Intel Coffee Lake Mainstream 6 Core Processors Launching in Q1 2018 Alongside 300-Series Cannonlake PCH – Coffee Lake-X Details Leaked Too

Intel's 8th generation Coffee Lake processors have been detailed ahead of their arrival which is due in 2018. The Intel Coffee Lake CPUs will be a full fledged lineup based on the 14nm process node which is going to be really interesting.

Intel's Coffee Lake Processors For 2018 Detailed - Coffee Lake-X, Coffee Lake-S, Coffee Lake-H To Get 6 Core SKUs

Intel's Coffee Lake processors are really interesting for the mainstream and performance users. The chips pack architectural enhancements on the CPU side and improvements from the Kaby Lake CPU architecture are also carried over. The leak comes straight from Benchlife who have not only posted platform details but also specific SKU details.

Intel's Coffee Lake lineup which will be introduced in 2018 will include Coffee Lake-U, Coffee Lake-H, Coffee Lake-S and Coffee Lake-X. We will start off with the desktop parts first as gamers and enthusiasts are most interested in these products.

Intel Coffee Lake-X Enthusiast Processors - Extreme Series To Feature iGPU?

Tech giant Intel is launching a new socket LGA 2066 to support their Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors. They will have Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X launching simultaneously in second half of 2017. While Skylake-X will feature SKUs with up to 10 cores, Kaby Lake-X will offer an intermediary solution to enthusiasts who want to upgrade to HE-DT platforms without breaking their budget.

The Kaby Lake-X processors will feature only 4 cores but the update to Kaby Lake-X will arrive in 2018. This will be in the form of Coffee Lake-X which is listed to feature a 6+2 die configuration. This means that Coffee Lake X series will feature 6 core SKUs measuring at a die size of 149mm². Also surprisingly, Intel will be offering the chips with GT2 level graphics chip which is interesting to see as their previous enthusiast lines excluded the GPU part from the main chip.

Intel HEDT Processor Families:

Intel HEDT Family	Sapphire Rapids-X? (Sapphire Rapids Expert)	Alder Lake-X? (Sapphire Rapids Mainstream)	Cascade Lake-X	Skylake-X	Skylake-X	Skylake-X	Broadwell-E	Haswell-E	Ivy Bridge-E	Sandy Bridge-E	Gulftown
Process Node	10nm ESF	10nm ESF	14nm++	14nm+	14nm+	14nm+	14nm	22nm	22nm	32nm	32nm
Flagship SKU	TBA	TBA	Core i9-10980XE	Xeon W-3175X	Core i9-9980XE	Core i9-7980XE	Core i7-6950X	Core i7-5960X	Core i7-4960X	Core i7-3960X	Core i7-980X
Max Cores/Threads	56/112?	24/48	18/36	28/56	18/36	18/36	10/20	8/16	6/12	6/12	6/12
Clock Speeds	~4.5 GHz	~5.0 GHz	3.00 / 4.80 GHz	3.10/4.30 GHz	3.00/4.50 GHz	2.60/4.20 GHz	3.00/3.50 GHz	3.00/3.50 GHz	3.60/4.00 GHz	3.30/3.90 GHz	3.33/3,60 GHz
Max Cache	105 MB L3	45 MB L3	24.75 MB L3	38.5 MB L3	24.75 MB L3	24.75 MB L3	25 MB L3	20 MB L3	15 MB L3	15 MB L3	12 MB L3
Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU)	112 Gen 5	65 Gen 5	44 Gen3	44 Gen3	44 Gen3	44 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen2	32 Gen2
Chipset Compatiblity	W790?	W790?	X299	C612E	X299	X299	X99 Chipset	X99 Chipset	X79 Chipset	X79 Chipset	X58 Chipset
Socket Compatiblity	LGA 4677?	LGA 4677?	LGA 2066	LGA 3647	LGA 2066	LGA 2066	LGA 2011-3	LGA 2011-3	LGA 2011	LGA 2011	LGA 1366
Memory Compatiblity	DDR5-4800?	DDR5-5200?	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2800	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2133	DDR3-1866	DDR3-1600	DDR3-1066
Max TDP	~500W	~400W	165W	255W	165W	165W	140W	140W	130W	130W	130W
Launch	Q4 2022?	Q4 2022?	Q4 2019	Q4 2018	Q4 2018	Q3 2017	Q2 2016	Q3 2014	Q3 2013	Q4 2011	Q1 2010
Launch Price	TBA	TBA	$979 US	~$4000 US	$1979 US	$1999 US	$1700 US	$1059 US	$999 US	$999 US	$999 US

Intel Coffee Lake-S Desktop Processors - Intel Mainstream Chips With Up To 6 Cores, February 2018 Launch?

The juicy stuff is being offered down to the mainstream users too with Coffee Lake. Not only would the main stream users get more cores, but they would also benefit from improved process technologies and a brand new platform.

The Coffee Lake-S series will have two variants, a 4+2 (Quad Core + GT2 Graphics) and 6+2 (Hexa Core + GT2 Graphics). The 4+2 variant will have a die size of 126mm² while the 6+2 variant will have a die size of 149mm² which is same as the Coffee Lake-X variants.

The variants are expected to be launched in February 2018 which is still a long way to go. Unlike the previous report, the new details mention that Coffee Lake will have graphics, display and media architecture similar to Kaby Lake so don't expect a vast difference. We can expect the usual clock speed bump as we are getting on Kaby Lake but the main performance difference will come from the increase in core count.

Intel Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:

	Intel Sandy Bridge	Intel Ivy Bridge	Intel Haswell	Intel Broadwell	Intel Skylake	Intel Kaby Lake	Intel Coffee Lake	Intel Coffee Lake Refresh	Intel Comet Lake	Intel Rocket Lake
Processor Architecture	Sandy Bridge	Ivy Bridge	Haswell	Broadwell	Skylake	Kaby Lake	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake	Comet Lake	Rocket Lake
Processor Process	32nm	22nm	22nm	14nm	14nm	14nm+	14nm++	14nm++	14nm++	14nm++
Processors Cores (Max)	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8	4/8	6/12	8/16	10/20	10/20?
Platform Chipset	6-Series	7-Series	8-Series	9-Series	100-Series	200-Series	300-Series	300-Series	400-Series	400-Series?
Platform Socket	LGA 1155	LGA 1155	LGA 1150	LGA 1150	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1200	TBD
Memory Support	DDR3	DDR3	DDR3	DDR3	DDR4/DDR3L	DDR4/DDR3L	DDR4	DDR4	DDR4	DDR4
TDPs	35-95W	35-77W	35-84W	65W	35-91W	35-91W	35-95W	35-95W	35-127W	TBD
Platform	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA	Desktop LGA
Launch	2011	2012	2013-2014	2015	2015	2017	2017	2018	2020	2021

Intel Coffee Lake-H Notebook Processors - 6 Cores For Lap -tops Too, April 2018 Launch?

It is already known that Coffee Lake-H series will also get 6 cores like the desktop parts. It will be a big update for mobility and laptop users who have been stuck with several dual and quad core models for years. The SKU offered in this series would be 6+2 which means it will house six cores and GT2 graphics chips. The die size is similar to the Coffee Lake-X and Coffee Lake-S parts so we will probably be looking at lower clock speeds until or unless Intel partners go crazy with cooling and battery mechanisms.

The update to 6 cores on both mainstream lineups in 2018 can be seen as Intel tackling the upcoming threat of AMD's Zen processors which will offer performance parity with Intel's current generation chips and house even higher amount of cores (Up To 8). So Intel can rely on faster and higher number of cores to tackle Zen and the Zen+ processors that will be available in 2018.

Intel Coffee Lake-U Ultra-Low Power Processors - Quad Cores With GT3 Graphics and eDRAM in March 2018?

Lastly, we have the Coffee Lake-U series processors which are expected to arrive in 2018. These are also based on the 14nm process. In fact, Intel will have 10nm U-series processors available earlier in the form of Cannonlake but those would be limited to dual core models, GT2 graphics and up to 15W TDP. Same is with Y-Series which won't get any 14nm part but would launch in late 2017 with Cannonlake-Y parts that will feature TDPs of up to 5.2W in dual core packages alongside GT2 graphics.

The Coffee Lake-U series will have quad core variants with GT3e graphics. The graphics chip will house 128MB of eDRAM cache to accelerate bandwidth for faster graphics processing. This will result in a a bigger die size of 185mm² but TDPs will be near 15-28W so expect some dynamic clock speed adjustment on these parts. These are designed for mobility platforms so expect them to feature lower clocks.

Intel 300-Series Cannonlake PCH Platform Fully Detailed

The most interesting leak is the CNL-PCH block diagram which details the Coffee Lake-S and Coffee Lake-H series processors. As Intel moves to 10nm on mainstream platforms, they would keep support on the CNL-PCH intact. The new chipset does mean that Intel have the opportunity to change the socket and considering the unusual die structure and latter support for 10nm processors, we can expect that to happen. LGA 1151 will have served two processor generations by then, Skylake and Kaby Lake.

Starting with the details, we have the Coffee Lake-S/H series processors which can support DDR4-2400 MHz memory (native) in dual channel mode. The GPUs on these chips allow support for DP 1.2 to HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 connectivity. There's also several x16 PCI-e Gen 3.0 lanes which can be used to power discrete graphics and eDP Panels for smoother frame rate.

The Cannonlake PCH (300-Series) has two Alpine Ridge Controllers for up to 4 x USB Type-C ports. We don't know the exact amount of PCI-e lanes offered by the PCH but there are a plenty. The PCI-e 3.0 lanes offer two M.2 slots for Optane / SSD support. A PCI-e 3.0 x4 and 3.0 x1 slot is also powered by the PCH, there's also an SD Card slot reader. IO also includes Ethernet port (GbE PHY), Fingerprint sensor, NFC, Codec, Touch Screen, 6 Type A/C USB 3.1 Ports, UF Camera, ODD, HDD (2x SATA 3) and Douglas Peak controller that offers WiGig + WiFi + BT support.

It will be really interesting to see how Intel Coffee Lake competes against AMD's Zen based Summit Ridge line of processors which will be available in early 2017.

WCCFTech	AMD Summit Ridge	Intel Kaby Lake
Product Naming	AMD RYZEN	Intel Core 7000 Series
Product Segment	Mainstream Desktop PCs	Mainstream Desktop PCs
Product Architecture	x86 Zen (+40% IPC compared to Excavator)	7th Gen Kaby Lake (Same IPC as Skylake)
Process Node	14nm	14nm+
Max CPU Cores/Threads	8/16	4/8
GPU Architecture	N/A	Intel HD 600 Series
TDP	Up to 95W	Up to 95W
Socket	AM4	LGA 1151
PCH	X370	Z270
Memory Support	DDR4	DDR4
Launch	February - March 2017	January 2017