Years after limiting the experience to quad-core chips, Intel has finally enhanced its desktop processor lineup by launching the eighth-generation Core series. The new family, codenamed "Coffee Lake", is targeted at gamers, content creators and overclockers who require more processing cores.
Intel claims that the new Core desktop processors deliver frame rate improvements of up to 25 percent compared with their seventh-generation predecessors and up to 65 percent faster video editing experience compared with a three-year-old machine. The new lineup has four-core Intel Core i3, six-core Intel Core i5 and six-core Intel Core i7 with 12 threads.
"Our eighth-generation Intel Core desktop processors deliver tremendous improvements across the board and -- for gamers, particular, offer an unbeatable experience," said AnandSrivatsa, general manager -- desktop platform group, Intel, in a press statement.
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The eighth-generation Core series has unlocked "K" processors that are aimed to deliver maximum flexibility at each brand level and up to 40 platform PCIe 3.0 lanes. The processors come with intrinsic support for Intel Z370 chipset-based motherboards. Intel reveals that more than 50 new motherboards and system designs will hit stores in the coming months to enable maximum performance through the new chips.
Alongside the advanced motherboard support, Intel has designed the new processors with compatibility for its Optane memory. The company touts that the proprietary technology will accelerate system responsiveness by up to 2.1 times the response time of an HDD-equipped five-year-old desktop.
Not a 10nm innovation
While Intel is marketing the new Core desktop processors as an advanced option, the company is still relying on the existing 14nm manufacturing process. The simple reason for the dated adoption is the market-wide delay of the 10nm process. However, the San Diego, Calif.-based company is persuading enthusiasts with an updated 14++ process. This makes the "Coffee Lake" range different from not only competing desktop processor developments by AMD but also from the company's own "Sky Lake" family that was launched in 2015.
That being said, the real-world performance of the new Intel Core processors will be noticed after their official availability starting October 5.
