The 8th Generation Intel Core Processor – Coffee Lake Is Ready
Today Intel took the wraps off of its 8th generation Core processor for the desktop, code named Coffee Lake. Just nine months ago Intel brought its 7th generation Core processor, Kaby Lake into the world. While not as quick of a turn around as was seen with Broadwell and Sky Lake, Intel has stepped up with an answer to the challenge of their competitor’s most recent offering, AMD’s Ryzen.
What is all of the Coffee Lake stuff about anyway? Work at Intel continues on the refinement of 14nm manufacturing process, called 14nm++ here with Coffee Lake. It is based on the Sky Lake architecture, the original 14nm, and Kaby Lake was the first refinement, called 14nm+. Each “+” adds additional improvements to the process which allow higher clock speeds to be reached at the same power usage.
Among several changes with 8th generation Core processors, the biggest news is that there are 6 core CPU’s! That’s right, Coffee Lake brings with it two more cores, for a total of 6 processors on the die. This marks the first 6 core CPU on the Intel mainstream platform! Let’s take a look at the lineup, and more importantly, the pricing!
The headline processor, the Intel Core i7-8700K is a 6 core, 12 thread processor with 12MB of Intel Smart Cache, replaces the Core i7-7700K 4 core, 8 thread processor with 8MB of Smart Cache. The “K” suffix indicates that this is a CPU with an unlocked multiplier, allowing for easy overclocking. Intel is charging a slight premium for its top of line gaming CPU at $359, a $20 increase over the outgoing i7-7700K launch price of $339. With a base clock of 3.7GHz and a single core Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 speed of a whopping 4.7GHz, you get uncompromising performance in any game you get your hands on.
The Core i7-8700 is the first non-K processor in the line up, which comes equipped with the same number of cores, threads, and cache as the i7-8700K. Clock speeds are just off the pace at 3.2GHz base and 4.6GHz single core Turbo Boost 2.0. At $303, it is a dollar for dollar replacement to the i7-7700 processor.
The next step in the Coffee Lake lineup is the Core i5-8600K is a 6 core, 6 thread CPU with 9MB of cache, priced at $257. That is a $15 increase over the i5-7600K at $242. You get 2 cores and 3MB of Smart Cache for your $15. Clock speeds are 3.6GHz and 4.3GHz, and should make for an easy overclock.
The Core i5-8400 is a 6 core, 6 thread 9MB Smart Cache CPU that replaces the Core i5-7400 with 4 cores, 4 threads with 6MB of Smart Cache at $182.
At just $168, the Core i3-8350K is an unlocked 4 core, 4 thread with 6MB of Smart Cache. Within the pricing structure, it directly replaces the i3-7350K. The i3-7350K had just 2 cores, 4 threads, so the i3-8350K represents a significant increase in performance for Intel at this price as it is a true 4 core processor.
Rounding out the lineup is the Core i3-8100. Priced at $117, it offers 4 core, 4 threads 6MB of Smart Cache with a clock speed of 3.6GHz. It should also be a better performing processor than the Core i3-7100 at the same price. Note that TDP is 14 watts higher on the Core i3-8100, so there is a slight increase in power for the extra performance.
Performance is also enhanced by increased memory performance, via speed bump from DDR4-2400 to DDR4-2666 in Core i5 and i7 processors (the core i3-8350K gets it).
On the overclocking front, Intel is touting Coffee Lake as being able to reach higher levels than all prior generations. This is interesting news and we cannot wait to put it to the test! We look forward to bringing you performance testing and overclock results just as soon as we can finish them up.