Intel Z370 Coffee Lake Chipset Q4 2017 Release Confirmed In Roadmap Leak

We are expecting Intel to launch its desktop Coffee Lake lineup relatively soon, and reinforcing that notion is a leaked roadmap that shows the company's Z370 chipset arriving in the fourth quarter of 2017, and perhaps even a little bit earlier. Considering that we are at the tail-end of the third quarter, based on the roadmap, there is a chance we could see desktop Coffee Lake CPUs and accompanying Z370 motherboards towards the end of this month or sometime in October.

It all depends on how you look at the roadmap and how much trust you put into its validity. Assuming it is the real deal, the Z370 bar begins at the tail-end of Q3 and extends through all of 2018. Have a look:


The Z370 is Intel's enthusiast platform. From what we know so far, Z370 motherboards (not to be confused with X370 motherboards for AMD's Ryzen processors) will continue to use a newer version of the LGA 1151 socket that is found on previous generation Z270 and Z170 motherboards for Kaby Lake and Skylake. However, even though the pin count will be the same, previous generation motherboards will not support Coffee Lake processors, as these CPUs will require additional electrical lanes not found on current motherboards.

One thing that is exciting about the new batch of desktop processors on the horizon is that they will feature more cores throughout the lineup. Based on previous leaks, here is a look at what is on tap from Intel:

• Core i7-8700K: 6C/12T, 3.5GHz to 4.3GHx (4.7GHz single-core Turbo), 95W TDP
• Core i7-8700: 6C/12T, 3.2GHz to 4.3GHz (4.6GHz single-core Turbo), 65W TDP
• Core i5-8600K: 6C/6T, 3.6GHz to 4.1GHz (4.3GHz single-core Turbo), 95W TDP
• Core i5-8400: 6C/6T, 2.8GHz to 3.8GHz (4GHz single-core Turbo), 65W TDP
• Core i3-8300: 4C/8T, 4GHz (no Turbo clocks), TDP unknown

With both AMD and Intel pushing more cores and threads, hopefully developers will be encouraged to tap into these resources. This is especially true of the gaming sector—there are not many games that do a great of utilizing more than two or four cores.

We have already seen some X370 motherboards poke their heads on the web as Coffee Lake draws closer. Just yesterday, we posted an article on MSI's X370 Godlike Gaming motherboard. While MSI has not yet officially unveiled the board, an official looking press render appeared on the web.

In addition to X370, Intel will also roll out chipsets for mainstream (H370) and value oriented (H310) buyers. Then in the second half of next year, Intel will treat enthusiasts to yet another chipset, the Z390. Not much is known about the Z390 at this early stage, though it is a pretty safe bet that it will be a more optimized and performance tuned solution for Coffee Lake.

Thumbnail Image Source: Wikimedia Commons (Rico Shen)