Its not often that a company the size of Intel gets it wrong these days, but at the end of 2024, the companys new Arrow Lake gaming CPU lineup genuinely shocked me with its poor game performance. It wasn't just a little slower the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K was catastrophically behind the pack in some tests. Fast forward to now, and after several new BIOS, ME, driver, and game updates, plus the new 200S Boost mode, I thought it was time to revisit the 265K and put it back on the test bench. Could it be rescued?The answer isnt a resounding yes in every area - there are definitely better CPUs for gaming, but I can now confidently say that the Intel 265K is no longer a complete lemon. In fact, in some tests it even beats every other CPU Ive benched, and yes, that even includes a game test. No, it doesnt beat the Ryzen 7 9800X3D as a gaming CPU, but its gaming performance is now at least more competitive, and its performance in productivity software is superb. Is that enough for a place on our best gaming CPU guide now? Lets take a look.Read the full story on PCGamesN: I retested the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, and this gaming CPU is no longer a lemon