How the mighty have fallen. Intel, a proper name synonymous with computing. Intel Inside, a phrase synonymous with quality assurance. The indomitable Intel. Later years of wallowing in the mud left by Intel'southward wake, AMD has risen back upward to reconquer the processor market. Three years ago, the first generation of Ryzen processors unexpectedly beat Intel'southward in value; the second generation cemented that lead; and the tertiary generation contested Intel's performance pb in pivotal areas.

AMD now claims that the fourth generation of Ryzen, launching side by side month, will put the final smash in Intel's coffin: they'll beat out Intel in gaming performance. Is it possible? Nosotros'll before long see. But such a challenge cannot go unanswered.

Enter Rocket Lake.

Intel's upcoming new architecture will arrive with a smattering of new technologies. Only will Rocket Lake carry Intel to new heights, or will it crash and burn? Let'south take a look at what nosotros know so far.

What's the Flight Plan?

Rocket Lake is the codename for Intel'south 11th generation processors, which will replace the 10th generation (codenamed Comet Lake) when they release early next year.

Rocket Lake will be the first generation in five years to introduce a new architecture to Intel'southward flagship desktop series -- we can finally say adios to Skylake.

A new architecture means more than operation, and new features like PCIe 4.0, AVX-512, faster retentiveness, and Xe graphics. Rocket Lake will too be the last generation of Intel desktop processors to use the 14nm node.

Blast Off!

In an unexpected blog mail service published earlier this month, Intel's John Bonini revealed that Rocket Lake volition launch in the starting time quarter of 2022. Unconfirmed roadmaps accept narrowed that window downwardly to March, but with all the complications of the pandemic, the processors will only make it when they get in.

More than likely than not, though, there'll be a formal introduction to Rocket Lake effectually the fourth dimension of CES adjacent year.

Phase 1: The Principal Booster

Rocket Lake's most enticing chemical element is the new architecture, which will be the driving force behind the performance improvements. New CPU architectures typically bring upgrades in three key areas: they increase the IPC (teaching per clock) rate, change the enshroud configuration, and add new features.

Bonini confirmed back up for PCIe 4.0, and database entries accept seemingly confirmed integrated Xe graphics. Neither new feature can be implemented without a new architecture. And to circular information technology off, the new cache configuration has been exposed.

Cache i7-10700K Octa-core RKL-S
L1 Teaching (per core) 32 KB 32 KB
L1 Information (per core) 32 KB 48 KB
L2 (per core) 256 KB 512 KB
L3 (shared) 16 MB 16 MB

More is better.

Rocket Lake's cache configuration isn't unique though. It shares an identical footprint with Sunny Cove, amend known as the architecture behind the Ice Lake mobile processor serial. Rocket Lake shares a few more similarities with Sunny Cove, too: they're some of Intel'southward commencement products to characteristic Xe graphics, and some of the start to support AVX-512. Because of these similarities, it's probable that Rocket Lake is based on a derivative of Sunny Cove. The name of the derivative is rumored to be Cyprus Cove.

There are a few differences, though, which is why the architecture merits a new name. Rocket Lake and Sunny Cove utilize different manufacturing nodes (14nm and 10nm, respectively) which indicates that Rocket Lake is possibly a backport (an compages transitioned between nodes) of Sunny Cove. Just despite the change, the 2 architectures are expected to perform similarly.

Sunny Cove in action equally an Ice Lake processor.

And now for the fun stuff.

Intel claims that Sunny Cove has an 18% IPC advantage over Skylake. Consequently, Rocket Lake should also accept an ~18% IPC increase, too, (merely as we'll meet in a sec, information technology might exist a little less).

Look Out the Window

Rocket Lake will exist Intel's kickoff generation of desktop processors to utilise their new integrated Xe graphics. While Xe is a significant improvement over previous generations, it's still nil compared to detached solutions. It appears that Intel won't even try to marketplace the graphics equally a new feature: what appears to be the new flagship Xe integrated graphics will have only half equally many graphics cores (called EUs) as Intel is capable of adding.

The near interesting thing about the Xe graphics is the 10nm node they're built on. Why is Intel calculation 10nm graphics to a 14nm processor, and how? Baroque.

Regardless, integrated graphics are usually pretty dull, and even more so on the desktop side, merely they are surprisingly useful for identification purposes. When processors are entered into online databases they appear nameless, merely when GPUs bear witness up in drivers, they are named. This enables them to be counted.

7 distinct Rocket Lake graphics devices appeared in an Intel developer driver when information technology was published accidentally in July concluding year. They're on the left in the tabular array below (starting with iRKL). On the correct are the names of Rocket Lake graphics devices (starting with 0x4C) that were submitted into the Linux driver stack last September.

GT0 GT0.5 GT1
iRKLLPGT0 iRKLLPGT0P5S16 0x4C8C iRKLLPGT1HPro32 0x4C8A
iRKLLPGT0P5U16 iRKLLPGT1H32 0x4C8B
iRKLLPGT1S32 0x4C90
iRKLLPGT1U32 0x4C9A

An 0x4C80 device was also included in the Linux driver, just we couldn't discover its GT denomination.

Presumably, there'south a meaning overlap between the two lists and some data tin be drawn from the names.

GPUs catastrophe in 32 volition have 32 EUs, and those ending in sixteen will have 16 EUs. In leaked benchmarks results, though, just GPUs with 32 EUs and 23 EUs accept been spotted, which is a picayune unexpected.

Tiger Lake (pictured) uses upward to 96 EUs.

Sadly, there are too many unknowns here to completely decode this puzzle (simply if you lot have some good guesses, put them in the comments). We could infer though that there won't be many Rocket Lake processors. Probably merely a handful of different core/thread configurations. And secondly, the series will be divided into ii main categories, with a heavy weighting towards the higher-finish category.

Stage Ii: Maneuvering Thrusters

Let'south rip that band-aid off: octa-cadre and hexa-core Rocket Lake processors take been caught on the internet several times each, but there's been no evidence to suggest that there'll be whatever other configuration. It'due south widely suspected that at that place won't be a processor with 10 cores this generation.* It's probably a consequence of the new architecture.

*Press F for respect.

Benchmarks?

The octa-core model has been observed five times. Each fourth dimension, it had sixteen threads and an integrated GPU of 32 EUs operating at 1.fifteen GHz. In one Geekbench 5 outcome and one Fire Strike result, it had a iii.ii GHz base clock and a four.3 GHz boost clock. SiSoftware besides recorded a iii.2 GHz base clock, but didn't register a boost clock. Lastly, another Geekbench 5 upshot showed a 3.iv GHz base of operations clock and a 5.0 GHz boost clock. (The fifth result was an anomalous i.8 GHz.)

The hexa-core processor has been spotted twice, and always with twelve threads. A 3DMark result listed a base clock of 3.five GHz and a heave clock of 4.09 GHz, although the leaker who found the consequence claimed he had also seen it operating at four.2 GHz. In a SiSoftware database entry, the processor had a 3.5 GHz heave clock, a 3.nine GHz half-boost, and a 4.2 GHz boost. SiSoftware recorded two GPU configurations: a 23 Eu model, and a 32 EU model. Both were clocked at 1.xv GHz.

Summary

Effectively, there's been three different processors spotted. Ii octa-core models clocked at 3.two/4.three GHz and iii.4/5.0 GHz, and a hexa-core model clocked at three.five/4.2 GHz. If this information is paired with the results from the graphics device assay, it appears that Rocket Lake will mostly be an octa-core affair, with a couple of mid-range hexa-core models thrown in.

To (cautiously) speculate about names, the octa-cadre models might be the i7-11700 and the i7-11600, while the hexa-core part could exist the i5-11400. Each will also have an unlocked K variant, presumably, and there might be one or two Pro models.

How Fast Are We Flight?

In nigh every leaked benchmark, the Rocket Lake processors accept performed terribly. That's pretty typical for new architectures, then nosotros'll just ignore all the unfavorable results (that's how being unbiased works, right?) and consider the single practiced result.

The octa-cadre processor clocked at 5 GHz performed quite well in the Geekbench five unmarried-cadre exam -- although it inexplicably did poorly in the multi-core examination. At 1507 points, it surpasses the average i7-10700K score by xi%. And intriguingly, the processor also performed exceptionally well in the single-core encryption test, possibly because of the AVX-512 back up.

It can be deduced that there is some IPC functioning comeback yielded by the new compages, if not a lot. But it does seem that Rocket Lake can get those clock speeds upward -- they'll probably be a bit higher than they are in the leaks -- and the combination of good clocks and practiced IPC should enable the octa-core processor to surpass the ten-core i9-10900K equally gaming champion. Simply past what margin? No thought.

Touching Downwards

Rocket Lake will bring sweeping changes to Intel'south platform. Chief among them is the upgrade to PCIe 4.0. Although the inclusion of the new standard was confirmed by Intel already, the exact implementation has been described quite thoroughly past leakers. A SiSoftware entry shows that Rocket Lake has four PCIe iv.0 lanes dedicated to NVMe storage, and a Facebook post shows that the processors take sixteen lanes dedicated to the top GPU slot.

This is the exact configuration described by a leaked presentation slide, and if the slide is accurate, so things start really getting strange. The slide claims that the new 500-series chipset will have a few PCIe lanes of its ain, but they'll be PCIe 3.0 instead. It seems similar both PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 lanes will be essential for the operation of any figurer with modern storage and expansion cards, which will take some getting used to.

The slide offers some exciting news, though. Rocket lake volition support "increased DDR4 speed" which volition probably be 3200 MHz, given that'southward the maximum supported by Sunny Cove. There'll be "new overclocking features and capabilities," as well. There's also a new selection of modernistic ports, including Thunderbolt 4 and more USB 3.2.

Using the new features will require a new 500-serial motherboard. A leaked roadmap suggests the existence of the Z590, H570, B560, and H510 series. They'll reportedly release in March.

Yet, a new motherboard won't be an essential buy. Rocket Lake will use the LGA 1200 socket and might slot into the Z490 motherboards. The aforementioned Facebook postal service actually demonstrates a PCIe 4.0 connectedness to a GPU on a Z490 board, and then mayhap the biggest platform upgrade won't require a new motherboard after all.

Houston, We Accept A Problem

Rocket Lake has ane big trouble, that is potentially a good affair for Intel and Intel fans. Its successor, Alder Lake is expected to launch six to 9 months later.

Alder Lake is pure gaming bliss: a new architecture, the 10nm node, DDR5 support, and upwardly to sixteen cores. How do we know all that? Intel announced Alder Lake before they announced Rocket Lake. Fifty-fifty Intel know that Rocket Lake pales in comparison to Alder Lake.

Rocket Lake will have a tough time selling if Intel drums up hype for Alder Lake during its production cycle. Is Rocket Lake fated to explode on the launchpad? We recall and then.

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