Intel Coffee Lake i7 8700K Hexacore Lineup Detailed

Within the next month, Intel will launch their new Coffee Lake lineup. The new 8th generation Core processors will unleash the biggest shakeup the Intel mainstream lineup has seen yet. Current reports suggest a launch date next month in August at Gamescom. Due to the close timing until launch, many leaks have started to surface about the new processors. This latest leak details most if not all of the initial launch hexacore CPUs.

As a result of increased competition from AMD and market demand, Intel is releasing mainstream hexacores for the first time. This is the most noteworthy aspect of Coffee Lake. The rest of Coffee Lake is much more plain. The processors use the same tried and true 14nm process from Kaby Lake. Furthermore, the architecture is largely the same as the one found in Skylake. Therefore, Coffee Lake is an optimization to boost the core count just like Kaby Lake boosted clock speeds.

Both Core i7 and Core i5 Feature Hexacores

First up, we have the Core i7 8700K. The flagship hexacore chip features a base clock of 3.7 GHz with 4.3 GHz (6 core), 4.4 GHz (4 core), 4.6 GHz (2 core) and 4.7 GHz (1 core) boosts. Furthermore, the 95W package features GT2 graphics with 12MB of L3 cache and HyperThreading. Much as the 8700K, the 8700 has the same uncore portions. However, the 65W TDP limits clocks to a 3.2 GHz base and boost clocks of 4.3 GHz (6 core), 4.3 GHz (4 core), 4.5 GHz (2 core) and 4.6 GHz (1 core).

Rounding out the lineup, we have the hexacore i5 models which lack HyperThreading. The Core i5 8600K features 9MB of L3 cache and a 95W TDP. Clock speeds are 3.6 GHz base, 4.1 GHz (6 core), 4.2 GHz (4 core), 4.2 GHz (2 core) and 4.3 GHz (1 core) boost. The 64W i5 8400 drops the clockspeeds to 2.8 GHz base and  3.8 GHz (6 core), 3.9 GHz (4 core), 3.9 GHz (2 core), 4.0 GHz (1 core) for boost. With 6 cores, HyperThreading will likely be unnecessary for most users, making the i5s the sweet spot.

With both i7s and i5s moving up to hexacores, its a great opportunity for Intel to revamp their lineup. Celerons, for instance, can now be the dual cores with HyperThreading, while Pentiums are quad cores. Core i3s will be quad cores with HyperTheading to round out the family. Perhaps then we may relegate simple dual cores to the dustbin at last. Even for plain old office work, dual cores are nearing the end of their lifespan.