have a source of audio if you don’t have external speakers or headphones available, the speakers are weak and only work for basic needs, like hearing Windows or Mac system sounds or listening to a podcast. With that said, the same is true for Asus’ direct competitors. Professional monitors tend to skimp on speaker quality. Asus ProArt PA278CFRV SDR image quality The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV is all about its SDR image quality. While it’s true that there are various reasons why professional artists might work with HDR, SDR is still predominant outside of the most demanding use cases — in which case, a monitor under $400 is probably not the right choice. This monitor is aimed at mainstream general-purpose productivity and content creation, where SDR remains the go-to. So, how does the monitor perform? Foundry Foundry Foundry We start off with brightness, where the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV delivers an acceptable maximum brightness of 360 nits. That is likely good enough for how the monitor will be used in most environments, as this level of brightness is sufficient even for rooms with some uncontrolled lighting and, for reasons I won’t get into here, it’s best to edit SDR at lower levels of brightness that match the standards of the color gamut you choose. However, if your office has a lot of bright, sunlit windows or is located in an all-glass corporate tower, you might find the ProArt’s brightness pushed to its limits. Foundry Foundry Foundry Next up is contrast, where again the ProArt PA278CFRV finds itself in the middle of the pack. It performs better than the older ProArt PA278QV, Asus’ previous affordable 1440p monitor for creative professionals, and also outperforms the BenQ SW272Q. However, a contrast ratio of 1040:1 is not remarkable. By comparison, the Dell U2724DE, which features an IPS Black display panel, can achieve a naturally superior contrast ratio of 2190:1. The Dell is more expensive, though. Unfortunately, the ProArt PA278CFRV’s contrast ratio is limited by the monitor’s inability to reach appropriately low brightness levels in dark scenes. Because of this, dark scenes can suffer from an unattractive gray-silver cast that detracts from the experience. This issue is most noticeable in entertainment like games and movies, but if you frequently edit dark photos or videos, it could be a problem. On the other hand, most similar monitors face the same issue. So, while I would prefer a better contrast ratio, it doesn’t put the ProArt PA278CFRV behind its closest competitors. Shoppers looking for class-leading contrast need to consider a more expensive Mini-LED or OLED display, like the MSI MPG 341CQPX. Foundry Foundry Foundry Asus’ new ProArt PA278CFRV provides a good color gamut, reaching up to 97 percent of DCI-P3 and 87 percent of AdobeRGB. While this isn’t a standout color gamut for a monitor in 2024, it’s still quite good and should be up to the task for professional work within the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamuts, at least. When compared to the competition, the Asus trades blows with the Dell U2724DE. It’s similar, with just a percentage difference in DCI-P3 or AdobeRGB. The BenQ SW272Q is superior in AdobeRGB, but slightly inferior in DCI-P3 (note that the results here are for the AdobeRGB mode on the SW272Q, however, in DCI-P3 mode the monitor still measured at 94 percent of that color gamut). Those who own older entry-level Asus ProArt monitors will find that the ProArt PA278CFRV offers a noticeable improvement over previous models. If you have an older ProArt monitor and are considering an upgrade, you will see a benefit in color performance with the new monitor. Foundry Foundry Foundry The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV’s color accuracy surprised me because it wasn’t as good as the competitors I used for comparison. It’s important to recognize that this slight color error is still fine for most professional use and is also lower than what Asus has promised (it advertises a color error below 2, which is achieved). However, it’s notable that some other monitors offered better out-of-the-box color accuracy. Thankfully, the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV performed very well in two other key areas important for accurate imaging: gamma and color temperature. It hit the preferred target gamma curve of 2.2 and offered the ideal color temperature of 6500K at the monitor’s default settings. As a result, the image doesn’t look too dark or too bright, and it avoids appearing too cool or too warm. And, as mentioned, the monitor has many settings to change the gamma and color temperature if you want or need to work with a different gamma or color temperature setting. Sharpness is adequate. The monitor’s resolution of 2560×1440, spread across the 27-inch panel, results in a pixel density of about 109 pixels per inch. This is sharp enough for most situations, but small fonts in documents and fine details in photographs can appear softer or more aliased compared to a 4K monitor. It’s worth knowing that, at the time of writing, the 4K Asus ProArt PA279CRV is only $30 more expensive than the new ProArt PA278CFRV. Shoppers should also know that while the ProArt PA278CFRV offers dynamic backlight dimming, it doesn’t have a Mini-LED backlight. Because of that, the dynamic backlight can cause huge, easily noticeable variances in display brightness across the screen. Strangely, the ProArt had this feature enabled by default. That’s odd because these variances in brightness are not good for image accuracy, which is what the ProArt is built to offer. All my testing was conducted with the dynamic backlight turned off, and I recommend that every owner turn it off when they receive the monitor. On the whole, the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV delivers good image quality comparable to its closest competition. It excels in color performance, offering a wide color gamut and decent, though not above-average, color accuracy. It also scores well in gamma and color temperature. It’s a solid choice for working with documents and editing photos or content in SDR. If you plan to play games or watch movies, though, the contrast ratio may give you pause. Asus ProArt PA278CFRV HDR image quality The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified, but like most mid-range monitors, it’s not great, or even passable, when it comes to HDR content. This limitation is partially due to the monitor’s contrast ratio. The lack of a Mini-LED backlight or an OLED display panel means that the monitor cannot increase the brightness of bright objects without also increasing the brightness of darker areas on the screen. This, in turn, causes a loss of detail in either the brighter objects or the darker areas when viewing HDR content. Brightness is low, too. I could only make it sustain a maximum HDR brightness of 329 nits, which is low for a monitor that carries VESA DisplayHDR certification. While I don’t doubt that the certification testing managed to produce the required 400 nits of brightness in certain scenarios, I couldn’t replicate it. The bottom line is this: Although the monitor can display HDR, it’s not useful as an HDR monitor. I would not recommend it for viewing or editing HDR content. To be fair, this is also true for other productivity and content-creation monitors in this price range. If you’re looking for excellent color gamut, high color accuracy, and good HDR performance, you’re going to need to spend more on a monitor with a Mini-LED or OLED display. Asus ProArt PA278CFRV motion performance I’m happy to see the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV offer a maximum refresh rate of 100Hz. While there are some monitors focused on creativity and content creation that offer a higher refresh rate, like the Dell U2724DE with its 120Hz refresh rate, most monitors in this category stick to 60Hz. That can be disappointing since it results in less fluid motion clarity if you want to play PC games. The Asus also offers something I haven’t seen on any monitor I’ve reviewed before: VESA MediaSync certification. This is a lower level of adaptive sync certification for monitors that can support a variable refresh rate but don’t reach the 120Hz threshold. Because of this, the monitor unofficially supports both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, and it worked seamlessly with my AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. While the monitor’s 100Hz refresh rate is a nice upgrade, gamers shouldn’t get too excited about its gaming performance. Motion fluidity and clarity are certainly improved over 60Hz, but they’re still on the lower end of what’s available in 2024. Fast-moving objects remain visible but can appear blurred, and it can be difficult to make out fine details, like text, on objects that are moving across the screen. So, while I applaud Asus for offering a higher refresh rate and adaptive sync support — features I believe all modern monitors should include — gamers looking for top-tier motion clarity may want to look elsewhere. Should you buy the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV? The Asus ProArt PA278CFRV is a good choice for anyone looking to buy a productivity or content creation monitor that offers solid color performance and extensive connectivity at its price point. While it has some drawbacks, particularly with contrast, it performs well in terms of color gamut and offers a wide range of image quality options. The USB-C port is another perk, as it supports up to 96W of power delivery and connects to multiple downstream USB-A ports. Asus also provides an enhanced refresh rate and adaptive sync support, making the monitor more versatile for users who want a productivity display that can also handle occasional gaming. Shoppers considering the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV might also look at the Dell U2724DE, which is an upgrade in most respects. It’s about $100 to $150 more expensive, though, so the Asus remains the budget-friendly choice. Read...

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While OLED gaming monitors started out as very expensive, they’ve slowly become… not quite as expensive, but still expensive all the same. Even with big discounts, it’s rare for OLED monitors to get within striking distance of their LCD predecessors. Today is one of those days. Amazon subsidiary Woot is offering the best price we’ve ever seen on an OLED gaming monitor: this 34-inch MSI OLED monitor is going for $499.99. That’s less than half the usual price you normally see for an equivalent model. What’s the catch? Well, Woot’s offer is for a refurbished model — but don’t let that turn you away. You get a 180-day warranty with this one, which is better than most refurb displays. (But with general concerns around OLED burn-in, I’d understand if you felt like passing on this deal. In that case, consider buying the extended Asurion warranty that’s offered at checkout.) Still here? Then listen up. The MSI MAG 341CQP has a 34-inch ultrawide 3440×1440 curved panel and boasts 175Hz of refresh and 0.03ms of response time, which isn’t the fastest in the world but should be more than enough to make your gaming PC sweat on newer releases and keep online competitive games buttery smooth. Naturally, it supports AMD FreeSync and extra gaming features like an integrated crosshair. For connections, you get DisplayPort 1.4, double HDMI 2.1, and USB-C. (The USB-C only delivers 15 watts of charging, which probably won’t be enough to charge up a gaming laptop but it’ll handle video just fine.) It also packs an extra pair of USB-A ports and a headphone jack. And yes, it’ll work with most monitor arms thanks to its 100×100 VESA mount. Woot’s deal is valid for another three days, but I expect this one will sell out much faster than that, so hop on it quickly if you’re ready to buy. Get this MSI ultrawide OLED monitor for just $500Buy now at Woot Read...

How long will it take to update your PC to the Windows 11 2024 Update? If my tests are any indicator, you’d be twiddling your thumbs for a lot longer than usual. Microsoft characterizes Windows 11 24H2, formally known as the Windows 11 2024 Update, as a “full OS swap.” Until now, Microsoft pushed incremental updates to your PC, with only the code needed to perform security or feature updates. The language that Microsoft is using now implies that this is a much more involved process and that seems to be true. I tested downloading and installing Windows 11 24H2 on four separate laptops. Each took at least an hour to install and some much more. Put another way, this isn’t something that you can take care of quickly — quite a change from the quick Windows 11 feature updates of the last few years. The Windows 11 2024 Update is beginning to roll out now, though the actual process will be performed in phases. The update is free. You have several options to update, as our story notes, including setting your Windows Update settings to ask for the latest updates as soon as they’re available. You can also download Windows 11 directly from Microsoft, either as an ISO file or using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant. To quickly update to Windows 11 2024 Update, you can download a fresh copy of Windows 11 from Microsoft. To quickly update to Windows 11 2024 Update, you can download a fresh copy of Windows 11 from Microsoft.Mark Hachman / IDG To quickly update to Windows 11 2024 Update, you can download a fresh copy of Windows 11 from Microsoft.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG For whatever reason, downloading a Windows 11 24H2 ISO stalled out repeatedly, so I chose to create a Windows 11 installation media, the other option. That tool gives you the choice of either downloading Windows to an external drive, or an ISO file that you can mount to a DVD. Windows offers a more convenient option, however. Simply right-click the ISO file and “mount” it in a virtual drive on your PC. That opens up a virtual drive, where you can simply click the “setup” icon to launch the process. You can store the ISO on a handy DVD or USB key (the ISO is about 4.4GB) and then just move it from PC to PC. I find it easiest to download an ISO file, mount it, and then begin the upgrade… I find it easiest to download an ISO file, mount it, and then begin the upgrade…Mark Hachman / IDG I find it easiest to download an ISO file, mount it, and then begin the upgrade…Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG So to upgrade, I simply: Used the Windows 11 Installation Assistant to download a copy of Windows. (Windows 11 24H2 is selected automatically). Selected the “ISO” option. When the download completed, I right-clicked the file and mounted it using File Explorer. I clicked “Setup” and launched the update process. …simply by clicking “setup.” …simply by clicking “setup.”Mark Hachman / IDG …simply by clicking “setup.”Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Ideally, you’ll have already updated your PC before you begin the process. Installing Windows 11 24H2 won’t erase your personal files or applications, but it’s a good idea to have them backed up anyway. Some of you prefer a “clean install” of a new OS. Since this is a “full OS swap,” this should be part of the process. Upgrading may involve agreeing to a Windows license agreement. In general, the process simply involves Windows checking and downloading any additional updates behind the scenes, and then completing the process itself. Expect to see this screen as you move through the upgrade process. Expect to see this screen as you move through the upgrade process.Mark Hachman / IDG Expect to see this screen as you move through the upgrade process.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG The upgrade will proceed through the update phase, through to the installation phase (performed on an otherwise blank screen) and then a series of reboots while Windows goes through the final process. You may see an additional series of screens that can occur during the setup of a new PC. Aside from approving the license agreement (which Windows didn’t always ask for), the update proceeded without supervision. I used four notebooks, listed here from newest to oldest. The time it took to update follows. This did not include “pre-updating” the PC or downloading the ISO file, just the time it took after I clicked the “setup” application inside the Windows 11 ISO file. I would expect this to be the same time your PC would take to update if it progressed through the normal Windows Update channels. MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo B1MG: Core Ultra 7 155H/32GB RAM/1TB SSD: one hour, two minutes Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2: Core i7-13700H/64GB RAM/1 TB SSD: one hour, 37 minutes HP Victus: Core i7-11800H/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: one hour, 27 minutes Microsoft Surface Laptop 3: Core i7-1065G7/16GB RAM/256GB SSD: one hour, 45 minutes It does appear that older laptops will take longer to upgrade, which makes sense. I actually had the Surface Laptop Studio 2 enrolled as part of the Dev Channel on Microsoft’s Windows Insider program, but it hadn’t been updated in some time. I was able to set the Windows Update settings to exit the Insider program (which normally requires a fresh install of Windows, erasing everything) without the need to remove my apps and files. While I can’t truly know how long your PC will take to update to the Windows 11 2024 Update, you should probably set aside an hour or two, especially with an older PC. Good luck! Read...

Intel’s new Arrow Lake architecture, aka the Core Ultra 200S series, brings AI capabilities onto Intel desktops. But the chip doesn’t use the Copilot+ capabilities of Intel’s mobile Lunar Lake chip — its designers used the older NPU found on Meteor Lake instead. For now, this means that if you buy an Arrow Lake chip, you won’t be able to use it with some of the new AI enhancements found within Windows 11’s 2024 Update, like generative AI and the controversial Recall function. Arrow Lake’s optimized NPU 3 only provides 13 TOPS, while Microsoft set 40 TOPS as the bar for Copilot+ status. Intel still plans to ship more than 40 million AI PCs in 2024, using the vaguer “AI PC” definition that accompanied the launch of Meteor Lake. Arrow Lake is the not the first desktop PC architecture to include an NPU for AI. Last January, AMD announced the Ryzen 8000 series of desktop processors with an NPU capable of 39 TOPS. However, the blink-or-you’ll-miss-it Ryzen 8000 was quickly replaced by the Ryzen 9000 processor six months later in June — without an NPU, but ushering in Zen 5 with a potent 16 percent performance improvement over the prior generation. Neither the Ryzen 8000 nor Arrow Lake meets the threshold to be called a Copilot+ PC. Arrow Lake, like Meteor Lake, is a disaggregated architecture — a fancy name for a modular design. Theoretically, couldn’t Intel have just made more of the 45 TOPS NPU 4 found within Lunar Lake, and added it to the Arrow Lake package? Yes…and no, Intel executives said. Arrow Lake contains rudimentary AI, for a reason. Arrow Lake contains rudimentary AI, for a reason.Intel Arrow Lake contains rudimentary AI, for a reason.Intel Intel Keeping it simple First off, Arrow Lake’s NPU is the same NPU 3 as Meteor Lake, Robert Hallock, an Intel vice president and general manager of client AI and technical marketing at Intel, told reporters. “So we’ve had a lot of time to learn it and optimize it, and it made sense that we would fit this in,” he said. (Meteor Lake’s NPU generated 11.5 TOPS, while Arrow Lake’s optimized version produces 13 TOPS.) However, Intel’s customer base of enthusiasts also indicated that they didn’t want to give up certain features, like a potent GPU, to check the box of AI. And Intel, which faced pressure to deliver Arrow Lake on time, found it easier to just use an established design. “We actually had a long, a really long chat internally about how to allocate the transistor budget on this part,” Hallock continued. “To be clear, yes, it was fully possible to put a 50 TOPS, 40 TOPS NPU on this product, but to do so would also require shrinking the core count, changing the GPU core count. You start making sacrifices in sort of fundamental performance dimensions that enthusiasts really care about — that didn’t feel like the right mix. And we also talked at length about sort of the enthusiast market’s disposition on AI as a whole. And I think it’s fair to say it’s somewhat reluctant.” Instead, Intel believes that software developers aren’t always using AI hardware effectively, that a combination of components (CPU, GPU, and NPU) is better than an NPU alone, and various AI models are being effectively compressed small enough that they don’t need a massive NPU. All told, Arrow Lake-S (the Core Ultra 200S series) has a total of 36 platform TOPS. Although Arrow Lake has an integrated GPU, many customers will pair the chip with a discrete GPU, which provides far more AI horsepower than just the NPU alone. “We’ve proven that Meteor Lake’s 13-TOPS NPU is more than enough,” Hallock said. “We’ve got enthusiast users who are somewhat skeptical, and so we sized an NPU that kind of fits all of those constraints while preserving and protecting the CPU performance that people care about most and still gives enough AI to embrace workloads that are coming down the pipe.” Interestingly, Intel will debut two mobile chips in the Arrow Lake family during the first quarter of 2024. One, code-named Arrow Lake-HX, will essentially be a mobile copycat of the Core Ultra 200S chips that Intel will begin shipping in a few weeks. A second family of Arrow Lake-H chips for notebooks provides many more TOPS overall than Arrow Lake-S or -HX: 99 platform TOPS in all. However, those will come from a beefed-up GPU that uses XMX extensions and more Xe cores. The NPU will still provide 13 TOPS. Roger Chandler, vice president and general manager for enthusiast PC and workstation product marketing at Intel, reiterated what Hallock said — that software developers aren’t using the full capabilities of the existing NPUs effectively. Intel’s goal, he said, was to offer a “balanced platform.” “When I look at AI right now, we’re like, 10 seconds into a 20-hour movie,” Chandler said. Read...

Intel’s latest Arrow Lake processor for desktop PCs fuses its “Meteor Lake” and “Lunar Lake” architectures together, carrying over Meteor Lake’s NPU and Lunar Lake’s abandonment of hyperthreading. Yes, hyperthreading has been banned from Intel’s desktop chips, based on a similar rationale for excluding the feature from Lunar Lake. Intel launched Arrow Lake, also known as its Core Ultra 200S processor lineup, on Thursday. The chip is Intel’s first “disaggregated” desktop processor, built on tiles, meaning each part of the chip is individually fabricated on a different process. In a twist, Intel unveiled a deep dive into the architecture of Lunar Lake and the models, prices, and performance of the Core Ultra 200S processor. A key omission? Hyperthreading, which also was not part of Intel’s Lunar Lake mobile processor. The story of Arrow Lake is a simple one: More performance and yet substantially less power than the 14th-generation Core chips. And to get there, Intel executives said they applied the same thinking to both Lunar Lake and its next-gen desktop counterpart: Make its cores as efficient as possible, both for power and for space. What is hyperthreading? Hyperthreading (also known as simultaneous multi-threading) is a fairly simple concept: While each processor core is designed to execute one instruction thread, hyperthreading creates a second “virtual” processor inside the single processor core. With hyperthreading, the idea is that the individual processor core is always executing instructions on at least one of the two cores, keeping it in operation the whole time. The last thing enthusiasts want is a CPU core sitting idle when it could be performing useful work. Intel Intel Intel The problem is that the second core is a virtual core, and not a “true” second physical core. That can lead to some contention of resources and additional overhead, enough that the question of whether to leave hyperthreading on or off while gaming has been a source of debate for years. Intel, meanwhile, has gone back and forth on the feature: Some of Intel’s 9th-, 10th-, and 11th-gen Core processors have excluded hyperthreading, such as the Core i7-9700K, and Intel’s Atom chips never used it. Most of Intel’s Core chips do, however. AMD has pretty consistently used hyperthreading, however, and still does. The question has always been: Does hyperthreading deliver a performance increase that surpasses the toll it takes in terms of system latency, the controller die cost, and the power hyperthreading consumes? In Lunar Lake, the answer was “no,” and that has carried over to Intel’s latest desktop chips, too. In part, that’s because Arrow Lake cribs heavily from Lunar Lake, with the same Lion Cove performance cores and the same Skymont efficiency cores that appear in Lunar Lake. Robert Hallock, a vice president and general manager of client AI and technical marketing for Intel, said that Intel basically comes out ahead in terms of power and performance by not using hyperthreading. Arrow Lake includes both desktop and mobile processors, and Hallock was being asked about the desktop implementation of hyperthreading. But it sounds like Hallock’s response applies to both desktop and mobile chips. “It’s a combination of a couple things, actually,” Hallock told reporters. “First, we knew that we can actually save the wattage for hyperthreading by not including it on the product, and you see that we’re still coming out net ahead by roughly 15, 20 percent in [multicore performance] without it. So we’re able to bump up efficiency and still hit our goals in overall compute performance. “The other thing that I would say is, you know, these are the same designs as leveraged from Lunar Lake,” Hallock added. “We took those cores, those designs, and were able to immediately integrate them because of [Intel’s] Foveros [technology]. So that’s the kind of one-two punch that influenced our decision: speed to market and maximizing performance per watt.” Will hyperthreading ever return? It’s possible it could. But it would have to justify itself in terms of performance, power, and die space, and it appears right now that it isn’t making the cut. Read...