Intel is busy in preparing a new series of processors which will further improve the core count of their mainstream platform. The said processor lineup is planned to be launched in second half of 2018 and it might be making use of the latest 10nm process technology (report says).
Intel To Launch 8 Core, 16 Thread CPUs in 2nd Half of 2018 – Allegedly Constructed on 10nm Process, Ice Lake Architecture
The details came from Eurocom, a reputed manufacturing company of high-end laptops and workstations that are designed to be mobile yet fully upgradable. A representative of the company revealed on Notebook Review forums that they will upgrade their Tornado F5 laptop to the Z390 chipset, supporting Intel’s 8 core, 16 thread CPUs arriving in 2H 2018. The support also mentioned that the Tornado F7 would receive an update but the company has got no plans to update their Tornado series to the current Z370 chipset which will be launched in a few weeks.
There are some interesting facts to be discussed here. First of all, we now know that Intel is definitely going to offer 8 core and 16 thread processors on their mainstream platform. This will surely offer a good boost over the 6 core and 4 core Coffee Lake offerings that are expected to arrive in 2017. It should be noted that Coffee Lake is based on the same architecture as Kaby Lake so the new processors on Z390 boards may use a different architecture.
Coming to the architecture side of things, Intel has stated that Ice Lake, their 2nd generation 10nm processor architecture, will be well under production in 2k18. That looks like the upcoming 8 core chips will be based on Ice Lake with an all new 10nm process but it remains to be seen. Looking at the support side of things, Intel’s Z390 chipset’s purpose is now officially confirmed as it’s meant to have support for higher core count processors.
After looking at the roadmap details, we can look at a launch in late Q3 or early Q4 (same as Coffee Lake), so that gives board manufacturers ample amount of time to finally upgrade their products. The question is that whether the Z370 platform will be replaced by all means or will the new CPUs remain compatible with Z370 and other 300-series boards. For now, we know that Intel will have a mainstream competitor to Ryzen 7 processors in 2H 2018 but that doesn’t mean that AMD will remain silent in 2018. There will be some good competition between the age-old rivals in the CPU department and we can’t wait to see what both of them have in action for consumers in 2018.
Intel CPU Generation Comparison:
| Intel Haswell Platform | Intel Broadwell Platform | Intel Skylake Platform | Intel Kaby Lake Platform | Intel Coffee Lake Platform | Intel Ice Lake Platform | |
| Processor Architecture | Haswell | Broadwell | Skylake | Kaby Lake | Coffee Lake | Ice Lake? |
| Processor Process | 22nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 10nm |
| Processors Cores (Max) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Platform Chipset | 8-Series “Lynx Point” | 9-Series “Wild Cat Point” | 100-Series “Sunrise Point” | 200-Series “Union Point” | 300-Series | 300-Series |
| Platform Socket | LGA 1150 | LGA 1150 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151 | LGA 1151? |
| Memory Support | DDR3 | DDR3 | DDR4/DDR3L | DDR4/DDR3L | DDR4 | DDR4 |
| TDPs | 35-84W | 65W | 35-91W | 35-91W | 35-95W | TBA |
| Thunderbolt | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Platform | Desktop LGA | Desktop LGA | Desktop LGA | Desktop LGA | Desktop LGA | Desktop LGA |
| Launch | 2013-2014 | 2015 | 2015 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 |