New information about Intel’s upcoming 8th generation processors based on Coffee Lake-S architecture was leaked on the Chinese online forum PCEVA. By the way, the “S” means that these are mainstream desktop chips based on the 300-series platform.
The leaked details spoke about the specification of the first batch of processors which will enter the production stage starting Q3 2017. The target Release Date is tentatively scheduled for Q1 of 2018. Currently, Intel is promoting its upcoming 7th Gen Core i9 processors led by its flagship processor, 7980XE.
The Coffee Lake CPUs
The leak confirmed at least four processors: two (2) Core i7 and two (2) Core i5 -- all having 6-core/12-thread processes. A Core i3 4-core/8-thread processor running on 65W TDP was included on the leak. However, the authenticity of its existence has yet to be fully verified.
The first Core i7 processor is 8700K. It has a base clock speed of 3.7GHz and max clock speed of 4.7GHz. What’s interesting is the additional boost clock speed based on 6-Core which can reach up to 4.3GHz. By the way, all four 8th Gen processors have this feature. This Core i7-8700K runs on 95W TDP.
The non-K Core i7 8700 has a base clock speed of 3.2GHz, max boost clock speed of 4.6GHz, and 6-Core speed of 4.3GHz.
This CPU runs on 65W TDP. Core i5-8600K has a base clock speed of 3.6GHz, a max clock speed of 4.3GHz, and 6-Core max speed of 4.1GHz. This runs on 95W TDP. This other Core i5, 8400, has a base clock speed of 2.8GHz, max speed of 4.0GHz, has a 6-Core speed of 3.8GHz, and runs on 65W TDP.
Classifying the power requirements, processors at 95W are for enthusiasts; 65W is for corporate users and mainstream users; and 35W is considered the low power series.
In addition, these processors support dual channel DDR4 memory running on 2666MHz up to 4400MHz.
Coffee Lake features
The Intel Coffee Lake architecture is also based on 14-nanometer (nm) process technology. The same technology was applied to Skylake and Kaby Lake architectures. This new CPU architecture is also the second “Process-Architecture-Optimization” following the Kaby Lake architecture.
Coffee Lake is also the last 14nm architecture before the coming of the 10nm Cannonlake, a die shrink of the upcoming CPU microarchitecture.
Like the previous architectures, the Coffee Lake processors have a lot of improvements in terms of performance and processes. Among these features include an increase in multi-thread performance, enhanced Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology and memory overclocking, and upgraded Intel Optane memory support. Other enhanced features include Integrated USB 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gbps) and smart sound technology which now has quad core audio DSP.
