Intel's Rocket Lake Desktop CPU configurations have leaked out and it looks like the blue team is getting ready to tackle AMD's Ryzen 4000 Vermeer CPUs with a Frankenstein of a family that will retain the 14nm process node.
Intel Rocket Lake Desktop CPU Configurations Leak Out - Core i9 With 8 Cores / 16 Threads, Core i7 With 8 Cores / 12 Threads and Core i5 With 6 Cores / 12 Threads - All With 125W TDP on 14nm
We have talked about the Intel Rocket Lake family on various occasions since the family started getting leaks all the way back in 2019. A fresh leak has now been reported by Videocardz which comes in the form of a roadmap for the upcoming Rocket Lake Desktop vPRO family. The vPro lineup is essentially the standard lineup but with added security features through the Intel vPro platform.
The roadmap shows that there are at least three unlocked or 'K' series Rocket Lake-S Desktop CPUs in the works. There may be more in addition to the standard 65W and 35W lineups however they're not mentioned on the leaked roadmap. The lineup includes:
- Intel 11th Gen Core i9 vPRO - 8 Core / 16 Thread, 16 MB Cache
- Intel 11th Gen Core i7 vPRO - 8 Core / 12 Thread, 16 MB Cache
- Intel 11th Gen Core i5 vPRO - 6 Core / 12 Thread, 12 MB Cache
Intel 11th Gen Rocket Lake Core i9, Core i7, Core i5 Die Configurations
It's been known for some time now that Intel's Rocket Lake-S Desktop CPU family would max out at 8 cores and 16 threads. The unlocked Core i9 variant features 8 cores & 16 threads which are lower than the Core i9-10900K with 10 cores and 20 threads. Intel is possibly making up for the cores and threads loss with a new architecture which is said to be a hybrid of Sunny Cove (Ice Lake) & Willow Cove (Tiger Lake) but featured on a 14nm process node.
We have yet to see how this architecture performs versus Intel's existing Skylake based offerings but the loss in cores and threads may lead to a significant impact in multi-tasking environments. The 11th Gen Rocket Lake-S Core i9 also features 16 MB of cache which is also similar to the Sunny Cove family rather than the Willow Cove cores which have a different cache layout.
The Rocket Lake Core i7 variant is also an interesting part. Here you see the core count sticking to 8 but the thread count dropping to 12. This unusual number of threads isn't entirely impossible but it could also be a typo on the specific roadmap as the source indicates. Regardless, the chip features 16 MB of cache which would mean that the chip is a disabled version of the Core i9 variant which did not pass quality control.
Lastly, we have the Core i5 variant which sticks to 6 cores & 12 threads with a total of 12 MB cache. This part remains unaffected and retains the same config as its 10th Gen sibling with performance increases coming from higher clocks and better architecture. All models are listed as 125W models and just to be clear, that figure is measured at the base clock speeds with PL2 limits (boost clocks power) randing between 220-250W.
Intel Coffee Lake Getting A Refresh For Entry-Level Segment?
The other interesting thing that the roadmap lists is what seems to be sort of a 14nm Coffee Lake Refresh. This would suggest that Intel may still be launching Comet Lake-S Desktop CPUs even when its 11th Gen lineup is hitting retail shelves.
The refresh includes new models in the Core i3 and the Pentium Gold segment but no details are mentioned. What is likely is that these models are exclusive to the vPRO family and not made for the general audience however, most of the Pro variants do end up getting listed under the normal family.
Here's Everything We Know About The 11th Generation Rocket Lake Desktop CPUs
Intel's Rocket Lake-S desktop CPU platform is expected to feature support on LGA 1200 socket which will make its debut with Comet Lake-S CPUs although on 400-series motherboards. The Intel Rocket Lake-S processors will be launching alongside the 500-series motherboards but it has since been confirmed that LGA 1200 motherboards will offer support for Rocket Lake-S CPUs, especially given the fact that PCIe Gen 4.0 is a prominent feature of Z490 motherboards which would only be enabled with the use of Rocket Lake-S desktop CPUs.
Main features of Intel's Rocket Lake Desktop CPUs include:
- Increased Performance with new processor core architecture
- New Xe graphics architecture
- Increased DDR4 speeds
- CPU PCIe 4.0 Lanes
- Enhanced Display (Integrated HDMI 2.0, HBR3)
- Added x4 CPU PCIe Lanes = 20 Total CPU PCIe 4.0 Lanes
- Enhanced Media (12 bit AV1/HVEC, E2E compression)
- CPU Attached Storage or Intel Optane Memory
- New Overclocking Features and Capabilities
- USB Audio offload
- Integrated CNVi & Wireless-AX
- Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G)
- 2.5Gb Ethernet Discrete LAN
- DIscrete Intel Thunderbolt 4 (USB4 Compliant)
Once again, the reason I think that Rocket Lake is using Willow Cove cores is that Tiger Lake with the same architecture features Xe Gen 12 graphics while Ice Lake with Sunny Cove cores is using the Gen 11 GPU. We've been told that the Z590 motherboard series with Thunderbolt 4.0 support will be announced later this year so expect more information on Rocket Lake CPUs once Intel has released its 11th Gen Tiger Lake, mobility family.
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 |
| Raptor Lake Next | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 20/24 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2027 |
| 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 | 2027 |
| 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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