Almost a week after the October 24 release of Intel's Core Ultra 200S (Arrow Lake) desktop processors, Germany's largest PC components online retailer still hasn't sold a single unit. While some Arrow Lake chips have sold out of stock on American sites like Newegg and Amazon, all Intel CPU sales make up just 5% of CPU share at Mindfactory, with AMD raking in 95% of CPU sales on the site.
The Tweet below displays Mindfactory's CPU sales numbers for the past week. None of the five Arrow Lake desktop SKUs—Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K/KF, or Core Ultra 5 245K/KF—appear on the chart. In fact, Intel's highest-performing CPU, the Core i5-13400, takes 21st place behind a wall of Ryzen chips. A trio of 14th Gen Core i7s and Core i9s take up the rear, with all of Intel's processors selling around ten units each.
Intel's approximately 40 sales at an average sale price of €388 each represents 5.19% of Mindfactory's CPU sales. Compare this with just AMD's first- and second-place chips, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 5700X3D, sitting at 190 and 80 units sold, respectively. AMD's motherboard sales share went from 88.65% to 93.75%, knocking Intel steadily out of the water.
🔥 first Arrow Lake post launch sales numbersAMD share shoots up to 95%ℹ️ UnitsAMD: 730 units sold, 94.81%, ASP: 267Intel: 40, 5.19%, ASP: 388ℹ️ RevenueAMD: 195201, 92.64%Intel: 15509, 7.36% pic.twitter.com/oaiyG8LO4LOctober 29, 2024
As we found in our 3-star review, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is an alright release but represents a generational regression in gaming performance. Its productivity increases are not enough to save it from being considered a disappointing launch, and Germany's sales represent this. Curiously, the 285K is out of stock at most American retailers. The next-best chip, the Core Ultra 7 265K, is in stock on Amazon and Newegg but has only six combined reviews across both sites, also pointing to disappointing sales.
Arrow Lake's disappointing launch, which is almost forgettable less than a week after its release, is not good news for the struggling Intel. The company has been in one of its worst financial states in years, with its August earnings call revealing a loss of $1.6 billion in one financial quarter. The company's sacrifices include a 15% reduction in staff and a scaling-back of ongoing fab construction efforts.
According to financial analysts, Intel's yet-unfinished Magdeburg, Germany, plant has reportedly stopped construction and may be abandoned. Germans with a $30 billion unfinished Intel fab in their backyard are likely not thrilled about buying more Intel processors, perhaps contributing to Arrow Lake's feeble sales in the country.
