Skip to Main Content
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Intel's 8th Gen Coffee Lake Chips Arrive August 21

The second 14nm process refinement, six core chips, and up to a 30 percent performance bump expected.

August 9, 2017
Intel Coffee Lake 8th gen processors

Intel promised back in February that we'd be getting 8th generation "Coffee Lake" Core processors in the second half of 2017. Now the chip giant confirmed they will be unveiled at 8am PDT on August 21 via Facebook Live and alongside the Great American Solar Eclipse.

Keeping up with Intel's chip generations has become more difficult since the company dropped its "Tick-tock" model. Coffee Lake actually counts as Intel's fourth refresh of processors using a 14nm process. Broadwell was the first, replacing the 22nm Haswell chips. Then we got Skylake, which counts as the last "tock," and has since been replaced by Kaby Lake.

Intel Coffee Lake 8th gen processors

Intel is, of course, making us wait until August 21 for details, but we are expecting four variants of the Coffee Lake processors: Coffee Lake-U, Coffee Lake-X, Coffee Lake-S, Coffee Lake-H. There will be four and six core chips, and GT2 integrated graphics. In terms of performance, Intel claims it could be as high as a 30 percent improvement over Kaby Lake.

Although August 21 is being viewed as an unveiling, expect Intel to have Coffee Lake processors available soon after. The "holiday season and even before" is referenced in the "Eight Reasons to Tune In" to the reveal. Clearly Intel wants us all buying laptops and desktops running on Coffee Lake as soon as possible.

So where does this leave Kaby Lake? The 7th gen processors don't stop being a great choice, but if Coffee Lake delivers a big performance gain then there's little reason to pick Kaby Lake instead. Also, why choose a four-core Kaby lake when you could have a six-core Coffee Lake chip? Price may be the only deciding factor in answering that question.

Get Our Best Stories!

Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.


Thanks for signing up!

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Sign up for other newsletters

TRENDING

About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

Read Matthew's full bio

Read the latest from Matthew Humphries