The latest batch of Intel Core i processors is arriving on desktop PCs. A little refresh while waiting for the big leap towards Core Ultra and the modular architecture initiated by the future Meteor Lake mobile chips.
Not all generations of processors are major. If the next batch of chips for Intel laptops – called Meteor Lake – marks a total break in the design of chips by Intel, its new batch of Core 14e generation for desktop PC announced on October 16, 2023 is wiser. So wise, in fact, that this generation is still part of the Raptor Lake family (13e Gen) from an architectural point of view. These are the same “high performance” cores (P-Cores) and “efficient” cores (E-Cores), and the same engraving finesse (Intel 7, a very dense 10 nm).
However, the first high-end references launched by Intel show performance increases of up to 16% in certain games and up to 15% in certain applications. But don’t get carried away, these are the most impressive figures chosen from the most important by the marketing teams. On a daily basis, it will be more likely to be around a few percent. Which is already not bad, considering the absence of new hardware features. The recipe for these performance gains? General refinement (manufacturing, internal optimizations) and software support.
Intel Raptor Lake Refresh: three (or six) new processors?
If Intel’s list is extended by six references ranging from Core i5 to Core i9, with this first batch of unlocked “K” chips (read further), it is because each of them is duplicated with a KF version. Clearly, the K versions integrate a small graphics part which allows you to do without a dedicated graphics card (which is very practical in the event of a GPU failure or for a pure calculation workstation), while the KF versions do. deprived. In fact, the KF versions are engraved exactly like the K versions, but their GPU module is disabled, which makes the chips cheaper – the engraved GPU may be defective, or Intel simply saves the long testing phases here. In any case, we must keep in mind that Intel is currently only launching three (times two) really different references: the Core i9 14900K/KF, the Core i7 14700K/KF and the Core i5 14500 K/ K.F. According to Intel’s announcement, future variations are expected to furnish stores… While waiting for the company’s engineers, who are working on the (real) next generation, to deliver the components. Which should mark a real technological breakthrough.
Intel Raptor Lake Refresh: the 13th generation, (barely) better
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From a technical perspective, each generation of processor is integrated into a platform launch. Understand here that, although compatible with the previous 13th generation socket (LGA 1700) via upcoming BIOS updates, new motherboards should see the light of day. As we said above, this 14th generation does not present any changes compared to the 13th generation: CPU cores, integrated GPU, DDR4 and DDR5 memory controller and even the chipsets come from the same technological blocks. We will therefore benefit from added functions through peripheral additions, such as support (via an external controller) for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and Thunderbolt 5 protocols (when the chips are available for the latter).
From a performance point of view, the champion of this round will obviously be the expensive Core i9 14900 K/KF, with its 8 P-Cores (16 tasks) and its 16 E-Cores which therefore allow it to manage up to 32 tasks (threads) concomitantly. Intel has of course put a lot of emphasis on its flagship which looks exactly like its super flagship of the previous generation, the Core i9 13900 KS. If Intel has succeeded in marking differences in terms of performance, it is less in the hardware – which undoubtedly benefits, in the depths of silicon, from small improvements – but in an element too often forgotten when we talk about CPU: The software.
This 14th generation benefits from a specific software component, invisible to the user, called Intel Application Optimization. A sub-brick of Intel Dynamic Tuning Technology, these are software-specific optimizations that distribute tasks more efficiently across different cores. A software layer to support the “Task Director” (the Thread director integrated into each chip) enough to gain, at number of cores, frequencies and equivalent platform (quantity of memory, GPU), a few percent more performance. And to try to distinguish itself a little more from the previous generation, Intel promises that the most demanding users will be able to grab a few more chickens by resorting to a practice that is still as nerd : overclocking.
Intel Raptor Lake Refresh: the overclocking card
With chips without technical advances, and awaiting a new generation which should reshuffle the technological cards more seriously, Intel still had to attract audiences. In addition to pro-Intel people who still have an old 9th, 10th or 11th generation machine – who will be most likely to feel a real jump in performance – Intel is targeting the overclocker population.
A population already attracted by the suffix K, which specifies that the multiplier coefficient of the processor is unlocked and allows, under software control (and at your own risk), to increase the frequency of the chip by pushing a few (numeric) buttons . Intel’s 13th generation chips are known for their stability, so the 14th generation already had assets to attract organically. But this new batch brings something extra: a little boost from AI.
Within its dedicated XTU software – for eXtreme Tuning Utility, or extreme tuning utility in French – Intel has added an assistant including AI models that it has trained on its processors in the laboratory. The point of these additional pieces of code? Fine-tune each of the cores individually while taking into account the platform – RAM type and performance, etc. Not enough to attract Mr. and Mrs. Toutlemonde, but perhaps enough to attract those who cool their components with liquid nitrogen!
Intel 14e Gen: the Core i7 as a real star
If you have a tower PC that’s more than three or four years old and you need to step it up a notch, the processor that stands out the most – and marks the most progress – is the Core i7 14700 K/KF. While its direct predecessor, the Core i7 13700 K, made do with 8 P-Cores and 8 E-Cores, its successor gets 4 more E-Cores, bringing the total to 12 effective cores.
To this additional E cores which brings the total of simultaneous tasks to 28 (!), is added generalized frequency increases: from 5.2 GHz to 5.6 GHz in Turbo Max, or even base frequencies in high increase (P-Cores from 2.1 GHz to 3.4 GHz, E-Cores from 1.5 to 2.5 GHz!). Enough to give this new Core i7 much more punch in applications that support multitasking (multithreading in the jargon), notably creative software – photo, video, etc.
What to think of this 14e generation of chips? That it is indeed a simple dusting off and the end of an era. There is no harm in building an Intel machine with one of these references if you have the needs and the budget. Particularly for assembling a high-performance PC dedicated to gaming and/or streaming with the Core i7 14700K(F). But between previous generation benchmarks and AMD’s competition, there are undoubtedly better performance/price ratios in store. Smaller budgets will therefore opt for earlier chips, while the most tech-savvy will wait for the next generation, which promises a real technological leap with its modular architecture. The 14e generation is there to furnish: it will do it well, but it will quickly be forgotten.