The Predator Helios 500 is Acer's 17.3-inch gaming laptop featuring one of Intel's upcoming six-core mobile Coffee Lake processors. Consumers can choose between a Core i9-8950HK with a 2.9 GHz base clock and 4.8 GHz boost clock or the lower-spec Core i7-8750H that runs at 2.2 GHz base clock and 4.1 GHz boost clock. Independent of processor model, the Helios 500 comes with a Full HD 144 Hz IPS display with NVIDIA G-Sync support. The onboard NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is responsible for graphics duties. The Helios 500's other specifications include 16GB of DDR4-2133 memory and a 256GB M.2 SSD for primary storage. In terms of connectivity options, consumers receive three USB 3.0 ports, two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt support, HDMI port, DisplayPort, LAN port, and two audio connectors. The Intel Core i9-8950HK version costs 1999 PLN ($3500) while the Intel Core i7-8750H version goes for 8999 PLN ($2630).

A curious-looking "Core i7-8670" processor surfaced on GFXBench benchmark online database, which features Intel UHD 630 iGPU. The processor's name breaks Intel's naming conventions of reserving the 87xx model number for Core i7 MSDT (mainstream desktop) SKUs, and 86xx for Core i5 SKUs, based on the 8th generation "Coffee Lake" silicon. The GFXBench information tab confirms that this is a 12-thread (6-core + HTT) CPU, and that its nominal clock speed is a mere 3.10 GHz. Its iGPU offers almost the same performance as the UHD 630 iGPU of the Core i7-8700.

Intel is gearing up towards launching their mobile CPU solutions based on the current desktop architecture, Coffee Lake. These mobile CPUs will bring Intel's increased core and thread counts philosophy to the mobile crowds, thus increasing overall performance due to the extra two cores and four threads on the top of the line processors.

The CPU that was benchmarked on Geekbench is the i7-8750H, a six-core, twelve-thread CPU with a 2.2 GHz base clock and up to 4.1 GHz Turbo speeds. Its L3 cache department makes do with a pretty respectable 9 MB, and all of this is wrapped in a 45 W TDP package. As it comes to scores, these show expected gains over Intel's previous generation Kaby Lake Core i7-7700HQ - around 20% in single-thread workloads, and a more impressive 50% boost in multi-threaded ones. Two Quanta systems based on the i7-8750H managed single-thread scores of 4700 and 5008, and multi-threaded marks of 17,504 and 20,715. A HP system using the same chip scored 4980 in the single-thread test and 19,402 in the multi-thread benchmark. All in all, impressive gains in the processing prowess department, though these are overwhelmingly derived from the extra cores and threads, and not from some spectacular microarchitecture improvements.

It looks like Intel has achieved the design goals of its new Core i7-8705G multi-chip module, built in collaboration with AMD. Combining a 4-core/8-thread "Kaby Lake" CPU die with an AMD "Vega" GPU die that has its own 4 GB HBM2 memory stack, the ruthless duo put similarly-priced discrete GPU setups to rest, such as the combination of an 8th generation Core processor + NVIDIA GeForce MX 150. More importantly, entry-level discrete GPU combinations with high-end mobile CPUs have a similar power/thermal envelope as the i7-8705G MCM, but at significantly higher PCB footprint.

Dell implemented the Core i7-8705G on one of its latest XPS 15 2-in-1 models. The device was compared to an Acer Swift 3 (SF314-51), which combines a Core i5-8250U processor with GeForce MX 150 discrete graphics; and a Dell XPS 13 9370, which implements an 8th generation Core processor that has Intel's workhorse graphics core, the HD 620. The three devices squared off against each other at "Rise of the Tomb Raider" game benchmark. The i7-8705G averaged 35 frames per second (fps), while the MX 150 barely managed 24 fps. The HD 620 ran a bored intern's PowerPoint slideshow at 9 fps.

Intel revealed specifications of its upcoming "Kaby Lake + AMD Vega" multi-chip module, the Core i7-8809G, on its website. A number of these specs were already sniffed out by Futuremark SystemInfo, but the website sheds light on a key feature - dual integrated graphics. The specs sheet confirms that the chip combines a 4-core/8-thread "Kaby Lake" CPU die with an AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH graphics die. The CPU is clocked at 3.10 GHz, and SystemInfo (from the older story) confirmed that its Turbo Boost frequency is up to 3.90 GHz. The L3 cache amount is maxed out a 8 MB. The reference memory clock is set at dual-channel DDR4-2400. What's more, the CPU component features an unlocked base-clock multiplier.

Things get interesting with the way Intel describes its integrated graphics solution. It mentions both the star-attraction, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH, and the Intel HD Graphics 630 located on the "Kaby Lake" CPU die. This indicates that Intel could deploy a mixed multi-GPU solution that's transparent to software, balancing graphics loads between the HD 630 and RX Vega M GH, depending on the load and thermal conditions. Speaking of which, Intel has rated the TDP of the MCM at 100W, with a rider stating "target package TDP," since there's no scientifically-correct way of measuring TDP on a multi-chip module. Intel could build performance-segment NUCs with this chip, in addition to selling them to mini-PC manufacturers.

Intel 9th generation Core processors could hit the shelves some time in 2018, after Intel has ironed out supply issues of its current 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" lineup, and figured out what to do with the unsold 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" inventory. It has been rumored that the company could increase core-counts across the board again, with the introduction of an eight-core part in the mainstream-desktop lineup, probably to better segment the Core i7 series from the Core i5 series. It's not implausible to expect the next-generation Core i7 MSDT parts to be 8-core/16-thread, and Core i5 MSDT 6-core/12-thread, with 4-core/4-thread or 8-thread Core i3 parts making up the entry-level, which would bring Intel's MSDT lineup on core/thread-count parity with AMD.

The change-log of the latest FinalWire AIDA64 version spells out several 9th generation Core processor model numbers, at least the Core i5 and Core i3 SKUs. The Core i5 lineup includes the i5-9600K, followed by the i5-9600, i5-9500, i5-9400, i5-9400T, i3-9300, i3-9300T, i3-9100, i3-9100T, i3-9000, and i3-9000T, with the "T" extension denoting lower TDP, probably at 35W, while the rest of the lineup has its TDP rated at 65W. The change-log also speaks about Intel's second-wave of Core "Coffee Lake" parts, which launch early-2018, alongside its other 300-series chipset for the platform, such as the H370, B360, and H310.

Acer's new Aspire A615-51G laptop is set to launch on January 8th. The A615-51G is 19.95 mm thick and sports a sleek and sturdy all-metal body. The IPS display measures 15.6 inches and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. There are two models planned so far. The standard model comes with an Intel Core i5-8250U processor and a 256GB SSD, while the higher-end model features the more powerful Intel Core i7-8550U processor, 128GB SSD, and a 1TB HDD for additional storage.

However, the two models do have some characteristics in common. Both will come with 8GB of RAM and employ NVIDIA's GeForce MX150 graphics card with 2GB GDDR5 memory. The standard model will cost $825 approximately, and the high-end model will set you back $1000.

Following today's surprise announcement of an Intel-AMD collaboration (of which NVIDIA seems to be the only company left in a somewhat more fragile position), there have already been a number of benchmark leaks for the new Intel + AMD devices. While Intel's original announcement was cryptic enough - to be expected, given the nature of the product and the ETA before its arrival to market - some details are already pouring out into the world wide web.

The new Intel products are expected to carry the "Kaby Lake G" codename, where the G goes hand in hand with the much increased graphics power of these solutions compared to other less exotic ones - meaning, not packing AMD Radeon graphics. For now, the known product names point to one Intel Core i7-8705G and Intel Core i7-8809G. Board names for these are 694E:C0 and 694C:C0, respectively.

With the rather fast introduction of the Intel Core i7-8700K (just 9 months following the January 3rd launch of the i7-7700K), retailers are finding themselves with quite a bit of unsold i7-7700K (and even i7-6700K) inventory. Consumers are drawn to either the i7-8700K, or the competing AMD Ryzen processors. To help the market digest these unsold chips, Intel started a new game-bundle dubbed "Game Without Compromise."

Buyers of brand-new Core i7-7700K and i7-6700K processors will receive game keys to "Total War: Warhammer II" and "Assassins Creed: Origins," which is effectively a $100 value-addition to these $330 quad-core chips. It provides an upgrade path to users of the older 100-series/200-series chipset platform. As with most such game bundles, the "Game Without Compromise" bundle will be limited to select retailers.

Hot from the semiconductor presses, but even hotter from our very own reviews of Intel's latest-generation Coffee Lake CPUs, Intel's 8700K, unlocked six-core, 12-threaded processor has already been overclocked up to 7.45 GHz under extreme cooling. The feat, achieved by HWBOT user Kovan Yang, currently stands in first place of 8700 K processors, and is in sixth-place in overall CPU frequency ranking - which marks the first time in a while an Intel Core branded processor has achieved such a feat.

The overclock was achieved in a system that was configured with MSI's Z370 Godlike Gaming motherboard, unspecified DDR4 memory, an NVIDIA 8400 GS graphics card. The INtel 8700K was configured with a multiplier of 73x, and the base BUS speed was increased to 101 MHz. Expect more daring overclocks with Intel's latest family of Core processors in the future - der8auer has achieved a speed of 7.3 GHz on the same processor already, but more users and big overclock players are sure to make their overclocking feats known. In our own review, our very own W1zzard found that Intel's latest 8700K was the fastest, more future-proof consumer-level, non-HEDT Intel processor, and that it can be easily overclocked on air to 5 GHz.

A member of the HKEPC tech community, with access to an upcoming Core i7-8700K six-core mainstream-desktop processor, wasted no time in de-lidding it (removing its integrated heatspreader or IHS). It was revealed that Intel is still using thermal-paste between the IHS and the CPU die. The "Coffee Lake" die itself is as wide as the "Kaby Lake," but is visibly longer. It has a die area of approximately 151 mm², compared to the 126 mm² of "Kaby Lake." This is due to its increased CPU core count to 6, and a proportionate increase in last-level cache (L3 cache) to 12 MB. The die is marginally northwest of center, so you can get away placing your TIM blob dead-center of the IHS.

Intel's 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" 6-core processors aim to restore the company's competitiveness in the mainstream-desktop (MSDT) platform, which eroded to AMD's unexpectedly successful Ryzen. The chips will hit the stores a little later this month, at price-points very close to the outgoing 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors; although a report by SweClockers predicts that the chips will be scarcely available until early-2018.

Intel is launching "Coffee Lake" desktop processor family with a rather trimmed down lineup of six SKUs, two each under the Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 brands, with the former two being 6-core, and the Core i3 being quad-core, marking an increase in core-counts across the board. While these chips will very much be available on launch-date in the retail channel, there could be an inventory shortage running all the way till Q1-2018.

IBASE, a global leader in the manufacture of embedded computing and IIoT solutions, launches its new IB990 PICMG 1.3 full-size CPU card. The board supports the latest 7th/6th Generation Intel Xeon/Core i7/i5/i3 processors with speeds up to 4.0GHz. Based on the chipset family formerly known as Skylake, Intel C236 and Q170 Express chipsets, the high-performance IB990 SBC is built with two DIMM sockets to support DDR4 2133 MHz memory modules with up to 32GB in total and six superfast SATA III ports featuring RAID 0/1/5/10 and 6 Gb/s speed.

As a perfect solution for control systems in factory automation and other industrial applications, IB990 is designed for compute, data and graphics intensive applications and enables up to three independent displays via DVI-I, VGA and DVI-D interface. This long-life single board computer incorporates a rich set of I/O connectivity including two Gigabit Ethernet, four COM, two USB 2.0 and three USB 3.0 ports, plus a Mini PCI-E expansion socket for optional wireless modules. Additionally, the IB990 takes advantage of Intel AMT 11.0 for remote management and powering-on functionalities.

Intel today announced that its new family of 8th Gen Intel Core desktop processors will be available for purchase beginning Oct. 5, 2017. The new desktop processor family is built for gamers, content creators and overclockers who require premium performance. Ranging from Intel Core i3 to Intel Core i7, these processors deliver premium performance for what comes next, opening the door for a new level of faster, easier and more immersive experiences.

This new family introduces the first-ever 6-core Intel Core i5 desktop processor and first-ever 4-core Intel Core i3 desktop processor. The family offers a wide range of performance options for consumers with unlocked1 "K" processors that deliver maximum tuning flexibility at each brand level and up to 40 platform PCIe 3.0 lanes for system expandability on graphics, storage and I/O. These processors are supported with new Intel Z370 chipset-based motherboards.

As Intel's 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" processors inch closer to their 5th October launch, those with early access to the retail chips are putting them through their paces. One such test landed on Geekbench database. A top-end Core i7-8700K six-core chip running on an EVGA-made, Z370 chipset-based motherboard (model code: 121-KS-E375).

Running at its standard (out of the box) clock speeds, the Core i7-8700K scored 5,773 points in the single-threaded bench, which is higher than the 4,900-ish scores one can expect from the Ryzen 7 1800X. In the multi-threaded test, it scored 24,260 points, which is lower than the 28,000-ish points typical machines with Ryzen 7 1800X score, due to the two extra cores it packs compared to the i7-8700K.

It was initially believed that Intel will launch its 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" desktop processor lineup with only 6-core SKUs in the Core i5 and Core i7 extensions, priced well above $200; with Core i3 SKUs joining in Q1-2018. A popular retailer confirmed to us that the first wave will include two Core i3 SKUs, namely the Core i3-8100 and Core i3-8350K. Both these chips are quad-core, and lack both HyperThreading and Turbo Boost, but feature rather high clock speeds.

The Core i3-8350K is a particularly interesting SKU. This 4-core/4-thread chip features an unlocked base-clock multiplier, and 8 MB of L3 cache, as opposed to 6 MB on the i3-8100. Just as Intel previously differentiated its Core i3-x1xx SKUs from i3-x3xx SKUs by giving the latter 33.33% more L3 cache, the trend is continuing with the 8th generation, except that both the core-count and L3 cache amount has doubled over the 7th generation. The prices could be noticeably higher, too. The six SKUs Intel will launch for the retail channel on the 5th of October, are tabled below.

Intel could launch the first wave of 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" desktop processors in the retail channel, on the 5th of October, 2017. It's also becoming ominous that with increasing core counts across the lineup, Intel is also raising prices by anywhere between 12.5 to 25 percent. For example, the Core i7-8700K, which logically succeeds the $339 Core i7-7700K, could be priced upwards of $400. The i5-8600K, which succeeds the $249 i5-7600K, could be priced a little over $300. One can expect similar price-hikes across the board for other Core i5 six-core and Core i3 quad-core SKUs.

The first wave of 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" desktop processor launches could be limited to certain overclocker-specific Core i7 and Core i5 SKUs. It is also launching just one compatible motherboard chipset option with this first wave, the Z370 Express, which supports CPU overclocking. Among the SKUs to look out for, are the top-dog Core i7-8700K six-core processor with HyperThreading enabling 12 threads, 12 MB of L3 cache; and the Core i5-8600K, which is also a six-core part but lacks HyperThreading, and comes with 9 MB of L3 cache.

Intel's Skylake architecture, which christened the 6000 series of CPUs, has had its time in the sun, there's no denying that. However, as has been the case with Intel, who usually don't keep more than two architectures in the market at any given time, the Skylake series of processors have seen the end of their days. This is the announced death of an architecture that was competent in offering a token improvement for Intel's Core performance. Yet despite that, it certainly didn't set the world on fire with anticipation and acclaim. It was a sound business decision for Intel, however, allowing the company to maximize profits and capitalizing on a virtually outclassed competitor, which offered, at the time, the ill-spoken Bulldozer architecture and derivatives.

This comes mere months before Intel ships out their 8000 series CPUs on the Coffee Lake microarchitecture. This one is the most interesting from the blue giant in years, seeing a core count democratization towards the masses and the virtual elimination of dual-core CPUs, which have been overstaying their welcome for some time now. Expect decreasing availability in the following moths as retailers work through their available inventories. According to Intel, Skylake processors can be ordered until March 2018, with deliveries finalizing by September 2018. This applies particularly to the (arguably) most interesting models in the lineup, in the form of the Core i7-6700K, Core i5-6600K, and the Core i5-6402P and Core i3-6098P models which shipped with less powerful HD510 iGPUs. I say arguably, because for this editor, an i5-6400 which was overclockable through BIOS settings was the price-performance champion of this generation.

Intel is preparing to expand its Skull Canyon line of high-performance NUC compact desktops, with new models based on its upcoming "Coffee Lake-U" silicon. The company is preparing variants based on 28W TDP Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 ultra-low power processors, and 300-series chipset. The Core i3 based parts offer 4-core/4-thread CPU configuration, while the Core i5 and Core i7 ones offer 4-core/8-thread configurations. One of these could even feature a large onboard graphics core cushioned by on-package eDRAM L4 cache. The three "Coffee Lake-U" based NUCs could be released in Q2-2018, which is quite a wait.

Processor sales numbers of leading German retailer Mindfactory.de show AMD Ryzen processors to be outselling Intel processors for the first time in over a decade. German and EU DIY PC buyers seem to have developed a taste for AMD Ryzen processors, which is reflecting in Mindfactory's sales figures. Since March 2017, when AMD launched its Ryzen 7 series, AMD processor sales have seen a steady growth from 28% (vs. 72% of Intel), to a stunning 56% by the end of August 2017. Mindfactory's sales is a test case of AMD's growth in the DIY processor market, which forced Intel to rush in its Core X family, and its 8th generation Core processor family, which could be out in Q3-2017.

Ryzen 5 1600 appears to be the most popular AMD choice among Mindfactory's customers, as the 6-core/12-thread processor strikes a price-performance sweet-spot at 198€. The chip is outselling the similarly-priced Core i5-7500 by two times, and the i5-7600K by three times. The 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 1700 is the second most popular AMD Ryzen part, priced at 288€. From the Intel camp, the Core i7-7700K still commands the single biggest chunk of Mindfactory's CPU sales. As expected, the Ryzen 7 1700X outsells the 1800X by five times. Also, the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is outselling the Core i9-7900X by over three times. Find more interesting data in the beautifully drawn graphs by Redditor "Type-21."

Intel is giving finishing touches to a mobile 8th generation Core i7 processor which features the full complement of 6 cores present on the "Coffee Lake-H" silicon. This is firmly a mobile SKU, and not desktop-on-mobile. According to specs put out in a Geekbench database entry, the processor features 6 cores, 12 threads (HyperThreading), 9 MB of L3 cache, and a nominal clock speed of 2.60 GHz.

Intel tends to keep the nominal clocks of its mobile processors low, while compensating with higher single-core or two-core Turbo Boost clocks. The processor in the Geekbench DB entry packs enough punch to dethrone desktop quad-core parts in multi-threaded scores, with a score of 19,129 points. The single-threaded score isn't groundbreaking at 4,013 points, but that's probably because of the low clock speeds and aggressive power-management inherent to mobile platforms.

Intel today announced its 8th generation Core processor family, with new mainstream desktop (MSDT) processor SKUs. The company is stressing on these chips featuring "40% more performance over the previous-generation," even though the "Coffee Lake" micro-architecture is essentially based on the "Skylake" and "Kaby Lake" architectures. The company is arriving at 40% by across the board increases in core-counts. Quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 SKUs now have 6 cores as opposed to 4 (a 33% multi-threaded performance increase straight off the bat), and the remaining 7% from higher clocks or micro-architecture level incremental updates; while Core i3 now includes quad-core SKUs.

Here are the first pictures of the retail boxes of 8th generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors. The first wave of processors based on Intel's new 14 nm "Coffee Lake" silicon will be 6-core parts in the Core i5 and Core i7 brands, which will be launched on 22 August; with Core i3 following on much later in the year, or even early-2018. The boxes confirm several things about these chips, beginning with the fact that their integrated graphics cores will be branded "Intel UHD Graphics 6xx," and that they will require motherboards based on Intel 300-series chipset, even though their socket is "LGA1151."

There doesn't appear to be a socket key difference between these processors and "Kaby Lake," so it's possible that while 300-series chipset motherboards support older "Kaby Lake" and "Skylake" processors, "Coffee Lake" will only work on 300-series chipset, and not older 200-series or 100-series. Intel making the bold move of branding its new integrated graphics "UHD" could hint at its credentials with hardware-accelerated decoding of new video formats such as 10-bit VP9 at 4K without breaking a sweat; and new display connector standards such as HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.4. The various models that make up the first wave of 8th generation Core i5 and Core i7 desktop processors, are tabled below.

Ahead of their unveiling later this week, four Intel Core i5 and Core i7 U-series (ultra-low power) mobile processor SKUs surfaced in Intel's public price-lists. The prices in the list are meant for notebook manufacturers, for each chip purchased in 1,000-unit tray quantities. The specifications of these SKUs put out in the price-list indicate that Intel is keeping up with its drive to increase core-counts across its product-stack, even with TDP as tight as 15W (that's 15W for quad-core chips). The nominal clock speeds of these chips are kept very low, and their Turbo Boost frequencies are kept high, so there's tighter control over when the processor wants to spend power on performance.

The lineup is led by the Core i7-8650U, which is a 4-core/8-thread SKU with a clock speed of 1.90 GHz, and max Turbo Boost over 4.00 GHz; 8 MB of L3 cache, and a price of USD $409. Selling at the same exact price is the i7-8550U, with a slightly lower clock speed of 1.80 GHz, and 4.00 GHz Turbo Boost. The Core i5 lineup, interestingly, is 4-core/8-thread (includes HyperThreading support), even through its L3 cache amount is 6 MB. The i5-8350U ticks at 1.70 GHz, and an unknown Turbo Boost clock, and is priced at $297; while at the same price, the i5-8520U is clocked at 1.60 GHz, with 3.40 GHz Turbo Boost. The four chips will already be up for order in August 2017, and the first finished-products based on these chips could launch by Holiday.

Intel recently concluded an event intended for local distributors in China, a key presentation slide of which was snapped and posted online. The slide confirms the company's product-stack for the mainstream desktop platform, and its augmentation with the first wave of 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" SKUs. The slide also confirms that Intel will be replacing current Core i7 4-core/8-thread SKUs with Core i7 6-core/12-thread ones; Core i5 4-core/4-thread SKUs with 6-core/6-thread ones, and Core i3 2-core/4-thread SKUs with 4-core/4-thread ones, marking the biggest fundamental update to the product stack since the Core MSDT family started out a decade ago, with the Core "Lynnfield" and "Clarkdale" processors.

The slide further describes per-core performance increases ranging between 11-29 percent owing to higher clock-speeds and a slightly newer micro-architecture, and 51-65 percent increases in multi-threaded performance owing to the increasing core-counts across the board. While these SKUs are expected to logically replace the various Core "Kaby Lake" SKUs from their current price-points, there could be a tiny price increase, across the board, which Intel could justify using the higher core-counts.