A brand new Intel Alder Lake-S Desktop CPU entry has appeared within the UserBenchmark data-base which appears to be a Core i5 model. The chip was spotted by TUM_APISAK and is an early ES variant.
Intel Alder Lake-S Core i5 Desktop CPU Spotted: 6 Cores, 12 Threads, Up To 4.25 GHz Early Clocks
The Intel Alder Lake-S CPU was spotted and tested on the reference ADP-S test platform which is DDR4 and DDR5 memory compliant. This specific configuration was running DDR4-3200 memory and during the recent Architecture Day 2021, Intel confirmed that Alder Lake-S Desktop CPUs will feature both DDR5-4800 and DDR4-3200 memory support.
The CPU itself features 6 cores and 12 threads which suggests that it only features 6 Golden Cove cores enabled with no Gracemont core active. This configuration has indeed been rumored for the Intel Alder Lake lineup and would be part of the Core i5 segment. This particular configuration can be seen on the next-gen Core i5-12500 or Core i5-12400 CPU considering the Core i5 'K' series part is expected to feature 6 Golden Cove cores and 4 Gracemont cores for a total of 10 cores and 16 threads. Following are the expected Alder Lake-S desktop CPU configurations:
- Intel Core i9 K-Series (8 Golden + 8 Grace) = 16 Cores / 24 Threads
- Intel Core i7 K-Series (8 Golden + 4 Grace) = 12 Cores / 20 Threads
- Intel Core i5 K-Series (6 Golden + 4 Grace) = 10 Cores / 16 Threads
- Intel Core i9 A-Series (8 Golden + 8 Grace) = 16 Cores / 24 Threads
- Intel Core i7 A-Series (8 Golden + 4 Grace) = 12 Cores / 20 Threads
- Intel Core i5 A-Series (6 Golden + 0 Grace) = 6 Cores / 12 Threads
- Intel Core i3 A-Series (4 Golden + 0 Grace) = 4 Cores / 8 Threads
This configuration would also pack 18 MB of L3 cache and a 32 EU GT2 graphics chip based on the Xe architecture. As for clock speeds, the chip has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of up to 4.25 GHz. These are preliminary clock speeds considering this is still an ES chip but we've heard reports that QS variants have already been shipped out and we can expect final clock specs in few weeks.
In terms of performance, the Alder Lake-S Core i5 is currently at least 20-30% slower than the Core i5-11600K which is obviously due to the much lower clock speeds and performance that were measured with baseline DDR4-3200 memory. Also, UserBenchmark isn't the best benchmark when it comes to comparing CPUs so expect the final performance of Intel's Alder Lake CPU lineup to be much better.
Intel Mainstream CPU Generations Comparison:
| Intel CPU Family | Processor Process | Processor Architecture | Graphics Architecture | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | Platform | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Lake (12th Gen) | Intel 7 | Golden Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 16/24 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake (13th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 24/32 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Raptor Lake Refresh (14th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 24/32 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Meteor Lake | Intel 4 | Redwood Cove (P-Core) Crestmont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 22/28 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Arrow Lake | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 24/24 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Arrow Lake Refresh | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 24/24 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2026 |
| Lunar Lake | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe2 (Battlemage) | 8/8 | Mobile Only | LPDDR5X | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Panther Lake | Intel 18A | Cougar Cove (P-Core) Darkmont (E-Core) | Xe3 (Battlemage) | 16/16 | Mobile Only | LPDDR5/LPDDR5X | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2025 |
| Nova Lake | Intel 18A | Coyote Cove (P-Core) Arctic Wolf (E-Core) | Xe3 (Battlemage) Xe3P (Celestial) | 52/52 | LGA 1954 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2026 |
| Razor Lake | Intel 18A? | Griffin Cove (P-Core) Golden Eagle (E-Core) | TBA | TBA | LGA 1954 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2027 |
| Titan Lake | TBA | Copper Shark (Unified) Golden Eagle (E-Core) | TBA | TBA | Mobile Only | LPDDR6? | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2028 |
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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