Thursday, February 18th 2021
Intel Rocket Lake-S Lands on March 15th, Alder Lake-S Uses Enhanced 10 nm SuperFin Process
In the latest round of rumors, we have today received some really interesting news regarding Intel's upcoming lineup of desktop processors. Thanks to HKEPC media, we have information about the launch date of Intel's Rocket Lake-S processor lineup and Alder Lake-S details. Starting with Rocket Lake, Intel did not unveil the exact availability date on these processors. However, thanks to HKEPC, we have information that Rocket Lake is landing in our hands on March 15th. With 500 series chipsets already launched, consumers are now waiting for the processors to arrive as well, so they can pair their new PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs with the latest processor generation.
When it comes to the next generation Alder Lake-S design, Intel is reported to use its enhanced 10 nm SuperFin process for the manufacturing of these processors. This would mean that the node is more efficient than the regular 10 nm SuperFin present on Tiger Lake processors, and some improvements like better frequencies are expected. Alder Lake is expected to make use of big.LITTLE core configuration, with small cores being Gracemont designs, and the big cores being Golden Cove designs. The magic of Golden Cove is expected to result in 20% IPC improvement over Willow Cove, which exists today in Tiger Lake designs. Paired with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 technology, Alder Lake is looking like a compelling upgrade that is arriving in December of this year. Pictured below is the LGA1700 engineering sample of Alder Lake-S processor.
Sources:
HKEPC, via VideoCardz
When it comes to the next generation Alder Lake-S design, Intel is reported to use its enhanced 10 nm SuperFin process for the manufacturing of these processors. This would mean that the node is more efficient than the regular 10 nm SuperFin present on Tiger Lake processors, and some improvements like better frequencies are expected. Alder Lake is expected to make use of big.LITTLE core configuration, with small cores being Gracemont designs, and the big cores being Golden Cove designs. The magic of Golden Cove is expected to result in 20% IPC improvement over Willow Cove, which exists today in Tiger Lake designs. Paired with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 technology, Alder Lake is looking like a compelling upgrade that is arriving in December of this year. Pictured below is the LGA1700 engineering sample of Alder Lake-S processor.
82 Comments on Intel Rocket Lake-S Lands on March 15th, Alder Lake-S Uses Enhanced 10 nm SuperFin Process
Second; Intel has to. More and more enterprise, supercomputers and all that are being build on Epyc platforms due to the amount of cores, PCI-E 4.0 advantage and what not.
Personally I wouldn't buy AMD at this price, nor recommend it, but then I'm not everyone (else) out there who's going DIY.
I on the other hand have 2700x and x470 board which supports 5800X no problem. Why would I want to buy 10700K because it runs 10 deg lower than 5800x? That's my situation
If you are building a new PC and you can get it cheaper and you are satisfied with the performance go for the 10700K. Just don't buy it because it runs cooler than other CPU from the competition.
At least value makes sense here, because the argument " 10700K runs 10deg C lower than 5800X does" is downright the most stupidest argument I've ever heard.
www.globaldata.pt/processador-intel-core-i7-10700kf-8-core-38ghz-51ghz-16mb-skt1200-bx8070110700kf?utm_source=kuantokusta&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=catalogo
www.pccomponentes.pt/intel-core-i7-10700f-29ghz?utm_source=kuantokusta
(Right now Intel is the best buy for gaming though)
$180 is significant. Lets see what we can do with that.
Samsung 970 Evo m.2 1TB = $139 @ Newegg
WD Blue 2TB M.2 = $183 @ Newegg
Asus RT-AX3000 Wifi 6 Router is $179 @ Newegg
My guess is that any of the above would give the vast majority of users a more significant bump in actual performance than the CPU will. I think if people ran something like PerfMon for a few days (I have done this), if they have a modern midrange or higher CPU released in the last couple of years, they'd find that they barely make use of their current CPU.
Intel 10700k = $439
Intel 10850k = $539
Intel 10900k = $599
Ryzen 5800X = $639
And even if Alder Lake do ship this year, do you honestly think there will be great availability? Node names are not branding, they are specifying distinct node iterations. Node names are switched whenever they do significant improvements to the node, not when they make a new CPU on it.
There are two generations of 10nm so far;
1st gen "10nm" - Used for Cannon Lake and Ice Lake-U/-Y
2nd gen "10nm SuperFin" (previosuly known as "10nm+") - Tiger Lake and upcoming CPUs. This depends totally on the intention of the buyer. Those wanting value will appreciate having Rocket Lake in the market. Even today, Comet Lake offers tremendous value, is stable and is widely available. It will be far into 2022 before you'll see Alder Lake on the cheap.
As for those wanting to upgrade when it's worth it, Alder Lake is likely to be a good generational uplift, but I would like to point out a couple of considerations;
- The launch window is not confirmed, and wide availability is not guaranteed this year.
- Secondly, Alder Lake's big and little cores will require some OS changes (and probably tweaks to a few applications too) for optimal performance, so don't expect a cakewalk from day one. (Or perhaps you enjoy being a beta tester?)
Meanwhile the 10850K is $409 and and the 10900F (5.2Ghz single core) is $387.
For 8 core Intel, 10700K is $345 (amazon). At Newegg, the 10700KF is $328.
Now you are talking about a $206 to $241 USD price difference.
The 5600X is going for around $394-$420. Given that the 5600X has no iGPU, the correct comparison part is the $328 10700KF. The 5600X does not come out quite so well in such a performance comparison, and even at that the 10700KF is $70USD cheaper.
So Intel is basically slaughtering AMD in price / performance. You can actually get a 10850K for about the same cost as a 5600X, and the performance comparison of a 5600X vs 10850K is not favorable to AMD. So you basically wind up paying more, for less.
It's still just at the 5900X and higher level where Intel doesn't yet have a counter to AMD in desktop. However those chips (5900X/5950X) are still in the realm of unobtainium.
I don't think we'll have to wait an unreasonable amount of time for AL, either. Assuming it launches in September, then by the following January or February, maybe? As you say, the launch isn't cast in stone, but I still think it's worth waiting if one can. That's why I gave the example of even my ancient CPU still being good enough to tide one over. The only reason to upgrade it really is to achieve cutting edge performance again, otherwise it's good enough.
Also you do realise Amazon ships for free to other countries, right?
400€ for a 10850K
www.amazon.nl/dp/B08CGT7T32/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
The 10700F is 259€ on there.
Amazon is also cheaper in France (but still not as cheap as portugal and netherland)...but just a few weeks ago, amazon wasn't THAT cheaper, you usually get price 10-20€ below the LDLC group.
I used the LDLC group as a reference point since it's the biggest and more popular computer retailer in France. Out of the 4 shop with a good a reputation, 3 are owned by them (don't ask me why the french gov allowed them to buy nearly all their competitors) Some of the cheaper store have a terrible customer service... their store are also telling you if there's a know compatility issue between parts, and they can even offer to make a bios uppgrade for you. They are usually slightly pricier, but got a top notch service.
But I guess that they didn't get the memo about the price drop :wtf:
What that linked temp from TPU tells you is what the CPUs will run at on full continous loads. Let's not speak of the resulting performance ;)
While I agree with the premise that Intel's 14nm is just a very strong node that manages to last, its also way beyond any semblance of normality in terms of behaviour. What you're getting now is a peak burst followed by a drop to abysmal clocks, IF you like to do full continuous loads. Therefore it loses everything against a slightly warmer productivity scenario on Ryzen. At the same time, Ryzen seems to have found a sweet spot between temps/load and clock behaviour where it doesn't go into extremes but still performs admirably under all circumstances.
You, yourself said these variables are all linked and bring great arguments for it, but they certainly don't apply to Intel's current offering. Intel's spec is about playing benchmarks, not real scenarios, for their performance parts, and the customer suffers by getting something that always performs way below expectations unless you slap a massive heatsink on it and take off all safety measures (long term power limit and max current draw etc.).
The fact that Intel is even today marketing K-CPUs with massively extended TDP budgets (on the spec list, nvm they're a straight up lie, but ok) against almost similarly clocked non-K versions is the writing on the wall. They still sell the 'OC' moniker for things that simply won't OC because they're already pushed over the edge.
Pushed past the efficiency sweet spot, sure. But definitely not past the limit.