The mid range of Intel's 14th Gen Core desktop processor series finally sees some excitement. Announced on January 8, from the pile of 65 W 14th Gen Core processor models, the one chip that caught our eye was the Core i5-14600 (non-K). This isn't just a speed bump over the previous generation Core i5-13600, but comes with a cache upgrade. The i5-14600 6P+8E processor is based on the largest "Raptor Lake Refresh" die, just like the i5-14600K/KF.

What this means, is that each of its six P-cores now has 2 MB of L2 cache, compared to 1.25 MB of it on the i5-13600. What's more, each of its two E-core clusters that house its eight E-cores, gets a 4 MB L2 cache, compared to the 2 MB per cluster on the i5-13600. The six P-cores and two E-core clusters share a 24 MB L3 cache—no changes here, but there are clock speed uplifts. The P-cores boost up to 5.20 GHz, while the E-cores go up to 3.90 GHz. In comparison, the i5-13600 with a 5.00 GHz maximum P-core boost, and 3.70 GHz maximum E-core boost. Interestingly, the maximum turbo power value is unchanged between the i5-14600 and i5-13600, at 154 W. Intel is pricing the Core i5-14600 at $255. There is no Core i5-14600F SKU, which lacks integrated graphics, letting you save a further $20. The other 14th Gen Core i5 processors, namely the i5-14500, i5-14400, and i5-14400F, continue to be based on the older C0 silicon, with 1.25 MB L2 cache per P-core, and 2 MB of L2 cache per E-core cluster.