We've seen Intel release Ice Lake and Comet Lake processors recently, but next year we're set to get Comet Lake-S chips as a replacement for Coffee Lake on the desktop. However, upgrading to Comet Lake-S looks likely to also require a new motherboard.

As Tom's Hardware reports, a couple of Intel slides leaked last month via XFastest that reveal how Comet Lake-S differs from what has come before and why the current LGA 1151 socket won't be suitable. If the slides are to be believed, Comet Lake-S will increase the core count of these desktop processors to 10 (20 threads) while at the same time pushing the TDP (Thermal Design Power) up to 125W.

In order to support the increased power draw a new motherboard socket is required with nine more pins. It's expected to be called LGA 1200 and Intel is thought to be introducing new chipset silicon to go along with it. As we're currently using the Z390 chipset for Coffee Lake processors, it seems likely Intel will call the new chipset the 400-series.

The 14nm Comet Lake-S chips won't arrive until early 2020, but when they do we should expect enthusiast (125W), mainstream (95W), and low power (35W) chip models, all of which will likely require the new LGA 1200 socket. The leaked slides also promise enhanced core and memory overclocking, integrated USB 3.1 Gen 2, 802.11ax wireless, Bluetooth 5, and Thunderbolt 3 support. As for memory, continued support for DDR4-2666 is expected, as is PCIe 3.0.

As is always the case when selecting what components to buy for a new PC, you can always look to the future, but eventually you just have to pick the best components for your budget at the time. If you planned on upgrading your motherboard anyway, then it might be worth waiting for Comet Lake-S to arrive next year.

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