Intel Core Ultra 200S processors, codenamed Arrow Lake-S had an underwhelming launch. Poor gaming performance, further undermined by the release of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, have left the Core Ultra 9 285K and its siblings in a dark corner. Intel has promised fixes via firmware updates targeting the lagging cache latency, and the first package has landed. ASRock is among the first board partners to roll out the Intel Platform Power Management driver, allegedly granting gains of up to 13% in gaming workloads.
The Intel Platform Power Management driver is responsible for adjusting processor voltage and frequency (in real time), depending on ambient thermals and workload. This allows the SoC to squeeze out extra performance out of the CPU if certain conditions are met, similar to various boost algorithms.
Owners of ASRock Z890 motherboards can download and install the Intel Platform Power Management (PPM) driver v.1007.20240913 from the support section of ASRock’s official website. Official estimates claim an FPS boost of 13% in Final Fantasy XIV, from 29157 to 33017 points at 1080p “High” using the updated PPM driver.
