A photo of an alleged Rocket Lake-S CPU has emerged.
Intel Core i9-11900K?
An alleged photo of Intel’s upcoming mainstream desktop processor codenamed Rocket Lake has been posted on Wing Tseung on Facebook. The CPU will feature the same socket as the current Comet Lake-S series (LGA1200). The 11th Gen Core processors, which Intel officially confirmed last week will launch next year, most likely in the first quarter.
Intel Rocket Lake-S features Cypress Cove core architecture and next-generation Xe-LP graphics. The CPU will have more than 20 CPU PCIe lanes that will now support the 4.0 standard, a major upgrade from the 10th Gen core series.
The CPUs will work on existing 400-series motherboards, but motherboard makers are already working on newer 500 series motherboards with full compatibility for Rocket Lake-S CPUs.
Intel 11th Gen Core (Rocket Lake-S CPU), Source: Wing Tseungs
Intel Core i9-12900K?
A bit further in line is the 12th Gen Core series codenamed Alder Lake. Intel also confirmed that the series will launch in 2021, but one would guess they are not expected sooner than the fourth quarter.
With no official commitment to launch 600-series motherboards yet, it is quite clear that the CPU will require new motherboards, as it features a new socket type called LGA1700. The package is slightly bigger at 45.0 x 37.5 mm, compared to LGA1200 CPUs (37.5×37.5 mm).
Intel Alder Lake CPU design relies on hybrid technology featuring a mix of Gracemont (small) and Golden Cove (big) cores in the package. The top tier CPU will feature 8 big cores and 8 small cores, giving a maximum of 16 cores. However, only the big cores will support hyperthreading, hence the CPUs will be up to 16 cores and 24 threads.
Intel 12th Gen Core (Alder Lake-S CPU), Source: VideoCardz.com
| INTEL Mainstream CPU Series Specs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz.com | Coffee Lake-S | Comet Lake-S | Rocket Lake-S | Alder Lake-S | Meteor Lake-S | Lunar Lake-S |
| Launch Year | 2018 | 2020 | Q1 2021 | 2H 2021 | 2022-2023 | TBC |
| Fabrication Node | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 10nm SuperFin | 7nm SuperFin? | TBC |
| Core µArch | Skylake | Skylake | Cypress Cove | Golden Cove + Gracemont | Ocean Cove + Gracemont | TBC |
| Graphics µArch | Gen9.5 | Gen9.5 | Gen12.1 | Gen12.2 | Gen 12.7 | Gen 13 |
| Max Core Count | up to 8 cores | up to 10 cores | up to 8 cores | up to 16 (8+8) | TBC | TBC |
| Socket | LGA1151 | LGA1200 | LGA1200 | LGA1700 | LGA1700 | LGA1700 (?) |
| Memory Support | DDR4 | DDR4 | DDR4 | DDR5 | DDR5 | DDR5 (?) |
| PCIe Gen | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 4.0 | PCIe 5.0 | 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 (?) | 14th Gen Core-S (?) |
| Motherboard Chipsets | Intel 300 (eg. Z390) | Intel 400 (eg. Z490) | Intel 500 (Z590) | Intel 600 (eg. Z690) (?) | Intel 700 (eg. Z790) (?) | Intel 800 (eg. Z890) (?) |
