Intel is set to launch its 13th-gen Core “Raptor Lake” chips this fall, but details about the next next-gen processor are already starting to emerge.
Igor’s Lab has published what appears to be leaked Intel documentation showing some of the features coming to Intel’s 14th-gen Core processors based on “Meteor Lake” architecture, which are expected to launch in the second half of 2023.
The images provide details about Meteor Lake-U, -P, and -H series chips, which will likely fall in the 15W, 28W, and 45W power ranges, respectively.
Like the current 12th-gen Alder Lake processors, the new chips will feature a hybrid architecture that combines different types of CPU cores. But while Alder Lake chips combine Efficiency and Performance cores, it looks like Intel plans to introduce Low Power Efficiency cores with Meteor Lake, which could lead to reduced power consumption while idle or while performing less demanding tasks. And that could lead to longer battery life.
Meteor Lake-U chips are said to feature up to 12 CPU cores, while -P and -H chips will support up to 14 cores (6 Performance + 8 Efficiency). It’s unclear if the new LP E-cores are included in those 8 Efficiency cores or if, as CNX Software guesses, they could be a new type of co-processor that’s not included in that list.
Intel also appears to be planning to upgrade its integrated graphics, with Intel Iris Xe LPG graphics featuring up to 128 execution units (current chips with Iris Xe graphics tend to top out at 96eu).
Other features include support for:
- Up to 64GB of LPDDR5/5X-7467 or 96GB of DDR5-5600 memory
- PCIe Gen 5 (1 x8 lanes)
- PCIe Gen 4 (3 x4 lanes)
- Up to 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports
- WiFi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Gigabit Ethernet
- HDMI 2.1
- DisplayPort 2.1
- Dual low power eDP 1.4b
There’s also hardware-accelerated support for low-power AV1 video encoding and an integrated vision processing unit (VPU).
Meteor Lake chips will be Intel’s first manufacturing using a 7nm process (which Intel is calling Intel 4 for marketing purposes), and they’re expected to support Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS.
You can find more details at Igor’s Lab.
OMG will they stop producing this “poor efficiency” stuff?
Looks like Intel can’t concurrent with AMD and Apple, but just produce tons of marketing garbage.
Since you’re comparing them to Apple, you are aware that the M1 and M2 series not only also have efficiency cores, but that those cores are a large reason why their power usage is so good? It also significantly contributes to parallel performance, because you can have a lot more efficiency cores so applications that can use many cores get advantages from the quantity.
Integrated graphics on Intel is trailing compared to AMD… I also worry about how “snappy” performance is when switching between the big/little cores. Other than that it looks like Intel has a competitive product. Hopefully their Intel 4 process is yielding well.