Intel has finally shown its hand in the 2017 CPU wars, revealing the processors that’ll power the laptops going on sale before Christmas this year. It’s just added the first details of the ‘Coffee Lake’ desktop processors, with the ‘premium performance’ chips set to launch on 5 October 2017, with the Core i7-8700K.
This new family introduces the first ever 6_core Intel Core i5 desktop processor and first ever 4_core Intel Core i3 desktop processor. The family offers a wide range of performance options for consumers with unlocked “K” processors that deliver maximum tuning flexibility at each brand level and up to 40 platform PCIe 3.0 lanes for system expandability on graphics, storage and I/O. These processors are supported with new Intel Z370 chipset-based motherboards. via Intel
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
The 8th gen desktop platform has a range of new features that mainly include:
And of course, powering the new platform is the Z370 PCH. The PCH offers the following:
Intel Coffee Lake official specs and prices details:
All new CPUs feature Intel's integrated graphics capabilities, but there's nothing new compared to the previous generation except for higher clock speeds. Core i7 models have 12MB of cache, while Core i5 models have 9MB and Core i3 models have 6MB. Core i7 and i5 CPUs now support up to dual-channel DDR4-2666 RAM while Core i3 ones are limited to dual-channel DDR4-2400. Models with the K suffix are multiplier unlocked to support overclocking, and have 91-95W TDP ratings while the others are rated at 65W. Per-core overclocking is now supported on K models, there is more fine-grained power tweaking, and RAM latency adjustments don't require a reboot anymore.
Intel's decision to increase core counts and change the definitions of its Core i7, i5 and i3 product tiers can be seen as a response to AMD's Ryzen 7, 5 and 3 lines. AMD's return to success after nearly a decade has been greatly helped by the fact that it was able to disrupt Intel's pricing model and delivered more cores per dollar, especially at the low-end. Intel claims up to 32 percent faster 4K video editing compared to equivalent 7th Gen CPUs, and up to 7.8X speed improvements in content creation tasks compared to a three-year-old Core i7-4790K.
This new family introduces the first ever 6_core Intel Core i5 desktop processor and first ever 4_core Intel Core i3 desktop processor. The family offers a wide range of performance options for consumers with unlocked “K” processors that deliver maximum tuning flexibility at each brand level and up to 40 platform PCIe 3.0 lanes for system expandability on graphics, storage and I/O. These processors are supported with new Intel Z370 chipset-based motherboards. via Intel
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- New 8th Gen Intel Core desktop processors and Intel Z370 chipset are perfect for gamers, content creators and overclockers with a range of unlocked “K” processors.
- Includes a new Intel Core i7 desktop processor that is the best gaming processor ever from Intel, first-ever 6-core Intel Core i5 desktop processor and 4-core Intel® Core i3 desktop processor.
- Performance boosts that deliver frame rate improvements of up to 25 percent compared with 7th Gen Intel Core for smooth gaming experiences and up to 65 percent faster editing in content creation compared with a 3-year-old machine.
The 8th gen desktop platform has a range of new features that mainly include:
- More Cores
- More Intel Smart Cache
- Best In Class Design
- Enhanced Overclocking
- Improved 14nm Process
And of course, powering the new platform is the Z370 PCH. The PCH offers the following:
- Improved Power Delivery for 6 Core processors
- Enhanced Package Power Delivery For overclocking
- Memory routing support for DDR4-2666
- Rec.2020 & HDR Support, HEVC 10-bit HW Decode/Encode, VP9 10-bit HW Decode
- Integrated USB 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gbps)
- Support for integrated Intel wireless AC (WiFi 802.11ac R2 & Bluetooth 5)
- Intel Optane memory support
- Intel Smart Sound Technology with quad core audio DSP
- 24 Chipset PCIe 3.0 Lanes
- 10 USB 3.1 Ports With Up To 6 USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Ports
- Up To 6 SATA 3.0 Ports
- Intel Rapid Storage Technology 16
- PCIe 3.0 x4 Storage Support
Intel Coffee Lake official specs and prices details:
All new CPUs feature Intel's integrated graphics capabilities, but there's nothing new compared to the previous generation except for higher clock speeds. Core i7 models have 12MB of cache, while Core i5 models have 9MB and Core i3 models have 6MB. Core i7 and i5 CPUs now support up to dual-channel DDR4-2666 RAM while Core i3 ones are limited to dual-channel DDR4-2400. Models with the K suffix are multiplier unlocked to support overclocking, and have 91-95W TDP ratings while the others are rated at 65W. Per-core overclocking is now supported on K models, there is more fine-grained power tweaking, and RAM latency adjustments don't require a reboot anymore.
Intel's decision to increase core counts and change the definitions of its Core i7, i5 and i3 product tiers can be seen as a response to AMD's Ryzen 7, 5 and 3 lines. AMD's return to success after nearly a decade has been greatly helped by the fact that it was able to disrupt Intel's pricing model and delivered more cores per dollar, especially at the low-end. Intel claims up to 32 percent faster 4K video editing compared to equivalent 7th Gen CPUs, and up to 7.8X speed improvements in content creation tasks compared to a three-year-old Core i7-4790K.
| Basic Specifications of Intel Core i5/i7 Desktop CPUs | |||||||||||
| 7th Generation | 8th Generation | ||||||||||
| CPU | Cores | Freq. (Base) | Freq. (Boost) | L3 | TDP | CPU | Cores | Freq. (Base) | Freq. (Boost) | L3 | TDP |
| i7-7700K ($305) | 4/8 | 4.2GHz | 4.5GHz | 8 MB | 91W | i7-8700K ($359) | 6/12 | 3.8GHz | 4.7GHz | 12MB | 95W |
| i7-7700 ($272) | 3.6GHz | 4.2GHz | 65W | i7-8700 ($303) | 3.2GHz | 4.6GHz | 65W | ||||
| i5-7600K ($217) | 4/4 | 3.8GHz | 4.2GHz | 6 MB | 91W | i5-8600K ($257) | 6/6 | 3.6GHz | 4.3GHz | 9 MB | 95W |
| i5-7400 ($170) | 3.0GHz | 3.5GHz | 65W | i5-8400 ($182) | 2.8GHz | 4.0GHz | 65W | ||||
| i3-7350K ($157) | 2/4 | 4.2GHz | NA | 4 MB | 60W | i3-8350K ($168) | 4/4 | 4.0GHz | N/A | 6MB | 91W |
| i3-7100 ($109) | 3.9GHz | NA | 51W | i3-8100 ($117) | 3.6GHz | N/A | 65W | ||||
