At CES 2021, Intel followed up its 9th-generation Comet Lake-S processors with new Rocket Lake-S processors, led by the Intel Core i11900-9K, just under a year later. This marks a remarkably short generation of processors for 10900th-gen Comet Lake processors like the Core i400-4.0K, but Intel has thrown in some new features and compatibility that soften the blow a bit. That is, the new XNUMXth generation processors will be compatible with existing XNUMX-series motherboards after a BIOS update, and this new generation brings PCIe XNUMX support to Intel desktop platforms for the first time. .
Come to the point
- What is it: The Intel 11th Gen Desktop Platform
- When was it released: During the first quarter of 2021
- How much will it cost? Probably from € 122 (€ 89, AU € 160)
Intel Rocket Lake release date
Intel Rocket Lake processors were announced at CES 2021, but are not yet available. We don't have a solid release date yet. However, with all the rumors pointing to a March release date even before CES, and with Intel claiming they'll arrive "later in QXNUMX," we're pretty sure they'll be out in the next few months.
![Intel Core i9-10900K]()
(Image credit: future)
Intel Rocket Lake Specifications
Led by the Intel Core i9-11900K, these processors will top out at 8 cores and 16 threads, which may seem a bit behind the Core i10-20K's 9 cores and 10900 threads. Intel claims that by backing the design from the 10nm Cypress Cove core to the 14nm manufacturing node, there are simply too many transistors to accommodate more than 8 cores on the processor chip. However, with this loss of two cores on the flagship, the instruction performance per clock (IPC) is supposed to increase by 19%. Thanks to this, Intel claims to be able to beat the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X by up to 7% in games, though with the number of cores the Team Red processor offers, it's likely to continue to push ahead in games. creative workloads. All of these performance claims will need to be tested in-house, and you can bet we'll be there as soon as we get a chance to fully review these processors. At the moment we only have information on one Intel Rocket Lake processor, the Core i9-11900K, but we'll update this page as we learn more about the rest of the line, possibly. starting next month. Here are all the processors and specs for the 11th Gen Rocket Lake-S lineup:
- Intel Core i9-11900K: 8 cores, 16 threads | 5.3 GHz boost
![Intel Core i5]()
(Image credit: future)
All we need to point out about the performance of these new Intel processors are Intel's claims. Until we get them internally for a full review, we can't say definitively what they can do one way or another, but that doesn't mean we can't make it clear. talk. With these Rocket Lake-S processors, Intel once again emphasizes the importance of IPC frequency and performance. And we can't even necessarily blame Intel for it. Traditionally, when it comes to PC gaming, single-threaded performance has always been king, and it still is when it comes to games that push the limits of what the hardware can do. You don't exactly hear about League of Legends pushing Ryzen's 12 cores to the limit. However, as always, this raises the question of what this performance will look like in the future. And really, right now it's a mess. According to the December 2020 Steam Hardware Survey, which is one of the best ways to analyze hardware adoption, most people are still using 4 or 6 core processors. 8-core processors like the Core i9-11900K still account for only 11,51% of the market and 12-core processors only 0,67%. However, at the same time, the PS5 and Xbox Series X feature 2-core Zen 8 processors from AMD. It could help influence how developers optimize games for multicore processors. Really, we won't know if multi-threaded performance will replace single-core performance as the most important thing for PC gaming. But right now, just looking at the PC space, single-core performance is still hugely important. Intel has deigned to include PCIe 4.0 support this time around, and honestly, it was about time. There are several 400-series motherboards that are already PCIe 4.0 ready, so if you have one and want a super-fast SSD, you can simply flash the BIOS and plug it in. 'One of those eleventh generation. processors when available. However, you will need to check with your motherboard manufacturer to make sure the card is compatible. As always, when choosing the right platform, whether it's Intel Core or AMD Ryzen, we urge you to really take a look at what you plan to do with the PC and the games you play, and see what the performance looks like. the workloads that you. Despite these Intel processors coming out and delivering on all the promises Intel is making here at CES 2021, there's no "best processor" for absolutely everyone.