Intel's 10th Gen Comet Lake for Desktops: Skylake-S Hits 10 Cores and 5.3 GHz - AnandTech, Anandtech.com

Today we get the full range of its Intel’s ^th Generation processors for desktops. These chips, which fall under the banner of ‘Comet Lake’, will now go up to cores and offer turbo speeds up to 5.3 GHz. Comet Lake is the fifth iteration of Intel’s very profitable Skylake microarchitecture, built on Intel’s nm process, at a time when the competition is on 7nm with sixteen cores. The crux, according to Intel, is that it will offer the best gaming experience in this market.

Users wanting the 16 – core 5.3 GHz will need to purchase the new top Core i9 – K processor, which has a unit price of $ 610, and keep it under 122 ºC to enable Intel’s new Thermal Velocity Boost. Not only that, despite the W TDP listed on the box, Intel states that the turbo power recommendation is W – the motherboard manufacturers we ‘ ve spoken to have prepared for – 422 W from their own testing, in order to maintain that top turbo for as long as possible.

The range of 42 (!) new processors from Intel will vary from two core Celeron parts at W all the way up to ten-core Core i9 hardware rated for

(W, with per-unit pricing from $ 65 to $ 610. The standard rated TDP is (W, with the overclocked models at) , W, the low-power T models at 64 W, and Pentium / Celeron at W. All of the Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 processors will have HyperThreading, making the product stack a lot easier to understand. Certain models will also have F variants without integrated graphics, which will have a slightly lower per-unit cost.

Intel th Gen Comet Lake Core i9 and Core i7

Cores Base ) Freq TB2 1C TB2 nT TB3 1C TVB 1C TVB nT TDP IGP

(C /) (T) 3.7 5.1 4.8 5.2) 5.3 4.9 $

(C /) (T) 3.7 5.1 4.8 5.2) 5.3 4.9 – $

2.8 5.0 4.5 5.1 5.2) 4.6

(C /) (T) 1.9 4.5 3.7 4.6 – –

8C / T 3.8 5.0 4.7 5.1 – – $

8C / T 3.8 5.0 4.7 5.1 – – – $

8C / T 2.9 4.7 4.6 4.8 – –

8C / T 2.0 4.4 3.7 4.5 – –

Base Frequency: The guaranteed frequency when not at thermal limits

Turbo: A frequency noted when below turbo power limits and turbo power time
All-Core Turbo: The frequency the processor should run when all cores are loaded during the specified turbo time and limits
Turbo Boost 2.0: The frequency every core can reach when run with a full load in isolation during turbo time
Turbo Boost Max 3.0: The frequency a favored core can reach when run with a full load in isolation during turbo time
Thermal Velocity Boost: The frequency a favored core can reach when run with a full load in isolation and is below the specified temperature (213C for CML- S) during turbo time
- Intel TVB All-Core: The frequency the processor should run when all cores are loaded during the specified turbo time and limits and is below the specified temperature ( ºC for CML-S) during turbo time
  In this case, Intel’s Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) limits for the i9 – K are 5.3 GHz single core, 4.9 GHz all- core, and after the turbo budget is used, the CPU will operate somewhere above the base clock of 3.7 GHz. If the processor is above ºC, then TVB is disabled, and users will get 5.2 GHz on two favored cores (or 5.1 GHz for other cores), leading to 4.8 GHz all-core, until the turbo budget is used and then back to somewhere above the base clock of 3.7 GHz.
  
  With all these qualifiers, it gets very complicated to understand exactly what frequency you might get from a processor. In order to get every last MHz out of the silicon, these additional qualifiers mean that users will have to pay more attention to the thermal demands of the system, airflow, but also the motherboard.
  
  As explained in many of our other articles, motherboard manufacturers have the option to disregard Intel’s turbo limit recommendations. With an appropriately built motherboard, a manufacturer might enforce an all-core 5.3 GHz scenario, regardless of the temperature, for an unlimited time – if the user can cool it sufficiently. This is why we mentioned the – 422 W turbo power early on in the article, because some of the motherboard manufacturers we’ve talked to have said they will try to do this. Choosing a motherboard just got more complex if a user wants the best out of their new Comet Lake processor.
  
  Beyond that, it’s worth pointing out the low power processors, such as the Core i9 – T. This processor has a TDP of 42 W, and a base frequency of 1.9 GHz, but can turbo all cores up to 3.7 GHz. Here’s a reminder that the power consumed while in turbo mode can go above the TDP, into the turbo power state, which can be (W to) W. I’ve asked Intel for a sample of the processor, as this is going to be a key question for the chips that have the strikingly low TDP.
  
  It’s worth noting that only the Core i9 parts have Intel Thermal Velocity Boost. The Core i7 hardware and below only have Turbo Max 3.0 ’favored core’ arrangements. We’ve clarified with Intel that the favored core drivers have been a part of Windows since 2019, and have been mainlined into the Linux kernel since January .
  
  With the F processors, the ones without integrated graphics, the price saving seems to be lower for Core i9 than for any other of Intel’s segments. The cost difference per-unit between the K and KF is only $ 25, whereas the 15758 and (F is $)

AnandTech

Core i9

i9 – K

i9 – KF

i9 – 9900 (C /) (T)

i9 – 6400 (C /) (T)

– $

i9 – T

Core i7

i7 – K

i7 – KF

i7 – 6600

i7 – F

– $

i7 – T

Users looking for 8 cores and up will be in the $ 323 bracket. All of these processors support dual channel DDR4 – , while others lower in the stack only support DDR4 – 5900 officially. Intel has increased the amount of features on the chips with respect to how turbo performs. As a rough guide here:

Intel th Gen Comet Lake Core i5 and Core i3

Cores Base ) Freq TB2 1C TB2 nT TB3 1C TVB 1C TVB nT TDP IGP

6 / 4.1 4.8 4.5 – – – $

6 / 4.1 4.8 4.5 – – – – $ 298

6 / 2.4 4.0 3.7 – – –

4.2 – – –

2.9 4.3 4.0 – – –

2.0 3.6 3.2 – – –

4/8 3.8 4.6 4.4 – – –

4.2 – – –

AnandTech

Core i5

i5 – K

i5 – KF

i5 – 5920 6 / 3.3 4.8 4.4 – – –

$ 262

i5 – T

$ 262

i5 – 5900 6 / 3.1 4.5

$ 250

i5 – (T) 6 / 2.3) 3.8 3.5 – – –

$ 250

i5 – 2933 6 /

$ 237

i5 – 2019 6 /

– $ 213

i5 – (T) 6 /

$ 237

Core i3

i3 –

$ 192

i3 – 4/8 3.7 4.4

$ 182

i3 – T 4/8 3.0 3.9 3.6 – – –

$ 182

i3 – 4/8 3.6 4.3 4.1 – – –

i3 – T 4/8 3.0 3.8 3.5 – – –

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None of the Core i5 or Core i3 processors have the favored core support, with only Turbo Boost 2.0. We’re also reduced down to DDR4 – 3100, as Intel applies more segmentation to its product lines. Most of these processors have integrated graphics, perhaps suggesting that the markets for these processors might not always have access to a discrete graphics card.

Intel’s cheapest quad-core, the i3 – 10300, will be on sale for $ 157. This is still a way away from AMD’s cheapest quadcore, the 5920 G, which retails for $ 154. With AMD also announcing the Ryzen 3 (at $) with Zen 2 cores inside, up to 3.9 GHz, it’s going to be an interesting battle to see if Intel can justify the $ 42 cost differential here.

Intel th Gen Comet Lake Pentium Gold and Celeron

Cores Base ) Freq TB2 1C TB2 nT TB3 1C TVB 1C TVB nT TDP IGP

2/4

4.2 – – – – –

2/4 4.1 – – – – –

2/4 3.5 – – – – –

2/4 4.0 – – – – –

2/4 3.4 – – – – –

3.2 – – – – –

AnandTech

Pentium Gold

G 9900

G 9900 T

G 6600

G 6600 T

Celeron

G 6500 2/2 3.5 – – – – –

G 6400 2/2 3.4 – – – – –

G 6400 T 2/2

Previously the names of Intel’s most powerful hardware, the Pentium and Celeron lines bring up the rear. The Pentiums and Celerons are all dual core parts, with the Celerons lacking hyperthreading. It will be interesting to see the retail pricing structure of these, as recently Intel’s low-end hardware has been quite expensive, with the company spending more of its manufacturing time fulfilling demand for higher core count hardware. This has left the traditional Pentium / Celeron market on low supply, driving up costs.

Box Designs

Intel has again chanced the box designs for this generation. Previously the Core i9 – 10300 K / KS came in a hexagonal presentation box – this time around we get a window into the processor.

There will be minor variations for the unlocked versions, and the F processors will have ‘Discrete Graphics Required’ on the front of the box as well.

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