The consumer electronics market is going through a particularly difficult period. RAM shortages and rising production costs have hit the gaming industry hard, leading to recent price increases across major consoles such as PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Even the Steam Deck, long considered one of the most accessible entry points into PC gaming, returned to the market with a price increase of nearly $300 for its OLED model after months of limited availability. Building a gaming PC in 2026 has become increasingly challenging for anyone trying to stay within a reasonable budget.
PC gaming has never been cheap, and staying on the cutting edge of technology almost always comes at a premium. That reality directly shaped the focus of this review. While sourcing components for this build, the difficulty of finding fairly priced hardware forced a rethink of the original question. Instead of focusing on the newest releases, the real question became: how viable is it to invest in hardware that has already been on the market for some time?
Under that lens, this is not a late review of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, but a present-day evaluation. The goal is to determine whether a processor that is no longer part of the latest hardware conversation can still serve as a solid foundation for a functional gaming PC in 2026—without settling for a compromised experience.
Intel Core Ultra 5 245K specifications
- Total cores: 14
- Performance cores: 6
- Efficient cores: 8
- Low Power Efficient cores: 0
- Total threads: 14
- Max turbo frequency: 5.2 GHz
- P-core max turbo frequency: 5.2 GHz
- E-core max turbo frequency: 4.6 GHz
- Base frequency (P-cores): 4.2 GHz
- Base frequency (E-cores): 3.6 GHz
- Cache: 24 MB Intel Smart Cache
- Total L2 cache: 26 MB
- Base processor power: 125 W
- Maximum turbo power: 159 W
- Intel Deep Learning Boost: Yes
- AI frameworks supported: OpenVINO™, WindowsML, DirectML, ONNX Runtime, WebNN
- CPU lithography: TSMC N3B
Evaluating a processor like the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K in 2026 is less about chasing benchmarks and more about practical necessity. With rising prices, limited availability, and increasingly marginal generational gains, the key factor today is finding hardware that delivers a strong price-to-performance ratio. The purpose of this review is to answer a simple question: can this CPU still handle modern games and everyday usage in a realistic 2026 setup?
Hardware
This build was assembled with component availability in 2026 in mind, aiming to maintain a balanced experience without over-investing in any single area.
- CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
- RAM: 48 GB Kingston Fury Renegade DDR5 8400 MT/s
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7600
- Motherboard: MSI Z890 Tomahawk
- CPU cooler: CPS RT620Pro TC ARGB
- Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2
- Case: InWin 904 PLUS
Methodology
This evaluation was designed from a practical, real-world perspective rather than a traditional launch review. All tests were performed with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K running at stock settings, with no overclocking or manual tuning. The system was tested at 1920×1080 resolution, targeting 60 Hz, using a wide range of games released over the past 12 years. The selection covers different engines and performance profiles, including the recently released Forza Horizon 6.
Benchmark
Company of Heroes 2 (2013)
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016)
Gears Tactics (2020)
Horizon: Zero Dawn Complete Edition (2020)
Doom: The Dark Ages (2025)
Forza Horizon 6 (2026)
Benchmark analysis
The benchmark results show that the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is more than capable of delivering a stable gaming experience across a wide range of titles under realistic 2026 conditions. While older games predictably run without issue, the most telling results come from newer, more demanding releases. In games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Forza Horizon 6, system performance is primarily limited by the GPU rather than the processor. This indicates that the CPU still has enough headroom to support balanced mid-range GPU configurations. Across all tested titles, the system consistently met its 60 FPS target without major drops or instability.
Conclusion
In 2026, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K remains a viable and well-balanced option for PC gaming. While sourcing components proved to be the biggest challenge of this build, real-world testing confirms that the processor still holds up well even in recent, demanding games when paired with an appropriate GPU. In a market where inflated prices can easily force compromises elsewhere in a build, the Core Ultra 5 245K now represents a more attractive choice than it did at launch. Its performance, stability, and overall balance make it a solid decision for gamers looking to maximize value without overspending.
Best
- Delivers stable performance in modern games at 1080p
- Strong balance between performance and power consumption
- More attractive price-to-performance in 2026 than at launch
Worst
- Platform costs (DDR5, Z890 motherboard) remain high
- Value depends heavily on finding the CPU at a discounted price
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Score 8.5
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