Intel lists Core i3 and i5 processors from unannounced 9000 series

Intel refers to Core i3 and Core i5 processors in the 9000 series in an official document. The i3 is a quadcore and the i5 variants are hexacores. The document does not show i7 variants, which may be octacores.

Intel in its latest Microcode Update Guidance lists the Core i5-9600K, i5-9600, i5-9500, i5-9400 and i5-9400T. These i5 models have six cores, the document shows. Furthermore, the Core i3-9100 and i3-9000 are mentioned in the document, which are variants with four cores.

While Intel has put a full lineup of Core i3 and Core i5 models from the 9000 series in the document, the Core i7 variants are missing. Perhaps that is because it concerns processors with eight cores and such processors have not yet been released by Intel in the Coffee Lake series. However, there are also rumors that Intel will release the octacore model as a Core i9-9900K.

It has been clear for a long time that Intel is coming with consumer processors with eight cores. Intel would release it together with the Z390 chipset, although it seems to have been scrapped and manufacturers must provide their Z370 motherboards with the promised extras, such as a USB 3.1 gen2 controller.

The Intel Core i 9000 series will succeed the current Core i 8000 variants. The new processors are probably made on the same 14nm process, it would be a Coffee Lake Refresh. The most important innovation is probably the step from six to eight cores for the top models.

According to a previously leaked roadmap, Intel’s octacore processors for the lga1151 socket will be released in the fourth quarter of this year.

Update 18:13: Intel also shows specifications of the processors mentioned, Hardware.info notes. This shows that the 9000 series CPUs are clocked about 100 to 200MHz higher than their 8000 series counterparts.