With October in full swing, you might be looking for some of the best horror movies to stream. But outside of the classics and the spooky new movies, one of the best streaming services has just dropped a contender for my favorite horror series of the year, a perfect adaptation of Junji Ito’s manga Uzumaki. After being let down by the 2000 movie (which is available on Prime Video in the US and Shudder in the UK), it is refreshing to finally see it done properly.
Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror is a four-part adaptation of Ito’s frankly massive manga that throws you in the deep end from the first episode alone. The show is streaming on Max and Adult Swim in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. It wastes no time in establishing this terrifying world, where citizens in the town of Kurouzu-cho are plagued by spirals. Surreal as the concept is, it grips you immediately, with this obsession and paranoia around spirals resembling that of a disease. People are terrified of it, to the point where some seriously crazy stuff happens. It’s gritty, it’s dark, and Max is really delivering that tone especially when you look at DC hit The Penguin, which we compared to The Sopranos, and rightfully so.
I was also pleased to discover that even people who have never read the manga could get sucked in. My partner watched the first episode with me and since then has been keen to tune in when it airs each week, and ironically, we found ourselves becoming just as invested in the spirals as the people on-screen. With less horrifying stuff happening, of course.
Junji Ito’s lines come to life on screen
For me, the most striking thing of all is just how stunning this is to look at. It’s the reason the manga gripped me too, I found myself desperate to turn to the next page to see what horrific, albeit beautifully drawn thing would greet me this time, and watching the TV adaptation is no different. Sticking to the original black and white design, it’s like watching a moving version of the manga. This is exactly where the movie failed, in my opinion, because it was a color live-action take on the tale and it simply did not work. Ito’s terrifying world is best when it’s devoid of any color at all, I say let’s keep it that way.
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The art is beautiful. It’s also the worst thing you’ll ever see. I have omitted some of the really awful imagery to not spoil it. If you have read the manga already, you’ll no doubt find yourself anticipating certain famous moments, and even when I knew what was about to happen I still found myself cringing. From transformations to mutations to people having psychotic breaks due to the spirals, nothing can fully prepare you for it. If you we wondering, yes, it is even worse when it’s animated.
Uzumaki has been in the works for a long time, and I am glad they spent so much time making it as accurate to the source material as possible. There’s little point diverting from it too much when Ito has given us such a great story. It’s up there with some of the best anime shows you’ll watch.
When you’re done here, there are plenty of other spooky offerings to sink your teeth into as well. I also recommend James Wan’s Teacup and some of these indie horror games (Cult of the Lamb is my favorite!). But until then, please do step into the horrifying world of Uzumaki. You won’t regret it.
The blazing-fast speeds, extremely low latency, and massive connectivity achieved with 5G technology are changing how mobile media is being perceived. As such, storage solutions need to keep up with the growing demands of the content supply chain. In 2009, 4G introduced the concept of mobile data as an object that is downloaded to a device and is then played back. This innovation led to an increase in the amount of data processed on mobile devices.
For example, more than 500 hours of video content are uploaded in a single minute just on YouTube alone, and 5G is only going to increase how much media can and will be consumed worldwide. In this article, we’ll provide insights on how the 5G innovation will change storage requirements and the way media is consumed on mobile devices.
Roger Beck
Senior Systems Engineer, OpenDrives.
The performance of 5G far surpasses standard wired Ethernet ports on desktop computers, with speeds up to 20 Gbps in theory. This is compared with the typical 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps of wired Ethernet. In practice, 5G is more than a match for most wired connections, capable of download speeds from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps, which is on par with your desktop computer. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile own the 5G infrastructure and are able to create private 5G cells, where a higher performance can be achieved and may even reach 20 Gbps as you don’t have to share the bandwidth with many devices.
UHD Streaming
5G’s higher speed and lower latency allow high-resolution videos such as 4K and 8K to be streamed easily with minimal buffering on mobile devices. For reference, a 4K stream requires about 25 Mbps of bandwidth, while an 8K stream calls for 100 Mbps, both of which are demanding, but easily achievable with 5G. As a consequence, consumers can seamlessly stream UHD videos from their phones in almost any setting.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): AR and VR apps, with their full immersion, rely extensively on high bandwidth and low latency. Although 5G’s 1ms latency is significantly higher than Ethernet’s 10-30 microseconds latency, it is still suitable for these applications. To meet these fast requirements, storage systems must be capable of real-time data retrieval and processing.
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Interactive Live Streaming: High-data volume and speed for 5G empower new interactive live streaming possibilities, such as multiple angles and instant replays. To achieve this, the underlying system and storage infrastructure need to be efficient and quick enough to handle countless requests while maintaining sub-second video latency.
Storage Challenges and Solutions
As more advanced and data-driven media technologies become possible through 5G, older, conventional storage infrastructures face various technical limitations:
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1) Scalability: The surge in high-resolution and interactive content calls for storage solutions that are capable of handling increased amounts of data. Conventional storage systems might be unable to keep up with the amount of information created by innovative, 5G-enabled applications due to their sheer size and rapid expansion. Distributed storage systems, such as those using software-defined storage (SDS) architectures, offer the scalability needed to handle these demands efficiently.
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2) Bandwidth Management: Compression technologies are used to effectively manage the greater data bandwidth offered by 5G networks, with many of them leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for more efficient algorithms. These algorithms help reduce the size of the data being stored or transferred, making sure that bandwidth is not wasted while preserving media quality.
3) Security: Given the massive amount of data pushed through 5G networks, security is growing even more important and challenging. With massive amounts of data being sent around at an unprecedented rate, traditional encryption methods may fall short. Improving encryption techniques and incorporating blockchain for data integrity and Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs) into storage solutions can improve security.
Future Trends
Edge Storage: As 5G becomes more widely available, it will be critical to make better use of “edge storage,” which is a type of decentralized storage that keeps data close to where it’s needed. This approach has the potential to reduce latency while improving performance and overall user experience in real-time applications such as AR/VR and streaming for Apple Vision Pro and similar devices.
AI-Driven Storage Optimization: The use of AI in storage management is likely to become more widespread in the 5G era. AI tools can analyze usage patterns and dynamically optimize storage allocation, making sure that resources are used to their fullest potential. For example, AI can predict which content will be accessed frequently and then cache it in high-performance storage tiers, while less frequently accessed data is moved to lower-cost storage.
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5G as Backbone for Broadcasting: Mobile broadcasting and network infrastructure, including cables, are not particularly suited to sudden changes in mobility. 5G technology reduces the need for extensive infrastructure, making it an ideal solution for dynamic, live broadcasting environments such as breaking news or outdoor events. When combined with edge computing, 5G enables local processing of video feeds, reducing latency and boosting broadcast efficiency. This seamless integration improves the efficiency and speed of live content delivery, representing an important shift forward in the media industry.
5G as Backbone for Mobile Broadcasting: Leveraging 5G has the potential to transform how cameras and other devices connect with the Outside Broadcasting (OB) trucks. With technically up to 20 Gbit, private 5G cells and an acceptable latency of 1ms, the setup becomes considerably more flexible. Inside the OB truck, data storage receives the recorded data and may send it out via 5G and allows for real-time editing and graphic overlays directly from that storage. 5G technology can also greatly improve mobile broadcasting workflows by delivering rapid speeds of up to 10 Gbps. This allows for the seamless transmission of uncompressed 4K or 8K video directly from cameras to production facilities without sacrificing video quality.
5G as Backbone for Live Broadcasting: For live sports broadcasts, 5G enables near-instantaneous synchronization of multiple camera feeds with an ultra-low latency of only 1 millisecond. Thanks to these precise positioning and angles, viewers get to enjoy an immersive, “live-like” experience from any screen. Furthermore, 5G’s impressive speeds easily support real-time editing and graphics overlay right from the field, allowing editors to integrate live feeds and make quick edits with minimal delay.
Conclusion
Innovative storage solutions and 5G completely transform the way media is consumed on mobile devices, and the latter will continue to change the way digital media is consumed on every screen. Storage technologies must meet security standards and continue evolving to keep pace with 5G’s increased bandwidth management and scalability requirements to ensure viewers enjoy always-on seamless experiences. Luckily, 5G higher speeds and lower latency makes it easy to transmit live 4K content over the internet from anywhere possible. 5G and advanced storage solutions can not only facilitate great viewing experiences; they can vastly improve upon them. Who knows what’s next?
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
Connections is the latest puzzle game from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.
Some days are trickier than others. If you’re having a little trouble solving today’s Connections puzzle, check out our tips and hints below. And if you still can’t get it, we’ll tell you today’s answers at the very end.
In Connections, you’ll be shown a grid containing 16 words — your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc.
There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but there’s only one 100% correct answer. You’re able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections.
Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups.
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Pick four words and hit Submit. If you’re correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and it’ll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends.
We can help you solve today’s Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, we’ll also give you one word from each group below.
Alongside its new family of Arrow Lake desktop hardware, Intel today also gave us a few tidbits around its upcoming Arrow Lake H mobile chips for high performance laptops. First off, they’re not expected to arrive until the first quarter of 2025 — but the slight wait might be worth it, as Intel says they will offer powerful new Xe GPUs with XMX. Thanks to that upgrade, the GPU alone will offer four times better AI workload processing than its previous chips, alongside double the ray tracing performance and twice as much cache (8MB L2).
Notably, though, these new chips will still lag behind the company’s less powerful Lunar Lake processors when it comes to NPU and overall AI TOPS (tera operations per second) figures. Arrow Lake H’s NPU will hit 13 TOPS, the new GPU will reach 77 and the CPU will offer 9 TOPS. Taken altogether, it’ll offer up to 99 TOPS of performance. Lunar Lake, meanwhile, sports a 48 TOPS NPU and up to 120 TOPS of system-wide AI performance.
The difference makes sense when you consider what these chips are meant for. Lunar Lake is mostly geared towards ultraportables and slim workstations, while Arrow Lake H chips are targeted at demanding notebooks with desktop-like performance. While they can technically be called AI PCs, Arrow Lake H’s low NPU performance doesn’t meet the bar for Microsoft’s Copilot+ badge (those require at least 40 TOPS NPUs). You’ll be able to run basic AI features, like Windows Studio Effects in video chats, but not more complicated tasks like Recall.
Intel didn’t have many other details to share about Arrow Lake H, but we’ll likely hear more at CES 2025.
– Renewed by Netflix in February – Arriving in late 2025 – Production officially wrapped in June – No trailer or confirmed release date yet – Main cast all set to return – Plot will focus on a new mission – Showrunner has signed deal with Netflix – Season 3 already confirmed by Netflix
The Night Agent season 2 is on the way, though we’ll have to wait a little longer. After a hugely successful launch on Netflix, the action-packed thriller was swiftly renewed, but what’s next for FBI agent Peter Sutherland? Season 1 saw Sutherland deep in government conspiracy, which he successfully uncovered, but not without some incredibly perilous moments. For season 2 then, how will Peter cope with the move to a higher plain with a brand new position as a night agent.
The fact that one of the best Netflix shows is returning should come as no surprise, though. The Night Agent has become Netflix’s new TV show darling boasting some seriously impressive viewing figures. During season 1’s first week on Netflix, it racked up 168.7 million viewing hours catapulting it to the top of numerous charts on one of the best streaming platforms. With all these stats, there’s also some exciting news around season 3. For now, let’s focus on The Night Agent season 2 and everything we know about it, from a release date prediction, to a confirmed cast list, to the possible plot, and much more.
To be more specific, Netflix has said it’s coming in Winter 2025. So, if we’re to make a release date prediction, we’d say that means it’ll air between December 2025 and February 2026. To narrow it down even further, we’re predicting it’ll launch in December as the streamer’s flagship show for the holiday season.
The Night Agent season 2 cast
When it comes to returning cast members of The Night Agent season 2, both Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan are confirmed to be reprising their roles as Peter Sutherland and Rose Larkin respectively. Other than that, there’s no news from Netflix on who else will be returning, although the death count in season 1 tells us who won’t be.
We would speculate that Chief of Staff Diane Farr and Gordon Wick could return, but we’ll get into that in the plot section below. We may also see former VP, Ashley Redfield, his daughter, Maddie, as well as Chelsea Arrington in season 2 given where season 1 left us.
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There is plenty to talk about when it comes to new cast members though, and the list below for The Night Agent season 2 is plentiful, as confirmed by Netflix. Here’s The Night Agent season 2 series regulars:
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Brittany Snow as Alice
Teddy Sears as Warren
Amanda Warren as Catherine
Arienne Mandi as Noor
Louis Herthum as Jacob Monroe
Navid Negahban as Abbas
Berto Colon as Solomon
Michael Malarkey as Markus
Rob Heaps as Tomás Bala
Keon Alexander as Javad
Brittany Snow joins as Alice, Peter’s partner and mentor for his first Night Action assignment; Teddy Sears as Warren, a high-level intelligence officer who becomes a subject of a Night Action investigation; Navig Negahban as Abbas, the “distinguished and measured” Iranian ambassador to the UN; and Rob Heaps as Tomas, a “British-educated, rich, entitled but driven man” who is desperate to return his family to power after his dictator father’s conviction of war crimes.
Amanda Warren joins as Catherine, a veteran of the Night Action program who trains and oversees the Night Agents. As described by Netflix, she’s “a fierce defender of her agents, but finds it difficult to earn Peter’s trust when he struggles with betrayal issues from his experiences in season 1.”
Then, there’s Jacob, an international businessman with powerful global connections, Solomon, a former Marine turned right-hand man/fixer for a powerful business, and Markus, a trained military leader loyal to his dictator uncle who was recently convicted in the Hague of war crimes.
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There’s also Noor, a low-level aide in the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York looking to leverage her access to top secret information into a better life for her and her family. As well as Javad, the head of security for the Iranian mission that Noor is on.
Tudum also confirmed a few guest stars for season 2 including Marwan Kenzari as Reza, a decorated soldier joining as a night agent, Elise Kibler as Sloane, Tomás’ smart, savvy, and glamorous British socialite girlfriend, and Dikran Tulaine as Viktor Bala, once leader of his country, now convicted of war crimes.
With all these new characters joining The Night Agent season 2, we can speculate where the story goes next in our plot section below.
The Night Agent season 2 possible plot
Full spoilers follow for The Night Agent season 1.
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Unlike season 1, there’s no book from author Matthew Quirk to follow. So, what direction will it take? Well, the official plot synopsis from Tudum says, “The new season picks up after the thrilling events of Season 1, when Peter Sutherland’s efforts to save the president earn him an opportunity to become a Night Agent. Working in the secretive organization of Night Action in Season 2 will propel Peter into a world where danger is everywhere and trust is in short supply.”
Peter really made a name for himself in season 1, cementing his first mission as an official night agent leading into season 2. Well, unofficially, given the Night Action program is ‘off the books’. After he unraveled a huge conspiracy within the Oval Office and ultimately saved the life of President Michelle Travers, it’s unsurprising his efforts are being rewarded.
Viewers also watched the romance between Rose Larkin and Peter blossom throughout season 1, and they now face a new challenge as Peter embarks on his new dangerous job. So, there’s certainly more to explore on how they cope moving forward.
It’s certainly been discussed by showrunner Shawn Ryan, who spoke to Tudum, “That’s one of the big questions we’d love to answer in Season 2. What does Peter getting on this plane and going somewhere (presumably overseas to enter into some new wild adventure mean, with Rose going back to California to try to pursue her Silicon Valley dreams again? We certainly have some initial ideas.”
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We also know that while Peter successfully uncovered the White House conspiracy, he wasn’t able to prevent a couple of season 1’s villains from getting away. Both Diane Farr, presidential chief of staff, survived a gunshot wound in the final episode, and Gordon Wick, managed to escape while the dust settled.
Ryan added, “We liked the idea that this wasn’t so clean. That there is one person who, because of his resources and everything, is able to slink away. Maybe we’ll deal with him again in some way.” He’ll certainly have a vendetta against Peter and a bank roll that allows him to commit traitorous acts.
And when it comes to Farr’s future, Gabriel Basso told Tudum, “Due to his belief in due process, he’s not going to be bummed she’s alive.” Adding, “But if Farr eludes justice, he’ll be a little more wary of Travers. To be a traitor and not receive justice is not OK with Peter.”
From the new cast members joining The Night Agent season 2, we’ve also got hints around what the first Night Action mission could entail with characters including a new powerful businessman and his Marine-turned-fixer, a dictator convicted of war crimes with a son and nephew both out for revenge, plus an Iranian mission, and a new night agent partner for Peter.
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Shawn Ryan also told Deadline that, when it comes to The Night Agent, each season will have its own story to tell, “…the initial pitch for this show that we sold to Netflix was that each season would tell its own, mostly self-enclosed, a beginning, a middle and end story, and any future seasons would include a few but not most of the characters that we saw in the previous season.”
The official plot remains firmly under wraps for The Night Agent season 2, but we’ll be sure to update here as soon as we know more.
Where to watch The Night Agent
All 10 episodes of The Night Agent season 1 can be streamed on Netflix. While you wait for season 2, there’s seven more spy shows like The Night Agent to add to your watchlist.
Will The Night Agent get a third season?
In an early move by Netflix, The Night Agent season 3 was recently confirmed by Tudum. Given its previous swift renewal and ongoing success on the streaming platform, it’s not really all that surprising. According to Netflix, “The Night Agent Season 3 will begin a production unit in Istanbul at the end of 2024 before returning to film in New York in 2025.” No rest for the cast and crew then given season 2’s winter 2025 release date.
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It doesn’t feel like it’ll end there though. In June, Deadline revealed that showrunner Shawn Ryan had signed an four-year overall deal with Netflix, which started in October when his deal with Sony expired. With such an impressive agreement in place, it hints at the show expanding into a franchise, with Deadline discussing rumors of potential The Night Agent spin-offs.
Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.
Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.
You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.
If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it.
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Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once.
Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow.
The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints.
Despite all the inroads AMD has made in recent years with its Zen desktop CPUs, Intel has broadly managed to maintain one critical edge against its longtime rival: gaming performance. For those looking to eke every possible frame out of the latest AAA games, the company’s recent Core 5/7/9 often outperformed their AMD counterparts. Historically, however, that performance has come at the cost of power efficiency and thermals. Intel’s best 13th-genereation processors are absolute power-hungry beasts. That has limited their appeal, especially as small-factor PC builds have become more popular.
On Thursday, Intel detailed it’s long-awaited Arrow Lake processors, announcing five new models arriving on October 24. With the new CPUs, Intel is promising a paradigm change. Compared to its previous generation Raptor Lake chips, the company said its goal was to reduce power consumption by 40% and internal package temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Celsius. Judging by the benchmarks Intel shared ahead of today’s announcement, the company did just that.
Intel’s new flagship, the Ultra 9 285K, features a 24-core CPU design consisting of eight ‘Lion Cove’ performance cores and 16 ‘Skymont’ efficiency cores, and a maximum boost clock of 5.7GHz. It, alongside the rest of the current Arrow Lake family, also comes with a neural processing unit (NPU), a first for one of Intel’s desktop CPU. But those specs aren’t what’s interesting about the 285K and its siblings.
In “lightly-threaded” workloads, including tasks such as Zoom calls and select Cinebench benchmarks, Intel recorded the 285K drawing up to 58% less power than the 14900K, the company’s 14th generation flagship. When it comes to gaming performance, the results are even more interesting. In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, for instance, Intel said it saw the 285K run the game on average 4% faster, while drawing 165W less of system power. Even in more GPU-intensive games such as Black Myth: Wukong, the 285K offers promising efficiency gains, with Intel noting it saw the CPU draw 34 fewer watts of total system power compared to the 14900K.
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Those efficiency improvements translate to equally impressive thermal gains, with Intel noting its data shows the 285K runs, on average, about 13 degrees Celsius cooler than the 14900K during gaming loads. The new processor even offers similar gaming performance when users limit its power draw from Intel’s default of 250W to 175W or 125W. For those who like to undervolt their CPU or plan to go with an ITX case and motherboard for their next build, that’s exciting news.
“I think it’s safe to say this is a huge turn of the corner for our desktop portfolio,” said Robert Halleck, general manager of Intel’s AI and Technical Marketing units. “I’m confident your testing will match the numbers we’re talking about today.”
On paper, Arrow Lake is exactly what Intel needs to claw its way back to sustainability; it’s easily the most efficient family of desktop processors the company has put out in a long time. However, whether that alone will be enough to turn Intel’s fortunes around is less clear.
In the short term, the company faces a rival AMD that is more competitive than ever. In the long term, it’s difficult to say how much of Arrow Lake’s efficiency should be solely attributed to Intel’s engineers. As recently as 2022, the company had maintained it would build the new processors using a combination of its own 20A fabrication process and TSMC’s 3-nanometer technology. But then Intel recorded a $1.6 billion loss in Q2 of this year and said it would cut more than 15,000 jobs in an effort to reduce costs by $10 billion. Part of that plan involved fully outsourcing Arrow Lake manufacturing to a third party. At the time, Intel didn’t specifically name TSMC. However, the list of companies capable of producing silicon at the density and scale required for Arrow Lake is very short. With Intel reportedly hitting a recent snag to get its next-generation 18A process off the ground, it’s clear the company still has a long ahead.
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When the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K arrives on October 24, it will cost $589. For those looking for a more affordable entry into Intel’s Arrow Lake ecosystem, the company will also offer the 14-core Ultra 5 245KF for $294 and the 20-core Ultra 7 265K for $394. Alongside its KF sibling, which comes without an integrated Intel Xe GPU, the 265K looks like it will be the dark horse of Intel’s Arrow Lake line. The company said that 265K runs about 15 degrees cooler than the 14900K and draws up to 188W less system power.
Alongside its new Arrow Lake processors, Intel also shared more information about its upcoming Arrow Lake H laptop chips, which the company said would arrive at the start of next year.
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