Intel Preps Core i7-9700K 9th Gen Mainstream Flagship CPU With 8 Cores And 16 Threads
Intel is readying a bunch of new processors, both for mobile and on the desktop, as revealed by fairly massive leak this morning. We covered those already, but on top of all the processors that were already mentioned, a Chinese-language website was able to dig up some additional information after speaking with motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan. In addition to the abundance of chips already on tap from Intel, it is also prepping a new flagship 9th Generation Core i9 SKU.
The upcoming 9th Generation Core i7-9700K is a mainstream SKU with 8-cores and 16-threads to rip through multithreaded workloads. What is not clear, however, is the processor architecture. The report mentions Intel's 10-nanometer Cannon Lake architecture, and if that is the case, it would make sense that the rest of the 9th Generation Core i9 lineup that was leaked today will also be Cannon Lake parts.
We have our doubts about that being the case. Intel recently said it will officially launch Cannon Lake before the end of the year, however the company also said that volume production is slated for the second half of 2018. If Intel is already sharing information about its 9th Generation Core lineup with software developers, then there is a good chance they will be available soon, rather than closer to a year from now.
It is much more likely that Intel's entire 9th Generation Core lineup, including the Core i7-9700K, will be a Coffee Lake refresh to compete with AMD's Ryzen stack. The Core i7-9700K is especially intriguing because it matches the Ryzen 7 lineup in core count and threads, without being a much pricier high-end desktop (HEDT) SKU. That said, the Core i7-9700K could still be an expensive chip.
There was no mention of base and Turbo clocks, though as a point of reference, Intel's 8th Generation Core desktop lineup tops out at up to 4.7GHz and 12MB of cache, with support for up to DDR4-2666 memory. The Core i7-9700K may not match the fastest Core i7 part in clockspeed since it's bringing more cores to the party, but should at least be in the neighborhood.
The upcoming 9th Generation Core i7-9700K is a mainstream SKU with 8-cores and 16-threads to rip through multithreaded workloads. What is not clear, however, is the processor architecture. The report mentions Intel's 10-nanometer Cannon Lake architecture, and if that is the case, it would make sense that the rest of the 9th Generation Core i9 lineup that was leaked today will also be Cannon Lake parts.
We have our doubts about that being the case. Intel recently said it will officially launch Cannon Lake before the end of the year, however the company also said that volume production is slated for the second half of 2018. If Intel is already sharing information about its 9th Generation Core lineup with software developers, then there is a good chance they will be available soon, rather than closer to a year from now.
It is much more likely that Intel's entire 9th Generation Core lineup, including the Core i7-9700K, will be a Coffee Lake refresh to compete with AMD's Ryzen stack. The Core i7-9700K is especially intriguing because it matches the Ryzen 7 lineup in core count and threads, without being a much pricier high-end desktop (HEDT) SKU. That said, the Core i7-9700K could still be an expensive chip.
There was no mention of base and Turbo clocks, though as a point of reference, Intel's 8th Generation Core desktop lineup tops out at up to 4.7GHz and 12MB of cache, with support for up to DDR4-2666 memory. The Core i7-9700K may not match the fastest Core i7 part in clockspeed since it's bringing more cores to the party, but should at least be in the neighborhood.
