Following leaks is often a game of cat and mouse – what is actually legitimate and what may not be. Traditionally, for the same reason, AnandTech shakes away from leaks, and we’d rather have multiple sources saying the same thing, instead of addressing all possible rumors in the blogosphere. However, hints of a new Intel product, Alder Lake, have been revamped in recent months, including a small mention in Intel’s Q2 2020 revenue. The leaks have suggested that it would offer a mixed Hybrid x86 environment, similar to Intel’s current Lakefield product that uses high-performance cores paired with high-efficiency cores. As part of Intel’s Architecture Day 2020, the company officially announced Alder Lake as a hybrid x86 product on its roadmaps.
In the roadmap and as part of the discussions, Intel’s Raja Koduri confirms that Alder Lake will be a combination of the Golden Cove’s high performance computer core and Gracemont’s high efficiency core, and the purpose of this chip is a ‘Performance Hybrid’ to offer option in the portfolio. Raja explained to the audience that the company has learned a lot from building Lakefield, its current hybrid x86 chip for thin and light notebooks, and although Lakefield was focused on battery life, Alder Lake will focus on performance instead.
Alder Lake will involve Intel’s next generation hardware planner, who will tell us that they can use all cores for performance and make it seamless for any software package. Intel claims that Alder Lake will be Intel’s best (ever? 2021?) Performance-per-watt processor.
If beliefs are to be believed, then Alder Lake looks set to offer an 8 + 8 design, though that has not been confirmed. Intel did not go into detail as to whether Alder Lake will involve any next-generation packaging, such as Foveros (which Lakefield does) – but in the Q2 2020 financial revelations it was said that it was positioned for mobile and desktops. We expect Intel to discuss Golden Cove and Gracemont next year, and then Alder Lake as an extension of that – we’ve already seen Intel documents regarding new instructions for each of these cores. My prediction is to come back next year next year, which we need to talk more about.
