The Core Ultra 7 260K appeared for sale in ABS prebuilt computers on Newegg, without a prior announcement from Intel or a public spec sheet for the chip. Intel later confirmed that it is a limited-availability model intended for those systems, not for individual retail sale in a box.
The appearance drew attention because the processor was not listed on Intel’s specifications page. Tom’s Hardware spotted the model in several Newegg computers; the company later confirmed that it existed and would not be sold as a standalone CPU to retail customers.
The product’s identity is not yet settled, either. Newegg lists it as the Core Ultra 7 260K, but its configuration selector includes the name “U7-260KF,” which would suggest a variant without integrated graphics. According to an update from Tom’s Hardware, Intel called it the “260K Plus.”
A 265K with a lower clock speed
The available specifications describe a chip from the original Arrow Lake family, not Arrow Lake Refresh. It shares a 20-core configuration with the Core Ultra 7 265K—8 P-cores and 12 E-cores—as well as 30 MB of L3 cache, a 125 W base power, and support for up to 256 GB of DDR5-6400 memory.
| Specification | Core Ultra 7 260K | Core Ultra 7 265K |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | 20: 8 P-cores and 12 E-cores | 20: 8 P-cores and 12 E-cores |
| L3 cache | 30 MB | 30 MB |
| Base power | 125 W | 125 W |
| Memory | DDR5-6400; up to 256 GB | DDR5-6400 |
| Listed maximum clock speed | 5.4 GHz on an Intel slide; 5.2 GHz on Newegg | 5.5 GHz |
The clearest difference from the 265K appears to be the maximum clock speed. Hardware Busters attributes a maximum of 5.4 GHz for the 260K to an Intel slide, 100 MHz below the 265K’s 5.5 GHz. However, Newegg’s product page lists 5.2 GHz for the new chip, a discrepancy that Intel’s official spec sheet will need to resolve.
Profesional Review also describes the 260K as a lower-clocked version of the 265K, although its information about clock speeds does not fully match the comparison published by Hardware Busters. For now, the 5.4 and 5.2 GHz figures are associated with the 260K, while the 265K is listed with a maximum of 5.5 GHz in Hardware Busters’ comparison.
Two ABS systems and a Newegg exclusive
The chip is offered in ABS computers sold by Newegg. Hardware Busters identifies two configurations: the ABS Kaze II, with an RTX 5060 graphics card, and the ABS Flux II Aqua, which pairs the processor with an RTX 5070, 32 GB of DDR5-6000, and a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.
Tom’s Hardware also describes the Flux II Aqua as a system with an RTX 5070, 1 TB of Gen 4 NVMe storage, and 32 GB of DDR5-6000. Hardware Busters listed a price of $1,799.99 for that configuration, discounted from $2,299.99. This is the price of the prebuilt computer, not the processor on its own.
Newegg said the chip is exclusive to its store. Intel confirmed that the SKU has limited availability and is not currently sold as a boxed processor; according to Tom’s Hardware, Intel also expected to publish its specifications on its website in the days following the November 13 update.
Outside the Refresh lineup
The 260K belongs to Arrow Lake, not Arrow Lake Refresh. That means it does not include the hardware improvements or software optimization tool associated with the Refresh models, according to Profesional Review and Hardware Busters.
The difference is apparent when comparing it with the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, a Refresh lineup model that Hardware Busters describes as having 24 cores—8 P-cores and 16 E-cores—36 MB of L3 cache, and support for DDR5-7200. It is also compatible with Intel Binary Optimization Tool. The 260K does not include these features.
Hardware Busters suggests that the processor could be a way to use Arrow Lake chips that cannot reach the 265K’s clock speed in systems sold at a set price. This is a possible explanation, not a reason confirmed by Intel. The outlet also notes that SKUs tied to a single PC manufacturer are nothing new, although it is unusual for them to appear before a public spec sheet is available.
The official spec sheet should clear up the discrepancies
The available information leaves several specific questions unanswered: whether the final name will be 260K or 260K Plus, what the 260KF reference in Newegg’s configurator means, and what the correct maximum clock speed is. Intel had yet to publish the spec sheet when Tom’s Hardware updated its report on November 13; the company said it expected to do so in the following days.
For now, what is confirmed is its limited distribution in Newegg ABS systems and that it is not offered as a boxed CPU. Anyone who finds the 260K in a desktop configuration will need to check the full system model and its components: the two identified variants pair the chip with either an RTX 5060 or an RTX 5070.
Sources: Profesional Review, Tom's Hardware, Hardware Busters
