Intel’s 14th Generation Processors Break Cover

Once the unrivaled titan of semiconductors, Intel has faced mounting competition in recent years. However, the US chipmaker now looks to be mounting a comeback with its incoming 14th generation desktop processors, codenamed Raptor Lake S Refresh.

Leaked benchmarks suggest Intel’s new Core i7 offering could deliver up to a 17% performance uplift versus its 13th gen predecessor. While the flagship i9 and mid-range i5 chips appear unchanged in core counts, the i7 gets a major boost to its performance cores.

Specifically, the i7-14700K will feature eight high-power cores alongside eight energy-efficient cores, up from just eight performance cores previously. This overhaul underpins the expected performance gains on intensive workloads.

Architecturally, Raptor Lake inherits the Intel 7 manufacturing process of its antecedent, claiming density on par with competitors’ 7nm nodes. Existing Z690 and Z790 motherboards will support the new chips, which also bring higher DDR5 memory frequencies and enlarged L3 cache.

The US company is primed to unveil Raptor Lake alongside other innovations at next month’s Innovation Summit. With rivals AMD and Apple pushing boundaries in the CPU space, these upcoming desktop parts represent a critical opportunity for Intel to re-cement its credentials among PC enthusiasts.