Intel Coffee Lake Six-core Processor Rears its Head on SiSoftware Sandra

[Raevenlord]

After the absence of some further details on Intel's upcoming Coffee Lake mainstream CPU architecture (which is understandable, really, considering how the X299 platform and accompanying processors are all the rage these days), some new details have emerged. Intel's Coffee Lake architecture will still be manufactured on the company's 14 nm process, but is supposedly the last redoubt of the process, with Intel advancing to a 10 nm design with subsequent Cannon Lake.

The part in question is a six-core processor, which appears identified as a Genuine Intel CPU 0000 (so, an engineering sample.) SiSoft Sandra identifies the processor as a Kaby Lake-S part, which is probably because Coffee Lake processors aren't yet supported. The details show us a 3.1 GHz base, and a 4.2 GHz boost clock, with a 256 Kb L2 cache per core and a total of 12 MB L3 (so, 2 MB per core, which is in-line with current Kaby Lake offerings.) The 6-core "Coffee Lake" silicon will be built on a highly-refined 14 nm node by Intel, with a die-size of 149 mm². Quad-core parts won't be carved out of this silicon by disabling two cores, but rather be built on a smaller 126 mm² die.



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[ShurikN]

considering how the X299 platform and accompanying processors are all the rage these days

If you meant people raging about how shit it is, then yes, rage is the correct way of describing it.

 

[THU31]

Looking forward to this. For now, Intel CPUs are still much better for gaming at 60+ FPS. I am looking to upgrade my Haswell Xeon, but I will decide what to get when Coffee Lake actually comes out.

 

[Toothless]

Looking forward to this. For now, Intel CPUs are still much better for gaming at 60+ FPS. I am looking to upgrade my Haswell Xeon, but I will decide what to get when Coffee Lake actually comes out.

Probably not worth it.

 

[Hood]

If you meant people raging about how shit it is, then yes, rage is the correct way of describing it.

Your comment made me wonder, what aspect of X299 has upset you the most, the fact that the CPUs are cheaper than the previous generation, or that they're the fastest consumer CPUs available, or maybe you're mad about how it closes the traditional gap between mainstream and HEDT, giving you the best of both worlds, a high core count and great single core/gaming performance. Please explain what you wanted to be different about the platform. I'm not really seeing a problem with any of it, except that I can't afford it at the moment.

 

[Manu_PT]

Your comment made me wonder, what aspect of X299 has upset you the most, the fact that the CPUs are cheaper than the previous generation, or that they're the fastest consumer CPUs available, or maybe you're mad about how it closes the traditional gap between mainstream and HEDT, giving you the best of both worlds, a high core count and great single core/gaming performance. Please explain what you wanted to be different about the platform. I'm not really seeing a problem with any of it, except that I can't afford it at the moment.

Most of the guys raging is because they can´t afford the platform. They wanted x299 mobos for 100 bucks and 8 core cpu + quad channel 4000mhz DDR4 for 400 max.

The platform/release is good, expensive tho, but I don´t rage about expensive products if they are good and reliable. That´s my fault for not being able to spend that money. GTX 1080ti price is outrageous to me, but the gpu is awesome. Perspectives. And bandwagons aswell.

 

[JATownes]

Most of the guys raging is because they can´t afford the platform. They wanted x299 mobos for 100 bucks and 8 core cpu + quad channel 4000mhz DDR4 for 400 max.

The platform/release is good, expensive tho, but I don´t rage about expensive products if they are good and reliable. That´s my fault for not being able to spend that money. GTX 1080ti price is outrageous to me, but the gpu is awesome. Perspectives. And bandwagons aswell.

The expense of the product has nothing to do with the overwhelmingly unanimous consensus that the X299 platform as a whole, is a fragmented disaster. HEDT without full PCIe lanes? Certain HEDT SKUs with dual channel memory? Oh, but all X299 boards require quad support... see the fragmentation yet?

Intel changed what they defined as HEDT (a segment they created) in a knee jerk to create a line to compete with TR.

JAT

 

[trparky]

The details show us a 3.1 GHz base, and a 4.2 GHz boost clock

Good God, that right there shows just how badly Intel needs to start using a smaller 10nm process. That's a pretty pathetic base clock, I was expecting far higher base clocks with these processors considering that Intel silicon is known for being far superior to the rest of the industry.

 

[Hood]

see the fragmentation yet?

What you call fragmentation, I call an abundance of options at all price and performance levels. No one is forcing you to buy any of these options - if you are confused, just buy Ryzen and join the ranks of those who buy inferior products to somehow "strike a blow against the evil giant Intel". As for "overwhelmingly unanimous consensus that the X299 platform as a whole, is a fragmented disaster" - I disagree, I think the X299 platform is a resounding success and a bold move by a traditionally conservative company. The competition we all said we wanted is finally here, and you take that as an opportunity to climb on your soapbox, as did many others (your so-called overwhelmingly unanimous consensus). Looking forward to a TPU poll to see how unanimous your opinion is...

 

[JATownes]

This has been covered at length. Jayz, Linus, Anandtech, etc. have all reiterated their stance that the fragmentation is ridiculous. I am by no means saying the tech is bad, I'm saying it is heavily fragmented. The market has reflected this as well, as even MB manufacturers have been thrown by the weird platform configuration. I value the competition and have no problem. I think the platform is a knee jerk reaction.

The "resounding success" you speak of seems to be a very minority opinion by the tech media. Between paying for RAID key usage to the SKU craziness. Wasn't trying to be offensive, but if you wouldn't mind, what do you see as the great advantage over X99 or X399? I have a hard time finding one.

JAT

 

[ShurikN]

This has been covered at length. Jayz, Linus, Anandtech, etc. have all reiterated their stance that the fragmentation is ridiculous. I am by no means saying the tech is bad, I'm saying it is heavily fragmented. The market has reflected this as well, as even MB manufacturers have been thrown by the weird platform configuration. I value the competition and have no problem. I think the platform is a knee jerk reaction.

The "resounding success" you speak of seems to be a very minority opinion by the tech media. Between paying for RAID key usage to the SKU craziness. Wasn't trying to be offensive, but if you wouldn't mind, what do you see as the great advantage over X99 or X399? I have a hard time finding one.

JAT

You forgot the power and temp disaster that the 10core part possesses.

 

[ERazer]

Most of the guys raging is because they can´t afford the platform. They wanted x299 mobos for 100 bucks and 8 core cpu + quad channel 4000mhz DDR4 for 400 max.

The platform/release is good, expensive tho, but I don´t rage about expensive products if they are good and reliable. That´s my fault for not being able to spend that money. GTX 1080ti price is outrageous to me, but the gpu is awesome. Perspectives. And bandwagons aswell.

tell me which one would you buy HEDT with 4c/8t or mainstream with 6c/12t?

 

[Hood]

tell me which one would you buy HEDT with 4c/8t or mainstream with 6c/12t?

Depends on how good Coffee Lake is, the KBLX i7 looks like will run at 5.2@1.25vcore (about half of them, as always depending on chip lottery), the only known leak on Coffee Lake clocks is showing only 4.2 turbo boost.

 

[Nihilus]

CFL quad core should be able to run faster than the CFL hexa core but just a guess.

As for x299- what a disaster! KBL-x would be attractive to many if it kept ay least 28 pcue lanes. What is the point of quad and dual channel memory configs? These 'options' do not help anyone at all.
No water cooler can transfer the heat fast enough. Using TIM set this up.
Also, I don't feel intel deserves praise for cutting the price down - TR deserves that praise

 

[Nihilus]

CFL quad core should be able to run faster than the CFL hexa core but just a guess.

As for x299- what a disaster! KBL-x would be attractive to many if it kept ay least 28 pcue lanes. What is the point of quad and dual channel memory configs? These 'options' do not help anyone at all.
No water cooler can transfer the heat fast enough. Using TIM set this up.
Also, I don't feel intel deserves praise for cutting the price down - TR deserves that praise

 

[Manu_PT]

tell me which one would you buy HEDT with 4c/8t or mainstream with 6c/12t?

I would buy Ryzen R5 1600 because I worry about how I spend my money. But If I didn´t have to worry I would get Intel x299 in a blink of an eye, overclock the heck of it and call it a day. I´m a 240hz gamer so every fps is welcome, but I would only spend 200 bucks on a 6 core AMD cpu because the price difference is too much. That´s not me saying Intel is bad... they are powerful and the best thing money can buy. Just wish other guys had the same mindset. I don´t bash any company or product because I can´t afford it. Intel chips and platform is way better than AMD, so it costs more money. That´s fair. Wether you or me can buy it, is a different story. People rage always because of the prices and the money they (don´t) have. Same thing happened with Titan X and 1080ti. After some weeks the rage is over, dont worry.

 

[iLLz]

All I'm seeing here is people going on about Intel this and AMD that, and yet noone is talking about the performance here.

So my question is how do these numbers stack up to what's out there already? Say compared to a 6 core 12 thread Ryzen or previous Intel chip?

I don't have either so can anyone here enlighten me on how this stacks up and maybe we could try to discern performance metrics and if there is any IPC increase.

 

[Hood]

All I'm seeing here is people going on about Intel this and AMD that, and yet noone is talking about the performance here.

So my question is how do these numbers stack up to what's out there already? Say compared to a 6 core 12 thread Ryzen or previous Intel chip?

I don't have either so can anyone here enlighten me on how this stacks up and maybe we could try to discern performance metrics and if there is any IPC increase.

Hardware.info has a good first review showing how the new Intel CPUs run compared to Ryzen and previous Intel chips. https://us.hardware.info/reviews/74...y-lake-x-review-rushed-release-raises-the-bar

 

[cadaveca]

This has been covered at length. Jayz, Linus, Anandtech, etc. have all reiterated their stance that the fragmentation is ridiculous. I am by no means saying the tech is bad, I'm saying it is heavily fragmented. The market has reflected this as well, as even MB manufacturers have been thrown by the weird platform configuration. I value the competition and have no problem. I think the platform is a knee jerk reaction.

The "resounding success" you speak of seems to be a very minority opinion by the tech media. Between paying for RAID key usage to the SKU craziness. Wasn't trying to be offensive, but if you wouldn't mind, what do you see as the great advantage over X99 or X399? I have a hard time finding one.

JAT

It's hard for people to understand how a platform works and what was the goals for said platform, and whether they have been reached properly, with only a couple of days playing with the hardware before publishing. These writers for these sites may seem to see X299 as fragmented, but I see it as unified, and in what could be an exciting way. Any negative points that I see raised about X299 seem to revolve around things that don't matter, or they are over-exaggerated.

Of course, I have had time playing with X299, rather than reading what other people think after they have played with it, and as is usual, as it was with AMD's Ryzen launch, my opinion tends to differ. Not shocking at all. I don't have to keep opposing companies happy; I'll get my hardware from other places easily enough.


I also wouldn't call hardware makers "thrown", I've got some very good boards here that meet the needs of all the different CPUs for the X299 platform in really good ways;, but I'm not sure I want to bother trying to wage battle against popular opinion, no matter how misguided that opinion may be.

I've even already got a review done and waiting publishing, because it was simply that easy to work with this platform, contrary to what other sites may seem to infer. X299 has been one of the most mature platforms I've had the pleasure of working with prior to retail release. Maybe that's because I got a board from an OEM who knows what they are doing... and these other sites did not? That's the only explanation I have that makes sense. For Ryzen, my opinion was quite different, and I had a board no one else did, and I choose my memory rather than using kits given to me by idiots. I see much of the same happening this time around too.

 

[JATownes]

Always value your opinion and can't wait for the review.

All the info I've got is 2nd hand sourced, as I have not had access to X299. This really makes me wonder about the difference in "popular opinion".

Your assessment of Ryzen was spot on in my opinion, so you've given me serious pause in my thoughts on this platform.

May I ask the model board you're using? Or the manufacturer?

 

[cadaveca]

May I ask the model board you're using? Or the manufacturer?

ASRock Taichi is the first done again. It isn't a 10/10 this time around, but it is close.

I have purposely delayed AM4 reviews because of the BIOS teething issues that were present on launch on some boards, but I do have another coming up real soon as well., now that the new AGESA is out and on most boards. I personally feel anyone reviewing AM4 boards since launch hasn't been doing AMD any favors.

With X299, this is the first platform to be offered with two completely different CPUs fitting into the same socket. This means the PCIe root complex in these boards is complicated; 16-, 28- and 44-lane CPUs all connect to the same interface. Ram is also interesting when paired with the different CPUs. Intel could drop the mainstream platform now, with how it all works.


But, you know, people have been happy with 2600K -7700K, the mainstream platform, a MOBILE-focused platform, for quite some time. Mainstream is all about power efficiency and meeting the needs of the masses, where HEDT is for power users and those that aren't so concerned with a couple pennies of power use. X299 is a resurrection of a true HEDT platform, with a multitude of CPU and connectivity options for any power user, unified into a single socket. The majority of people that seem to have negative feelings about this platform aren't true HEDT users anyway, but that mind share they have created that is so critical of all products launched these days actually hints at a deeper problem within our community.


We'll see the exact same sort of complaints when coffee lake actually rears it's head, but that's still some time off yet.

 

[Vlada011]

People who don't want X299 should wait this platform instead Z270.
I feel this will be very good CPU.
Anyway my favorites are still i7-7820X and Rampy VI.

 

[Hood]

Best platform in years - HEDT users no longer have to put up with low clock speeds, slow DMI2 bus, fewer and slower chipset PCIe lanes, and slower memory. Intel has unified HEDT and mainstream, actually reducing the fragmentation of their entire Desktop CPU line, if you look at it properly. One socket to rule them all...good move for the "evil giant". Now we need to see some of those cheaper "cut down" X299 boards for KBLX, so more of us poor folks can afford the platform, sort of like what Ryzen did for the masses, but (hopefully) without the teething pains.