Intel’s 9th Generation Core Lineup Brings 8-Core CPU to the Mainstream

This week saw Intel unveil the next-generation of desktop CPUs under the 9^th generation banner. As several reports had already pinned the news, the latest lineup brings 8 cores to mainstream lineup, no doubt in response to the growing threat from AMD’s Ryzen.

Intel announced three products at its event: Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K, and Core i5-9600K. There will undoutedbly be more SKUs in the lineup, but for now these three represent Intel’s newest processor family. Starting with the highlight of the product showcase Core i9-9900K, it features 8 cores in total with Hyperthreading. The processor is clocked at 3.6GHz with a Turbo clockspeed of 5.0GHz. Intel’s touting this as the first consumer CPU to reach 5GHz out-of-the-box.

The second in the product stack is Core i7-9700K and where things take a drastic departure from previous generations. Clocked at 3.6GHz with a Turbo speed of 4.9GHz, the Core i7-9700K features 8 cores but with no Hyperthreading. That’s right, the long-standing feature of the Core i7 series is absent from the 9^th generation.

Core i7 has always been the absolute chip in terms of offering since the inception of Core series, in the mainstream lineup, of course. It’s why we view this as a major shakeup in our Intel stacks its lineup; Core i9 is now part of the mainstream desktop lineup. Here’s how the new processors stack up in terms of price:

Core i9-9900K – $488

Core i7-9700K – $374

Core i5-9600K – $262

The good news is that Intel’s Z370 platform is compatible with the new 9000 series. It requires nothing but a BIOS update. However, the new Z390 chipset motherboards are ready for launch by partners.

Intel had earlier confirmed that the much-anticipated Cannonlake architecture will miss 2018 launch, 10nm is now scheduled to arrive in 2019 with Ice Lake. As a result, Intel’s 9^th generation lineup features the same but improved 14nm process and Coffee Lake architecture . Intel will be competing against AMD’s Zen 2 family next year that will be built on 7nm process.

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Jawwad Iqbal

Having written on tech for years now, Jawwad Iqbal took his passion for sharing news and opinions with the inception of Hardware Blitz. He holds a firm view that quality content drives long-term success.

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