Based on the recent Intel leaks, Chinese sources are further reporting through information acquired from motherboard makers in Taiwan that Intel's next generation, 9th generation flagship will pack more cores than the current fastest mainstream processor.

Intel's Core i7-9700K 9th Generation Flagship To Feature 8 Cores, 16 Threads - Core i5 and Core i3 Get Upgrades Too

There was no doubt that Intel's 9th generation mainstream processors weren't going to receive a core bump in the coming year. There were leaked slides already hinting that and next year means Intel will be getting enough time to tweak their process and architecture design to accommodate more cores.

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Straight from HKEPC, who were able to get information out of Taiwan motherboard makers, it has been rumored that the 9th generation flagship which will be known as the Intel Core i7-9700K, will pack 8 cores and 16 threads. There's no mention of what process technology the new processors will be utilizing but I believe it's an updated version of the current 14nm++ process. There's also a interesting rumor regarding the Core i5 and Core i3 series of processors too.

According to the same source, Intel's next generation Core i5 chips will be packing a 6 core and 12 thread design. Currently, all Intel Core i5 series chips come with 6 cores and 6 threads while the i7 lineup features 6 cores and 12 threads. The Core i3 series on the other hand will be getting multi-threading support too which means we are looking at 4 cores and 8 threads compared to 4 cores and 4 threads that are available on Coffee Lake Core i3 chips right now.

Intel's 9th Generation Unlocked SKUs Specs:

Processor Name Intel Core i5-8600K Intel Core i5-9600K Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-9700K Core Family Coffee Lake 8th Gen Coffee Lake Refresh 9th Gen? Coffee Lake 8th Gen Coffee Lake Refresh 9th Gen? Process 14nm++ TBA 14nm++ TBA Cores / Threads 6/6 6/12 6/12 8/16 Clock Speeds (Base) 3.6 GHz TBA 3.7 GHz TBA Clock Speeds (Boost) 4.3 GHz TBA 4.7 GHz TBA TDP 95W 92W 95W TBA L3 Cache 9 MB 12 MB 12 MB 16 MB Price $257 US TBA $359 US TBA Launch 2017 2018 2017 2018

Intel's 9th Generation Core Family Goes Against AMD's Ryzen 2 aka Pinnacle Ridge Processors

It's easy to tell that Coffee Lake was an immediate and rushed response to AMD's Ryzen, but with 9th generation, Intel will have a good amount of time to release a strong competitor. The AMD Pinnacle Ridge family is expected to debut next year and will be using tweaked Zen cores for improved performance leverage and greater efficiency. There's no mention of core bump at the moment but AMD might take that path since the core wars between Intel and AMD are on the rise in both mainstream and HEDT segments.













The Intel 9th generation family will be supported on the Z390 or 300-series platform while AMD is expected to launch a refresh line of motherboards but they will keep compatibility for the new CPU family on existing motherboards too.

Intel Desktop Platform Chipset Comparison

Chipset Name Coffee Lake S (KBL-R) PCH / Z370 Platform Coffee Lake S (CNL-H) PCH / 300 Series (Z390/H370, B360, Q370, H310) Comet Lake-S (CML-S) PCH / 400 Series (Z490) Process Node 22nm 14nm 14nm Processor 8C, 6C, 4C (6 Consumer SKUs at Launch)

Enhanced IA and Memory Overclocking

Gen 9 Intel Graphics GT2 (Up To 24 EUs)

Consumer Only 8C, 6C, 4C, 2C (Full corporate/consumer SKU stack at launch)

Enhanced IA and Memory Overclocking

Gen 9 Intel Graphics GT2 (Up To 24 EUs)

Corporate/vPro & Consumer 10C, 8C, 6C, 4C, 2C (Full corporate/consumer SKU stack at launch)

Enhanced IA and Memory Overclocking

Gen 9 Intel Graphics GT2 (Up To 24 EUs)

Corporate/vPro & Consumer Memory Up To DDR4-2666 (Native) Up To DDR4-2666 (Native) Up To DDR4-2933(Native) Media, Display & Audio DP 1.2 & HDMI 1.4

HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON)

HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12

Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP DP 1.2 & HDMI 1.4

HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON)

HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12

Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP

SoundWire Digital Audio Interface DP 1.2 & HDMI 1.4

HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON)

HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12

Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP

SoundWire Digital Audio Interface I/O & Connectivity Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)

Thunderbolt 3.0 (Alpine Ridge) Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)

Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi / BT CNVi)

Integrated SDXC 3.0 Controller

Thunderbolt 3.0 (Titan Ridge) w/ DP 1.4 Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2

Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi / BT CNVi)

Integrated SDXC 3.0 Controller

Thunderbolt 3.0 (Titan Ridge) w/ DP 1.4 Storage Next Gen Intel Optane memory

PCIe 3.0, SATA 3.0 Next Gen Intel Optane memory

PCIe 3.0, SATA 3.0 Next-Gen Intel Optane memory

PCIe 3.0, SATA 3.0 Security Intel SGX 1.0 Intel SGX 1.0 Intel SGX 1.0 Power Management C8 Support C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby Launch 2017 2018 2019

The Ryzen 7 lineup will be pitted against the Core i7, Ryzen 5 will go against the Core i5 in the more budget segment where the real battle will take place. The entry level and value segment will be consumed by Core i3 and Ryzen 3 chips which will be aiming the sub-$200 US market. It will be an interesting competition next year in the desktop and laptop segment where AMD is making a huge resurgence after years of silence.