The full specifications and performance of Intel's upcoming Coffee Lake processors including the flagship Core i7-8700K have just been exposed. The leak comes straight from China where Intel's latest processor family was revealed along with key details.
Intel Coffee Lake 8th Generation Desktop CPUs Detailed - Z370 'LGA 1151' Socket Support, Flagship 11% Faster Than Predecessor in Single-Threaded Benchmarks
The specifications and codenames of the upcoming Coffee Lake family for desktop platforms was leaked a while ago. Today, we are looking at the confirmed specifications of six SKUs along with their performance data in single and multi-threaded applications. This will be the key factor to know if Intel has made some significant gains in performance in IPC or not. However, these performance metrics come directly from Intel hence they may not actually be indicative of real world scenarios.
Nevertheless, the first thing this leak confirms is the bump in core count. Intel's Core i7 series get 6 cores and 12 threads instead of 4 cores and 8 threads. The Intel Core i5 series get 6 cores and also 6 threads compared to 4 cores and 4 threads. Finally, the Intel Core i3 series gets 4 cores compared to just 2 (4 threads) on the previous series.
When it comes to performance, the Core i7-8700K delivers 11% better single and 51% better multi-threaded scores compared to the Core i7-7700K. The Core i7-8700K ships with a clock speed of 4.5 GHz in single core mode which is the same as the Core i7-8700K. Keeping that in mind, we are looking at an 11% gain (as per Intel's performance indicator) and that seems like a good jump in IPC performance. Similarly, the Core i7-8600K gets 19% better single and 55% better multi-threaded scores while the Intel Core i3-8350K gets 17% better single and 65% better multi-threaded scores.
In multi-threaded performance, we can point out that the extra cores do bring a good jump, but if we are also looking at double digit gains in single-threaded scores and if the processor indeed manages to show such gains at launch, then we can finally be looking at a really decent product from Intel after a long while.
Intel Core i7-8700K – The Coffee Lake Flagship With 6 Cores and 4.3 GHz Boost Across All Cores
The Intel Core i7-8700K will be the flagship processor of the lineup. It will feature 6 cores and 12 threads. The chip will be compatible with the LGA 1151 socket and rumors are that board makers will extend support of Coffee Lake onto 200-series and even 100-series platforms. The chip will be Intel’s first hexa core product and will be based on the 14nm process node.
In terms of clock speeds, we are looking at a 3.8 GHz base frequency which boosts up to 4.3 GHz (6 core), 4.4 GHz (4 core), 4.5 GHz (2 core) and 4.7 GHz (1 core). These clocks are really impressive so we can expect much faster gaming performance on Coffee Lake parts than the current generation of CPUs. The chip is fully unlocked allowing for overclocking and comes with a TDP of 95W. There’s 12 MB of L3 cache on board along with a GT2 tier iGPU. The chip supports DDR4-2666 MHz memory (native) and up to 4400 MHz+ (OC). We can expect the Core i7-8700K to cost around $349 US when it launches in Q3 2017.
Intel Core i5-8600K – The Gamer Aimed Hexa Core With Overclocking Capability and 4.4 GHz Boost
The Intel Core i5-8600K is the second unlocked chip in the lineup and features a hexa core design. We have learned that Intel Core i5 series will stick with 6 cores but they will not feature a multi-threaded design. The chip probably features 9 MB of L3 cache while being supported on the LGA 1151 socket.
In terms of clock speeds, we are looking at 3.6 GHz base, 4.2 GHz (6 core), 4.2 GHz (4 core), 4.2 GHz (2 core) and 4.4 GHz (1 core) boost clocks. The chip will feature a TDP of 95W and we can expect a price range of around $249 US which will make it a pretty good option for gamers that want some extra cores in their hands.
Intel Core i3-8350K – A Quad Core i3 Processor With 4 GHz Clock Speed
The Intel Core i3-8350K might be the only Core i3 chip in the 8th Gen family that enables overclocking support. Intel’s 8th Gen Core i3 family is also the first to feature 4 cores which will be a great deal for budget builders. The Intel Core i3 8350K comes with 4 cores and 4 threads that are clocked at 4.0 GHz. The chip features 8 MB of cache and will feature a TDP of 95W.
There’s also the Intel Core i3-8100 which is a 4 core, non-multi threaded SKU. This chip has a lower clock speed of 65W and features a clock speed of 3.6 GHz. There’s total of 6 MB of L3 cache on the processor itself which confirms the exclusion of multi-threading. The Intel Core i3 chips will not feature boost clocks but they will have a more stable base clock speed and we can expect prices of the chips to be in the sub-$200 US range.
Intel Pentium G4660, Pentium G4700 and Pentium G4720 With 2 Cores, 4 Threads and Upto 3.9 GHz Clock Speeds Also Detailed - Under $100 US
The Intel Coffee Lake family will also feature at least three Pentium series SKUs that include the Pentium G4660, Pentium G4700 and the Pentium G4720. These chips will feature 2 cores and 4 threads with clock speeds rated up to 3.90 GHz. There will also be 4 MB of L3 cache on board the chips and prices will be adjusted around the $100 US bracket. Rest of the processors that will be featured in the family are listed below.
Intel Coffee Lake 8th Gen Desktop Core Lineup:
| CPU Name | Intel Core i3-8100 | Intel Core i3-8350K | Intel Core i5-8400 | Intel Core i5-8600K | Intel Core i7-8700 | Intel Core i7-8700K | Intel Core i7-8086K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Family | Coffee Lake-S | Coffee Lake-S | Coffee Lake-S | Coffee Lake-S | Coffee Lake-S | Coffee Lake-S | Coffee Lake-S |
| CPU Process | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm |
| CPU Cores | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| CPU Threads | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Base Clock | 3.60 GHz | 4.00 GHz | 2.80 GHz | 3.60 GHz | 3.20 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 4.00 GHz |
| Boost Clock (Max) | N/A | N/A | 4.00 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 4.70 GHz | 5.00 GHz |
| Boost Clock (6 Core) | N/A | N/A | 3.50 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 4.20 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 4.30 GHz |
| L2 Cache | 1 MB (256 KB per Core) | 1 MB (256 KB per Core) | 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) | 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) | 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) | 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) | 1.5 MB (256 KB per Core) |
| L3 Cache | 6 MB | 6 MB | 9 MB | 9 MB | 12 MB | 12 MB | 12 MB |
| Overclocking Support | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Socket Support | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 |
| PCH | 300-Series | 300-Series | 300-Series | 300-Series | 300-Series | 300-Series | 300-Series |
| TDP | 65W | 91W | 65W | 95W | 65W | 95W | 95W |
| Price | $117 US | $168 US | $182 US | $257 US | $303 US | $359 US | $429 US |
Intel Coffee Lake parts feature the highest frequencies we have ever seen on Intel chips along with a much needed core count bump and that’s a good thing. Expect more details on the Coffee Lake lineup on 21st August at 8 AM (Pacific Daylight Time) when Intel is expected to announce the entire 8th Generation Core family to consumers through a livestream.
