Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K: Which Is the Better CPU?

The Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K are two powerful CPUs from Intel. You can use them for mid to high-end PC builds, but which is better?

Picture of Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K — Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K

Intel’s Core Ultra 5 245K and Core i5-14600K are two of the best mid-range CPUs in this price point, thanks to their high core counts. While they are both 14-core processors, the former doesn’t sport hyper-threading. The Core i5-245K is the direct successor of the Core i5-14600K, so there are high expectations for the new CPU.

However, since the new Intel Core Ultra 5 245K lacks hyper-threading, can it provide a meaningful performance uplift over its predecessor? That’s exactly what we intend to find. In this article, we will compare the two Intel CPUs to find out which is better.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

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Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K: Detailed Comparison

The new Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is based on the latest Arrow Lake architecture, while the Core i5-14600K is based on the refresh of the older Raptor Lake architecture. Let’s compare the two CPUs in a head-to-head battle, starting with their specs.

Specs Comparison

Here are the specs of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and Core i5-14600K:

Specifications	Intel Core Ultra 5 245K	Intel Core i5-14600K
Architecture	Arrow Lake	Arrow Lake
P-Core/Thread count	6/6	6/12
E-Core/Thread count	8/8	8/8
Total Core/Thread count	14/14	14/20
Max clock speed	5.2 GHz	5.3 GHz
L3 cache	24 MB	24 MB
RAM support	DDR5-6400	DDR4-3200 DDR5-5600
PCIe Gen support	Gen 5	Gen 5
Platform Socket	LGA 1851	LGA 1700
Thermal design power (TDP)	125W Typical \| 159W Max	125W Typical \| 181W Max
Manufacturing nodes	3nm	10nm

According to the specs table, the major differences between the two CPUs are hyper-threading, clock speeds, memory support, and socket. The rest of the specs are quite similar. The lack of or inclusion of hyper-threading will play a big role in how Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and Core i5-14600K perform in productivity and gaming benchmarks.

However, as you know, specs only tell half the story. That’s why we must look at actual benchmarks to find out which is the better CPU. You will find these benchmarks below.

Synthetic Performance Comparison

Here’s how Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and Core i5-14600K perform in popular synthetic benchmarks:

Benchmarks	Intel Core Ultra 5 245K	Intel Core i5-14600K
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)	2118	2072
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)	25085	25270
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	2981	2804
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	17863	15949
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)	4701	4275
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)	43539	38731

The latest Intel Core Ultra 5 245K CPU performs around 7% better on average than the Core i5-14600K in single-core benchmarks. The former is also 8.1% faster on average in multi-core benchmarks. Therefore, the new Core Ultra processor will be the better choice for productivity applications.

Game Performance Comparison

Here’s how the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and Core i5-14600K handle some of the popular games on the market:

Games	Intel Core Ultra 5 245K	Intel Core i5-14600K
CYBERPUNK 2077	103 FPS	117 FPS
Counter-Strike 2	532 FPS	561 FPS
Silent Hill 2	139 FPS	139 FPS
Ghost of Tsushima	167 FPS	172 FPS
Starfield	113 FPS	120 FPS
Hogwarts Legacy	73 FPS	72 FPS
Microsoft Flight Simulator	119 FPS	126 FPS
Star Wars Outlaws	127 FPS	131 FPS
Red Dead Redemption 2	173 FPS	182 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	222 FPS	233 FPS

Note: The two CPUs were tested at 1080p resolution with the RTX 4090 GPU to eliminate any GPU bottleneck. All FPS numbers were sourced from the Testing Games channel on YouTube.

On average, the older Intel Core i5-14600K delivered 4.8% more FPS than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K. While it is not a big enough difference, it was surprising to see a new CPU deliver fewer FPS than its predecessor. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K does have a new architecture, but the lack of hyper-threading and slightly lower clock speeds may have led to its downfall in the gaming benchmarks.

Price Comparison

Picture of Intel Core Ultra 5 225 — Intel Core Ultra 5 225

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K costs around $274.99 on Amazon, while the Intel Core i5-14600K is selling for about $189.99 on Amazon. Therefore, the former is 44.7% more expensive than the latter, despite offering a lackluster performance.

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Final Verdict on Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K

The Intel Core i5-14600K is better compared to the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K. That’s because the former scores 4.8% more performance while being 44.8% cheaper than the latter. The Core Ultra 5 245K did win in productivity by 7 – 8% but its significantly higher cost puts it far behind the competition.

Therefore, we suggest that buyers choose the Intel Core i5-14600K instead and use the saved money to buy other PC components. Besides, this Intel CPU also supports both cheaper DDR4 and DDR5 RAM kits. Therefore, it is an even better option for budget gamers since DDR4 kits are cheaper.

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Intel Core Ultra 5 245K vs Core i5-14600K: Which Is the Better CPU?