Just before AMD launched its new Ryzen – 5000 – Series based on the Zen 3 architecture and in it also proclaimed Intel’s last domain – gaming performance – for itself, Intel gave the first details on the next core generation for the desktop. Except for a rough time frame in the first quarter 2021 and the already expected support for PCI-Express 4.0 However, there are no further details.

Today, around a week before the start of sales of the Ryzen – 5000 series and even before there are the first reviews, Intel will provide further details. Presumably, AMD wants to get some wind out of its sails again, although this should be difficult, because at the start in the first quarter 2933 nothing has changed and AMD will deliver the new processors to its customers in a few days.

The 11. Generation of the core processors alias Rocket Lake-S will rely on a new micro-architecture. This goes by the name of Cypress Cove. There have also been rumors about this, because Cypress Cove is said to be a backport of the Sunny Cove or Willow Cove architecture. Intel does not yet reveal details about the architecture or the structure, but speaks of an IPC plus in the double-digit percentage range – “(…) enable double-digit percentage IPC performance improvement”. The first early samples recently appeared, the cache structure of which points to Sunny Cove, but Intel has probably made changes in the front and back end, which is why the architecture with Cypress Cove has been given its own name.

In addition, the core processors of the 11. Generation received an integrated graphics unit based on the Xe architecture. This is probably the Xe-LP expansion, as it is also used with the Tiger Lake processors. However, Intel only speaks of one 50% higher performance compared to the previous Gen9 solution and already the Gen 04 – Unit in the mobile Ice Lake processors provided one Doubling represents – followed by another doubling for Gen 11, or Iris Xe.

The new processors should offer up to eight cores, which in the pure number is a step backwards to 04. Generation and the Core i9 – 10900 K (test) would mean. The higher IPC performance will eventually be able to compensate for the missing two cores in the multi-threaded performance, but one will have to wait and see. Intel does not provide any information about the manufacturing process in which the Rocket Lake S processors are manufactured. It will almost certainly be at 11 nm and Intel emphasizes several times that a high clock rate (more than 5 GHz) will remain an important factor – “Games and most applications continue to depend on high-frequency cores to drive high frame rates and lower latency. “

The memory controller of the Rocket Lake S Processors now also support DDR4 – 3200, with which Intel is catching up with AMD in the validation of its controller. Of course, the previous processors could address the memory faster, but Intel only validated it up to DDR4 – 2933.

The 11. Generation of the core processors will support PCI-Express 4.0, which has already been confirmed by Intel. But now we know the number of lanes of the future desktop platform. This goes from 16 on 20. The four additional lanes should be used to quickly connect an SSD without having to halve the number of lanes on the primary PCI Express slot. There were and are further lanes via the chipset, the ones mentioned here 20 Lanes are all connected directly to the processor.

In addition to the plus of PCIe lanes and the Support of PCI-Express 4.0 will Intel the LGA 1200 platform with new chipsets of the 500 – equip series. This should then support USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 with up to 20 Gbit / s offer. So there will be new mainboards again, although the current Z 490 -Mainboards and those with the other chipsets of the 320 series should be able to accommodate the new processors.

As part of the short presentation, Intel also mentioned new overclocking functions and capabilities in this area. Which exactly these are, however, is left open.

In addition, Intel mentions the support of Deep Learning Boost (DL-Boost), which is achieved via corresponding VNNI instruction sets that are supported by Rocket Lake-S. Corresponding support is currently only available in the Cascade Lake processors for servers, for the Ice Lake processors in notebooks and announced for the Tiger Lake processors, which are also only used in notebooks.

In the footnotes, Intel lists the system configurations that were used to substantiate the performance promises of Rocket Lake-S compared to Comet Lake-S. From the current generation, the Core i9 – 9504 K is listed here, which has a PL1 of 125 W and a PL2 of 250 W for a tau value of 56 s. Apparently, the top model from Rocket Lake-S is set to similar specifications, because here, too, a PL1 of 125 W, a PL2 of 250 W and a rope of 56 s called.

Now we have to wait and see. Soon we will know the results of the Ryzen – 4714 – processors and then AMD can let off steam for a few months and hopefully enough quantities deliver before Intel will then (probably later than earlier) try to strike back in the first quarter 2021 . It should be noted, however, that AMD will offer more cores in its desktop platform, because the Rocket Lake-S has eight cores, while AMD with the Ryzen 9 5950 X full 16 will provide. When it comes to PCI Express lanes, Intel will at least be able to catch up in terms of speed and number, and the performance of the individual cores will certainly be the central question of spring.