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Intel has removed the details of its tenth generation desktop CPU line. Called ‘Comet Lake’, these new parts are still technically based on the 14nm ‘Skylake’ process from a few years back, but with multiple improvements.
First, let’s get something out of the way. Intel today announced 32 new models in its tenth-generation lineup, starting with Celeron chips at the bottom through the i9 10900K. We are not going to discuss all of them, but only a few.
That said, as you can probably see from the parts list below, most chips are just variations on each other, with multiple models having standard variations, K, KF, and T. As with previous generations, K stands for unlocked, F means no GPU built in, KF unlocks without iGPU and T are for low power variants with a TDP of 35W.
Starting with the top end, the Core i9-10900K ranks first in Intel’s consumer lineup, replacing the previous i9-9900K. This new part has a 10 core / 20 wire design with a 3.7GHz base clock and a 5.1GHz boost clock.
Intel has made things a bit more complicated this time as well with the inclusion of Turbo Boost Max 3.0, which is what a favorite core can achieve under load and Thermal Velocity Boost, which is what the CPU can achieve when staying below 70 ° C.
In the case of the 10900K, it can go up to 5.2GHz under Turbo Boost Max 3.0, 5.3 / 4.9GHz under Thermal Velocity Boost under single / multiple load, and finally, 4.8GHz under all core turbo.
The 10900K is a 125W TDP part, but as with previous chips, you should be able to exceed that limit with certain motherboards. There is now support for DDR4-2933 but, again, you can use faster memory, which works fine. The RCP price, which is the OEM price for 1K units, is $ 488, so it is expected to be a little higher for consumers. This is similar to the 9900K, making the 10900K much better value, even if it doesn’t offer any new and innovative technology.
In the Core-i7 line, the 10700KF seems to be the most interesting. It’s essentially the 9900K with the same 8C / 16T design and clocks that go beyond 5.0GHz but now priced at around $ 349 much more affordable. Again, nothing innovative but just a better value than before. The locked 10700F might also be an attractive option for some if you don’t like overclocking.
On the main i5 line, the 10600KF comes in a 6C / 12T design with clock speeds of 4.1 / 4.8GHz. There is no Turbo Boost Max 3.0 and Thermal Velocity Boost here as it is limited to i7 and i9. The official memory speed is also DDR4-2666, but that’s not a big problem. The price is higher than AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600, but Intel definitely has a head start on clock speeds and now with the core and thread count to match, it would be interesting to see how the two combine and if the price Premium from Intel would be worth it. .
The 10400F also seems like a cracking option for inexpensive gaming platforms. There’s no overclocking support, but at a price of around $ 150 that might not matter much.
The i3 series is a little mediocre in comparison. All parts are Hyperthreading compatible, but there are no longer any unlocked parts and starting at around $ 130 they are more expensive than AMD’s new $ 99 Ryzen 3 3100.
The Celeron series still exists for those on a really tight budget or who just need something that can be started on an operating system, but unless price is a major concern, it can do much better than these dual-core parts.
Along with the more attractive prices, almost all of this year’s parts except two of the Celeron models are Hyperthreading compatible. In the past, Intel reserved this feature for its higher parts (and, oddly, its lower i3 series), while the main i5 and i7 models did not have simultaneous multi-threaded support. This was one of the biggest advantages AMD had with the Ryzen, which in addition to offering unlocked parts across the board also had SMTs on almost every model.
This year, we are seeing the correction of the Intel course on two fronts, pricing and Hyperthreading. The extensive list of models with nonsense unlocked / locked, GPU / non-iGPU is frankly too much and the company’s marketing department really needs to take action and get rid of the locked models as well as iGPU variants on the i5, i7 series and i9 since it makes little sense there.
Of course, we have a new chipset and socket to try this year. The new 10 series will only be compatible with LGA-1200 socket, so no old motherboard would work. The new socket has additional pins, which are not currently used but will likely enable additional features on future processors, such as possible PCIe 4.0 support. You’ll also need a motherboard with a new chipset, running the Z490 (for overclockers), B460, or H470 chipsets. Some of these motherboards have PCIe 4.0 support, but it will not work with these CPUs and it is reserved for the next generation parts of Rocket Lake.
You can read more about the announcement at the following link.
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