0The first details of Intel's Amber Lake processors, which are aimed at low power mobility devices, have been revealed by Lab501. Part of the 8th generation core family, the new Amber Lake-Y line would utilize the 14nm++ node, featuring higher clock speeds, resulting in faster CPU processing performance.
Intel Amber Lake-Y, The 8th Generation Low Power Mobility Family Detailed - 14nm++ Node For Higher Clock Speeds, 5W cTDPs
Intel took some time to release the Y-series platform in the 8th generation family. These CPUs are largely made for low power devices that include 2in1s, tablets, ultrabooks and entry-level laptops. Intel's current Y-series family includes the Kaby Lake architecture based 7th generation Core M 'Y' CPUs. These processors launched back in Q3 2016 so we were expecting an update for some time now.
The new 8th generation family will have three SKUs that are currently listed along with their tech specifications. All processors will be using the latest 14nm++ node so architecture similarities with the Coffee Lake processors are expected. Coffee Lake itself isn't an architectural upgrade at all in itself and most of the performance increases come from node side enhancements which offer a higher core count, higher clock speed, and slightly improved efficiency. Overall, it's a good package for low power users so let's get on with the details.
The flagship SKU of the Amber Lake-Y lineup will be the Core i7-8500Y. This will replace the Core i7-7Y75 and feature the same 2 core and 4 thread design. The clock frequencies will be maintained at 1.5 GHz base, 4.2 GHz boost (single core) and 3.6 GHz boost (dual core). This is up from the 1.3 GHz base and 3.6 GHz boost (single core) frequencies of its predecessor. The chip is coupled with the Intel UHD 615 graphics chip, 4 MB of L3 cache and has a cTDP of 5W. Since the TDP is configurable, we can expect various designs that feature higher/lower base clocks in some design cases.
The next chip is the Core i5-8200Y which is the successor to the Core i5-7Y57. This chip is largely similar to its Core i7 brother with the difference remaining in the clocks and price. The chip has clocks adjusted at 1.3 GHz base, 3.9 GHz boost (single core), and 3.2 GHz boost (dual core). These are up from 1.2 GHz base and 3.3 GHz boost (single core) on its predecessor. Lastly, we have the Core m3-8100Y which is the entry-level SKU and again, same technical specs with the difference being the clock speeds. This chip comes with a base clock of 1.1 GHz, 3.4 GHz boost (single core) and 2.7 GHz boost (dual core). Compared to its predecessor, the M3-7Y32, which was clocked at 1.10 GHz base and 3.0 GHz boost (single core), we are looking at higher frequencies and better performance as a result.
Intel Amber Lake-Y CPU Specifications:
| Processor Name | Intel Core i7-8500Y | Intel Core i7-7Y75 | Intel Core i5-8200Y | Intel Core i5-7Y57 | Intel Core M3-8100Y | Intel Core m3-7Y32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Family | Amber Lake-Y | Kaby Lake-Y | Amber Lake-Y | Kaby Lake-Y | Amber Lake-Y | Kaby Lake-Y |
| Process Node | 14nm++ | 14nm+ | 14nm++ | 14nm+ | 14nm++ | 14nm+ |
| Cores/Threads | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 |
| Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Base Clock | 1.50 GHz | 1.30 GHz | 1.30 GHz | 1.20 GHz | 1.10 GHz | 1.10 GHz |
| Boost Clock (1 Core) | 4.20 GHz | 3.60 GHz | 3.90 GHz | 3.30 GHz | 3.40 GHz | 3.00 GHz |
| Boost Clock (2 Core) | 3.60 GHz | ~ | 3.20 GHz | ~ | 2.70 GHz | ~ |
| iGPU | UHD 615 | HD 615 | UHD 615 | HD 615 | UHD 615 | HD 615 |
| TDP | 5W cTDP | 4.5W cTDP 3.5W down 7.0W up | 5W cTDP | 4.5W cTDP 3.5W down 7.0W up | 5W cTDP | 4.5W cTDP 3.5W down 7.0W up |
There's no date provided as to when the new Amber Lake-Y processors will ship but expect a range of new products such as Microsoft's Surface tab, Apple's MacBook and Dell's XPS 13 2 in 1 machines to feature this new range of low power processors.
