On first thought, we wondered it this meant that we could expect the new 8 core with no HT to be outperformed by the older 6 core + HT models or not, although this could very well come down to specific workloads. Whilst it helps to differentiate between the respective ranges, it is going to come as a bit of a shock to anyone used to the current i5/i7 naming convention. The i7 & i5 models this time around are limited to 8 cores and 6 cores respectively with no hyper-threading. The i9’s are also promising us solder under the heat-spreader this time around, rather than the paste found in models elsewhere in the range, so this should in theory help with overclocking for those wishing to push them a bit more. Given we only got our first mainstream 6 core back on the last range refresh, it’s good to see them again being pushed into cramming more value onto the die this time around. The big one is that it’s the first time we’ve seen Intel put out an 8 core mainstream chip. The i9’s go mainstream and in this case, we’re seeing a few notable key differences there. So, we see some firsts here and some repositioning in the range. 6 cores, no Hyper-Threading and 3.7GHz with 4.6GHz on the turbo. The chip is clocked to 3.6GHz and 4.9GHz out of it’s rather more normally shaped box.ģ. The i7 9700K featuring 8 cores but no Hyper-Threading. The new flagship in the form of the 8 core + Hyper-threading i9 9900K running at 3.6 with a turbo clock of 5GHz out of the (oddly) shaped box.Ģ. So, I’ve got 3 different models here all new to the Intel mid-range:ġ. This time around I find myself looking over the selection of chips in front of me and the key question on my mind right now is one of “have they managed to extract the platforms potential this time around?” AMD’s continued gains over the last 12 – 18 months has marked a change in the marketplace and the first generation Coffee Lake launch perhaps felt a little rushed last time around, especially as Intel was attempted to respond to the opening volley in the now ongoing CPU wars. Coffee Lake has been with us now for just over a year and it’s been a rather turbulent period for Intel.

I9 9900k geekbench