10th Gen Intel Core i3 on par with 7th Gen Core i7 with 8 Threads, Core i5 to Get 12 Threads with Hyper-threading

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    Intel is expected to counter AMD’s Ryzen 3000 CPUs with the 10th Gen Comet Lake-S parts, slated to launch in the first half of 2020. These processors will be based on the same Skylake core, featuring the same 14nm node for a fifth consecutive generation. We expect Intel to offer these parts at relatively lower prices with high clock rates and hyper-threading enabled across the board.

    The first leaks pertaining to Intel’s 10th Gen desktop lineup are here, giving us an idea of how team blue is planning to tackle the Ryzen threat. To be rather blunt, it’s more of the same old strategy: Take the Skylake core, boost the TDP, see how high can it be clocked and then stuff as many cores as the 14nm node allows. Today’s leak confirms that the mainstream Comet Lake-S parts will be more or less similar to the 9th Gen lineup, albeit with hyper-threading and higher clocks.

    The only CPU to feature a higher core count is the next i9 which will pack 10 cores and 20 threads. Although that’s lower than the Ryzen 9 3900X, the higher core clocks and meaty IPC should still keep it in the race. Looking at how the Cascade Lake-X got price cuts, we expect the Comet Lake-X lineup to get the same treatment.

    As per these leaks, the 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10100 will be a quad-core part with hyper-threading. The clocks will likely be higher than the i3-9100 at around 4.3 to 4.4GHz, boosting the gaming performance. The Core i5-10600K will also get hyper-threading and a frequency uplift. It also seems to have gotten an increased L3 cache size of 12MB. As seen with the Ryzen 3000 parts, this improves the latency of certain instructions, thereby increasing gaming performance.

    Although many consider Intel’s CPUs to be a lost cause, I wouldn’t write them off just yet. The newer 10nm Sunny Cove cores are quite formidable and if the company plays its cards right, it can still maintain a decent presence in the DIY market. By that, I basically mean that the 10th Gen Comet Lake-S CPUs need to be priced competitively. Intel already has a lead in gaming and the 14nm node is quite mature allowing for high boost clocks without much of an increase in the TDP. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more about Intel’s upcoming parts.

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