Love Coffee? Intel 8th Gen Lake CPU Revealed

Love Coffee? Intel 8th Gen Lake CPU Revealed

Meet the 8th generation Core processors, code-named ‘Coffee Lake’, on August 21 at 8:00am PDT (8:30pm IST). The event will be streamed using Facebook Live, and precede the total solar eclipse which is expected the same morning. Specifications and market segments targets are unknown so far. Update your Facebook apps and stay tuned for the show!

The leading CPU manufacturers got to roll out new products twice a year. Intel has already announced the Xeon family coming to home PCs. For the second half of 2017 the company saved another surprise: the new Intel Core family – Coffee Lake.

The 8th generation of Intel CPUs is noticeable by the number of cores – 6 of them. It’s really a breakthrough, because until recently the hexa-cored CPUs belonged to the premium Sky Lake X and Kaby Lake X families. The home processors feature number of cores that is divisible by two: 4 or 8. But the Coffee Lake is different. Three CPUs are expected later this year: Intel Core i7 8700K, Intel Core i7 8700 and Intel Core i5 8600K.

Every CPU will feature 6 cores, with the i7 chips supporting the hyper-threading that gives us 12 threads total for the top models: an incredible figure for home systems. The engineers promise the 30% boost in clock speed, though the design remains the same – 14nm. The overclocking speed will max over 4 GHz! What amazes me most is the fact that the socket for the Coffee Lake family remains the same as well – LGA 1151.

Surely, Intel is trying to pitch against the AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 which took off like a rocket. Sticking to the socket as well as to the design, Intel gives an opportunity of painless upgrade both for home users and systems manufacturers. Next year Apple and Microsoft computers and laptops might get a good caffeine boost.

Intel Core i5-8600K Specifications

• Family: Coffee Lake-S.
• Process: 14 nm.
• Cores: 6.
• Hyper-Threading Support: No.
• Threads: 6.
• Clock Speed: 3.50 GHz.
• Overclocking support: Yes.
• Boost Speed: 4.30 GHz.
• Boost Speed per Core: 4.10.
• Socket: LGA 1151.
• TDP: 95W.

The clock speed from the box is even lower than that of Intel Core i5-7600K from the previous generation (3.50 GHz vs. 3.80 GHz), although the boost speed is slightly higher (4.30 GHz vs. 4.20 GHz). The Coffee is also quite hot: 95W vs. 91W.

Intel Core i7-8700 Specifications

• Family: Coffee Lake-S.
• Process: 14 nm.
• Cores: 6.
• Hyper-Threading Support: Yes.
• Threads: 12 (2 threads per core).
• Clock Speed: 3.20 GHz.
• Overclocking support: No.
• Boost Speed: 4.60 GHz.
• Boost Speed per Core: 4.30.
• Socket: LGA 1151.
• TDP: TBA.

The most controversial of the three. The hyper-threading support is combined with the locked overclocking option, though the boost speed might be even higher than that of the i5 representative of the family. No official overclocking support means that the manufacturer bears no responsibility for what can happen to the CPU once it is overclocked. You take the risk. Probably, the final specifications will be announced later and the CPU will get some scores. Until then, it is the most enticing top model of the line.

Intel Core i7-8700K Specifications

• Family: Coffee Lake-S.
• Process: 14 nm.
• Cores: 6.
• Hyper-Threading Support: Yes.
• Threads: 12 (2 threads per core).
• Clock Speed: 3.70 GHz.
• Overclocking support: Yes.
• Boost Speed: 4.70 GHz.
• Boost Speed per Core: 4.30.
• Socket: LGA 1151.
• TDP: 95W.

There are still rumors about the Intel Core i3 with just 4 cores and hyper-threading, but we won’t know exact details until Gamescom 2017 – which is to have place on August, 23.

This is quite a curious phenomenon we’re observing here. As you may well know the Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors of which the CPU has made doubles every year. That is, the ‘office’ room remains the same but the number of the ‘clerks’ doubles. Some experts claim, the number now doubles every three to four months. The number of cores surely do double, as any user can notice. In addition, the large number of cores has stopped being the premium segment feature.

But will it give a real boost in performance? The number of cores is growing alright, but the clock speed is still hovering around 3.20. It’s only logical because the faster the CPU is; the more heat it radiates. And we all know that the crucial issue of modern computers is the cooling. Even some tablets feature water cooling, (Windows Surface tablets specifically), let alone a desktop. So, while multiplying the cores, the developers cut down the clock speed and cut off the boost option altogether. That’s why I’m a bit pessimistic about the multi-cores hype, though 6 has always been my favorite figure.