Alder Lake-S smiles for the camera.
Intel Alder Lake-S CPU photo leaks
Intel’s first desktop processors based on 10nm SuperFin architecture will officially launch in the second half of 2021. Our sources believe that the launch of Alder Lake will be closer to the fourth quarter, rather than the third. Intel already confirmed that its Rocket Lake series (a predecessor to Alder Lake) launches in the first quarter of 2021, possibly March, meaning Intel is in no rush to launch another series just a few months apart.
Intel Alder Lake will feature a hybrid technology with high-performance (big) and high-efficiency (small) cores. This is a completely new approach to desktop x86 computing, and we only got a glimpse of how it may work with Lakefield processors (one big and four small cores).
Back in August Intel confirmed Alder Lake will feature Golden Cove and Gracemont core architectures. Unlike Lakefield, which was focusing on battery life, Alder Lake will focus on performance. The hybrid design will involve a next-generation hardware scheduler, providing seamless operation to applications.
Another set of features coming to Alder Lake is DDR5 support and possibly even PCI Express 5.0 (this has not yet been confirmed). The transition to DDR5, PCIe 5.0 and 10nm SuperFin architecture will require a new socket – LGA1700.
According to recent rumors, Intel intends to keep the LGA1700 socket for at least three generations. The socket itself has already been a topic of rumors before and it was revealed that the package dimensions for the mainstream desktop series will change to 37.5×45 mm (7.5mm taller than LGA1200). The photo of the CPU that we have appears to confirm those dimensions.
The CPU pictured below features exactly 1700 contact pads (we counted). This is actually the first LGA1700 processor codenamed Alder Lake to be photographed. Our source has not yet confirmed the specifications, so might provide an update later. Please note, that is an engineering sample that might look different than retail product.
| INTEL Mainstream CPU Series Specs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz.com | Coffee Lake-S | Comet Lake-S | Rocket Lake-S | Alder Lake-S | Meteor Lake-S |
| Launch Year | 2018 | 2020 | 2021 | 2H 2021 | 2022-2023 |
| Fabrication Node | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 10nm SuperFin | 7nm SuperFin? |
| Core µArch | Skylake | Skylake | TBC | Golden Cove + Gracemont | Ocean Cove + Gracemont |
| Graphics µArch | Gen9 | Gen9.5 | Gen12 | Gen12 TBC | Gen 13 TBC |
| Max Core Count | up to 8 cores | up to 10 cores | up to 8 cores | up to 16 (8+8) | TBC |
| Socket | LGA1151 | LGA1200 | LGA1200 | LGA1700 | LGA1700 |
| Memory Support | DDR4 | DDR4 | DDR4 | DDR5 | DDR5 |
| PCIe Gen | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 4.0 | PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 5.0 |
| Intel Core Series | 8th/9th Gen Core-S | 10th Gen Core-S | 11th Gen Core-S | 12th Gen Core-S (?) | 13th Gen Core-S (?) |
| Motherboard Chipsets | Intel 300 (eg. Z390) | Intel 400 (eg. Z490) | Intel 500 (Z590) | Intel 600 (eg. Z690) (?) | Intel 700 (eg. Z790) (?) |
