We’ve spoken here at AnandTech several times on the upcoming Z390 chipset and also a few words on new processors for those motherboards. Intel has promised a new consumer-grade launch this year, so we are patiently waiting for more information. As it turns out, some retailers get that itch early – in this case, a Vietnamese retailer has listed five processors for sale.

Intel 9000-Series CPUs
  uArch Cores/
Threads
Base Turbo L3 DRAM TDP Price
Core i9-9900K CFL-R 8C/16T 3.6 5.0 16 MB DDR4-2666 95 W -
Core i7-9700K CFL-R 8C/8T 3.6 4.9 12 MB DDR4-2666 95 W -
Core i5-9500 CFL-R 6C/6T 3.0 4.3 9 MB DDR4-2666 65 W -
Core i5-9400 CFL-R 6C/6T 2.9 4.1 9 MB DDR4-2666 65 W -
Core i3-9100 CFL-R 4C/4T 3.7 - 6 MB DDR4-2400 65 W -
8th Gen Offerings
Core i7-8086K CFL 6C/12T 4.0 5.0 12 MB DDR4-2666 95 W $425
Core i7-8700K CFL 6C/12T 3.7 4.7 12 MB DDR4-2666 95 W $370
Core i5-8600K CFL 6C/6T 3.6 4.3 9 MB DDR4-2666 95 W $258
Core i3-8350K CFL 4C/4T 4.0 - 8 MB DDR4-2400 91 W $179

There are several key points to gather from the table.

Intel doesn't seem to like multithreading anymore: when the product stack had multithreading and went up to four cores, it was easy to segment. When six core processors came along, there was a mix between 6C/6T parts in some tests being outperformed by 4C/8T parts that were cheaper. The best way to eliminate that issue is to either make all parts have HT, or none of them. Intel has gone for the latter across its stack, except at the high-end with the 8-core part. This might also have something to do with recent side channel attacks, which can take advantage of HT. Removing HT removes the attack vector, although has a knock-on effect in performance.

Intel is moving up to 8-cores: as promised, Intel is bringing 8-cores to the mainstream to compete against AMD’s 8-core Ryzen parts that have been on the market for over a year. Intel will use the Core i7 brand for 8C/8T processors, like the i7-9700K, and then the Core i9 brand for 8C/16T processors like the i9-9900K.

Cache is a commodity: For the 9000-series, it would appear that only the Core i9 will get the full 2 MB L3 cache per core, while all the others get only 1.5 MB L3 cache per core. This will have a knock-on effect as this cache is an inclusive cache, which keeps a full record of L2. In the previous generation, All Core i7 parts had a full 2 MB L3 per cache, as well as the Core i3-8350K and Core i3-8300 series.

Ignore TDP if you want Turbo: As stated several times in the past, Intel's use of TDP only refers to power consumption at the base frequency. It's going to be interesting to see how much power these chips draw under turbo.

 

Prices were not listed on the leak, and instead users have to contact the retailer. Memory support appears to be DDR4-2666 for all parts except Core i3. Also, all the parts are listed as Coffee Lake Refresh, using a 14nm class process.

Source: Hanoi Computer

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  • ballsystemlord - Thursday, September 27, 2018 - link

    Citation please?
  • AutomaticTaco - Monday, September 24, 2018 - link

    9900K actually supports up to 5GHz on two cores; or 4.7 GHz on all cores using the standard "Turbo" mode without enabling any additional OC. So it will be interesting to see.
  • imaheadcase - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link

    Its interesting to see base speed is slower that lower core counts, but has higher boost speed with more cores. If they can keep it =-$50 from 8th gen the top tier one will be pretty impressive.
  • HStewart - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link

    "Its interesting to see base speed is slower that lower core counts"

    That is normal, cheaper CPU have less performance.
  • imaheadcase - Friday, September 21, 2018 - link

    Its not normal for just added core count.
  • sa666666 - Saturday, September 22, 2018 - link

    The master Intel apologist has spoken.
  • Drazick - Saturday, September 22, 2018 - link

    The issue here is memory bandwidth.
    In order to utilize 8 cores effectively we need more memory bandwidth.

    I think it is time for Triple / Quad channel memory in the main stream CPU's as well (Maybe having 6 / 8 channels in HEDT).
  • eddman - Saturday, September 22, 2018 - link

    Very disappointed by intel's decision on HT. I don't buy the security reasoning for its removal. It looks to be purely profit oriented. Everything was set nicely for a 8c/6c/4c line up of i7/i5/i3 models, all with HT enabled since there would've been no core count overlap, but that was too much to give to users, apparently.

    Why do that when they can introduce a more expensive i9 for socket 1151 at a higher price.
  • ondma - Sunday, September 23, 2018 - link

    Intel cant win either way. If they enable hyperthreading, people complain about too many modes. If they disable it, people complain about being ripped off.
    I dont have any problem with disabling it on 4 and 6 core models. Instead of 4/8 or 6/12 (cores/threads) just move up to the next level of real cores. They do need a non-k, cheaper 8 core model with hyperthreading though, since now if you want 8 cores, 16 threads, you have to move up to the 9700k.
  • eddman - Monday, September 24, 2018 - link

    What do you mean by "too many modes"?! There is absolutely no downside to including HT. It can be disabled if you don't want it. The complaints of those people who don't realize there is an HT toggle in bios doesn't count.

    Yes, a 6c/6t i3, 8c/8t i5 and 8c/16t i7 lineup would've been ok too. The point is that there was no need for an i9 line for socket 1151.

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