Intel to release octacore CPUs for laptops in Q2

Intel will release octa-core processors for laptops in the second quarter. There will be i9 variants with HyperThreading and i7 variants without. The hexacore models seem to be disappearing from the range of laptop processors.

Intel has put the first details of the new processors online, AnandTech discovered. The CPUs have not yet been formally announced, but various details, such as the type numbers and core numbers, are in a document from Intel. At the time of writing, that file doesn’t appear to be on the Intel website anymore, presumably it wasn’t meant to be publicly available.

There will be two new Core i9 processors for laptops, the i9-9980HK and the i9-9980H. Both get eight cores and HyperThreading. The H version has a maximum turbo speed of 4.8Ghz, the clock speed of the HK variant is unknown. The HK variant will be overclockable, just like the current Core i9-8950HK hexacore.

Furthermore, Intel comes with the Core i7-9850H and the i7-9750H, which both have eight cores and a maximum turbo speed of 4.6GHz and 4.5GHz respectively. The new i7 models have more cores than the current hexacore variants, but lose the HyperThreading functionality. In the i5 series, Intel comes with the 9400H and the 9300H. These are quad-cores with HyperThreading, with maximum turbo speeds of 4.3GHz and 4.1GHz.

Not all details about the new laptop processors are known yet. For example, it is unclear what the base clock of the CPUs is and how much they consume. Intel’s H processors have had a tdp of 45 watts for years, and that probably also applies to the new models. In order to keep the octacores within that tdp, the clock speed may decrease compared to the current hexacores.

The new laptop processors are classified by Intel under the ninth generation. Again, it concerns CPUs that are made on a 14nm process. Intel will release the processors in the second quarter of the year, the document shows. Last year in April, Intel announced the first hexacore processors for laptops.