The 11th Intel Gen desktop CPU, known by their code name ‘Rocket Lake’, has been named. Aimed specifically at gamers and desktop enthusiasts, these CPUs are based on the new ‘Cypress Cove’ core architecture and many of them feature more powerful integrated Intel Xe graphics capabilities incorporating AI acceleration. Interestingly, ‘Rocket Lake’ marks a major departure from the updated 14nm CPU upgrade that Intel has been releasing for the past five years while struggling with production capacity 10nm. The company has changed their 10nm ‘Sunny Cove’ architecture, on which the ‘Ice Lake’ mobile CPUs were built, and reintroduced the long-running 14nm manufacturing process to ensure they can meet demand.
Intel claims up to 19 percent better performance in terms of IPC (direction per clock) over the previous generation. ‘Rocket Lake’ also features 20 PCIe 4.0 blades and support for DDR4-3200 memory, a separate Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6E, upgraded media decoding hardware, and new overclocking devices.
There are five new Core i9 models including the new Core i9-11900K flagship, five new Core i7 models, and nine new Core i5 models. Along with those, Intel is releasing new 500-series chipsets although the back-end CPUs are technically compatible with conventional chipset-based 400-series chipsets. The company has also upgraded new Gen i3 and Pentium Gold desktop CPUs to end the low end of the market.
The Core i9-11900K at the top is aimed at gamers and content creators. It features eight cores with Hyper-Threading, which is actually less than the 10 cores and 20 threads of the previous-gen Core i9-10900K. Intel says overall performance makes up for that, though some multi-threaded edge issues may not perform as well. This CPU features a top speed of 5.3GHz on a single core (and 4.8GHz on all cores) thanks to Intel’s Boost Velocity feature where a sufficiently powerful cooling solution can be obtained. It has 16MB storage and 125W TDP rating. There is also a Core i9-11900KF model that does not have integrated Intel Xe graphics, and a Core i9-11900 that has a speed of 65W TDP and 5.2GHz.
The Core i7-11700K has eight cores and 16 threads more typically, but there is no thermal temperature boost. Peak speed is up to 5GHz and there is 16MB of cache memory with 125W TDP for this model as well. The Core i5 models feature six cores and 12 threads with 12MB of cache memory, and up to 125W TDPs specified for the unlocked SKUs. The Core i5-11600KF has a Turbo Boost default speed of 4.9GHz.
Intel hopes to take over AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series, which has excelled at single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. Retail prices for India have not yet been announced. 11th Gen CPUs should go on sale in the US on March 30, and are expected to be in sale in India at around the same time.
All 11th Gen ‘Rocket Lake’ CPUs will be compatible with pre-gen 400-series chipsets except the B460 and H410 at the lower end, and all 10th Gen ‘Comet Lake’ CPUs will continue to work with new 500-series motherboards. You need a 500-series motherboard to take advantage of PCIe 4.0, integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, and faster DMI interconnects with the latest CPUs. Interestingly, Intel now allows memory to be passed over even 500-series mid-range motherboards.
Intel has previously unveiled details of the upcoming 12th Gen ‘Alder Lake’ architecture that will eventually move the company’s desktop offerings to 10nm and introduce a heterogenous mix of powerful and efficient cores for the first time. . These CPUs are expected to launch near the end of 2021.