Report: 10th Gen Core i5 Desktop Chip Uses Hyper-Threading

It looks as though the 10th-generation Core i5-10600 spec has been revealed thanks to a (since removed) 3DMark benchmark result appearing for the chip.

As HotHardware reports, the 3DMark result is most likely for an engineering sample of the processor, which isn't expected to launch until some point in the first quarter of 2020. The benchmark was performed with the 10600 chip installed in a Z490 motherboard alongside 32GB of RAM.

What the benchmark reveals is the 10600 uses six physical cores and runs at a base clock speed of 3.3GHz, turbo boosting to 4.7GHz. The standout feature, however, is the inclusion of Intel's Hyper-Threading technology which allows the chip to offer 12 threads of computation.

Hyper-Threading allows an operating system to treat every physical core on a chip as two processors, which allows for better performance if used correctly. Intel moved away from including hyper-threading on its mainstream Coffee Lake processors this year, but it seems the technology may be making a comeback for this new, 14nm Coffee Lake S chip.

The processor this new chip will replace is the Core i5-9600. For comparison, the 9600 includes six cores, but only six threads due to a lack of Hyper-Threading. It runs at a base clock speed of 3.10GHz, turbo boosting to 4.6GHz when required. So, even though both chips are 14nm, the 10600 should offer a decent performance advantage due to its higher clock speeds and those six extra threads.

Unfortunately for anyone planning to upgrade, you're going to need a new motherboard to slot the Core i5-10600 into. Intel is set to use the new LGA-1200 socket, where as existing Coffee Lake processors use the LGA-1151 socket.

Recommended by Our Editors

Intel Struggles to Fix Hardware-Based Flaws, Researchers Say

Intel Frost Canyon NUC Details Leak

Dell Precision 5820 (2019) Review