Since its launch back in August, we’ve been on the lookout for news on Intel’s new 8th generation chip line. While we’ve seen our fair share of Kaby Lake-related talk, it’s only recently that news of their aptly codenamed “Coffee Lake” has started to surface. The new architecture uses a 14nm++ production process, stemming from its 14nm ancestor, Broadwell, and following on from Kaby Lake’s 14nm+ process. True to its name, Coffee Lake’s range of 8th generation processors packs some serious power, and has received notable praise for its performance.
G2’s interest, though, lies particularly in the 8th gen Core i7-8700k processor. Boasting no less than 6 Hyper-Threaded cores and 12 threads, this CPU has been built with Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, making it easily overclockable, jumping up to a 4.7GHz boost clock speed from a 3.7GHz base. Being unlocked, hence the tell-tale ‘k’ attached to its name, the CPU can really be pushed to reach its full potential, allowing users to custom tune their PCs for ultimate performance.
Intel claims the Core i7-8700k will be their “best gaming desktop processor ever”. It’s thanks to some seriously exciting specs that will also see the technology re-purposed into also sorts of different deployments, which is why it’s piqued our interest:
- 6 cores, 12 threads
- 4.7GHz boost clock
- 3.7GHz base clock
- 14nm++
- 12MB cache memory
- 95W Thermal Design Power (TDP)
- 4K Support
- Support for DDR4-2666 memory
This leap in core count also extends across Intel’s 8th gen i5 and i3 processors, with 6 cores and 4 cores respectively. In addition to their hiked processing power, the 8th gen Coffee Lake CPUs are also purpose-built for speed, accuracy, and content creation. The key thing that makes them stand out, however, is affordability. When compared with AMD’s latest Ryzen processors, the 8th gen Core line-up is far more reasonable and accessible.
The only sticking point we can see with Coffee Lake is the fact that it does require a new Z370 motherboard, as the CPUs are not compatible with older generations. Having said that, it does seem as though changing motherboards may well be worth doing, given the many benefits Coffee Lake offers.
We’re still waiting on Intel to go beyond their desktop and mobile CPUs and launch the Core chips for enterprise in a Commercial variant so we can start getting them into our Rack and Mini PCs. It’s likely that these will be released within the first half of this year, so keep one eye on our blog for any updates.
If you’d like to know more about what Intel’s 8th generation of CPUs has to offer, get in touch.
