New pending desktop processors from Intel under codename Comet Lake-S, seem to get a maximum of 10 cores. The decacore proc will follow the Core i9 9900K, and is a modified version of the Skylake architecture.
To avoid any confusion, these are being produced at 14 nanometers. The discovery was made as some entries surfaced in Linux drivers now another infusion of Skylake architecture is mentioned for the first time. The drivers list CML processors, which is the abbreviation for Comet Lake in Intel's nomenclature. The procs get GT1 and GT2 integrated graphics units (ninth generation of Intel's integrated graphics chips) and that indicates a fourth gen Skylake architecture.
INTEL_WHL_U_GT2_IDS(&intel_coffeelake_gt2_info),
INTEL_AML_CFL_GT2_IDS(&intel_coffeelake_gt2_info),
INTEL_WHL_U_GT3_IDS(&intel_coffeelake_gt3_info),
INTEL_CML_GT1_IDS(&intel_coffeelake_gt1_info),
INTEL_CML_GT2_IDS(&intel_coffeelake_gt2_info),
INTEL_CNL_IDS(&intel_cannonlake_info),
INTEL_ICL_11_IDS(&intel_icelake_11_info){ CPUID_COMETLAKE_U_A0, "Cometlake-U A0 (6+2)" },
{ CPUID_COMETLAKE_U_K0_S0, "Cometlake-U K0/S0 (6+2)/(4+2)" },
{ CPUID_COMETLAKE_H_S_6_2_P0, "Cometlake-H/S P0 (6+2)" },
{ CPUID_COMETLAKE_H_S_10_2_P0, "Cometlake-H/S P0 (10+2)" }
The indications that desktop procs will get up to ten cores and notebooks up to six cores. Interesting is the CML-S which has a design with ten cores, ie a Decacore for desktop systems. The processor would follow the eight-core Core i9-9900K (test) and, as usual, use an optimized Skylake microarchitecture.
Comet Lake seems to be a reaction to the launch of Zen 2, aka Ryzen 3000. There are expected models with eight, twelve and sixteen cores coming towards the PC mainstream segment.
Codename | Core Generation | node | Cores + graphics | iGPU | Launch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrandale | 1st gene | 32 nm | 2 + GT2 | Gen5.75 | 2010 |
Sandy Bridge | 2nd Gen | 32 nm | 2 + GT2 | Gen6 | 2011 |
Ivy Bridge | 3rd gene | 22 nm FinFet | 2 + GT2 | Gen7 | 2012 |
Haswell (HSW-ULT) | 4th Gen | 22 nm FinFet | 2 + GT2, 2 + GT3 | Gen7.5 | 2013 |
Broadwell (BDW-U) | 5th Gen | 14 nm FinFet | 2 + GT2, 2 + GT3 | Gen8 | 2014 |
Skylake (SKL-U) | 6th gene | 14 nm FinFet | 2 + GT2, 2 + GT3e | Gen9 | 2015 |
Kaby Lake (KBL-U) | 7th gene | 14+ nm FinFet | 2 + GT2, 2 + GT3e | Gen9.5 | 2016 |
Kaby Lake Refresh (KBL-U R) | 8th gene | 14 ++ nm FinFet | 4 + GT2, 4 + GT3e | Gen9.5 | 2017 |
Cannon Lake (CNL-U) | 8th gene | 10 nm FinFet | 2 + GT2 (deactivated) | GEN10 | 2018 |
Whiskey Lake (WHL-U) | 9th gene | 14 ++ nm FinFet | 4 + GT2 | Gen9.5 | 2018 |
Comet Lake (CML-U) | 9th gene | 14 ++ nm FinFet | 2 + GT2, 4 + GT2, 6 + GT2 | Gen9.5 | 2019 |
Ice Lake (ICL-U) | 10th gene (?) | 10+ nm FinFet | 4 + GT2 | Gen11 | 2019 |
Tiger Lake | 11th gene (?) | 10 ++ nm FinFet | ? | Xe (?) | 2020 (?) |
Intel Comet Lake surfaces in Linux drivers - Intel going for 10 cores for desktop procs