According to the latest sources, a new Intel Alder Lake-S Desktop CPU entry has appeared within the UserBenchmark database and this time the chip appears to be a Core i5 model. The platform on which the CPU was tested is the reference ADP-S test platform which is DDR4 and DDR5 memory compliant.
However, do note that the CPU which is an ES model was running on DDR4-3200 memory but during the recent Architecture Day 2021, Intel confirmed that Alder Lake-S Desktop CPUs will feature both DDR5-4800 and DDR4-3200 memory support.
Coming to the specifications, the CPU featured 6 cores and 12 threads meaning that this model only featured 6 Golden Cove cores enabled with no Gracemont core active. We have already heard rumours of such configuration existing in the Intel Alder Lake lineup and also we heard that it will be a part of the Core i5 segment. Well, now the rumours ended up being true.
This particular CPU which appeared on UserBenchmark is considered as the Core i5 ‘K’ series part and is expected to feature 6 Golden Cove cores and 4 Gracemont cores for a total of 10 cores and 16 threads.
Following are the expected Alder Lake-S desktop CPU configurations:
- Intel Core i9 K-Series (8 Golden + 8 Grace) = 16 Cores / 24 Threads
- Intel Core i7 K-Series (8 Golden + 4 Grace) = 12 Cores / 20 Threads
- Intel Core i5 K-Series (6 Golden + 4 Grace) = 10 Cores / 16 Threads
- Intel Core i9 A-Series (8 Golden + 8 Grace) = 16 Cores / 24 Threads
- Intel Core i7 A-Series (8 Golden + 4 Grace) = 12 Cores / 20 Threads
- Intel Core i5 A-Series (6 Golden + 0 Grace) = 6 Cores / 12 Threads
- Intel Core i3 A-Series (4 Golden + 0 Grace) = 4 Cores / 8 Threads
It also stated that the CPU features 18 MB of L3 cache and a 32 EU GT2 graphics chip which is based on the Xe architecture. Coming to the clock speeds, we know that the base clock of the chip is 2.60 GHz and it also has a boost clock of up to 4.25 GHz. However, do note that this is just an ES chip and the clocks are preliminary numbers however, some reports suggest we can expect final clock specs in few weeks.
Coming to the performance listed on UserBechmark it’s clear that the Alder Lake-S Core i5 is currently at least 20-30% slower than the Core i5-11600K. But this is basically due to lower clock speeds and performance which were measured with baseline DDR4-3200 memory.
Intel Mainstream Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
Intel CPU Family | Processor Process | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | TDPs | Platform Chipset | Platform | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
Sandy Bridge (2nd Gen) | 32nm | 4/8 | 35-95W | 6-Series | LGA 1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 2.0 | 2011 |
Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen) | 22nm | 4/8 | 35-77W | 7-Series | LGA 1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2012 |
Haswell (4th Gen) | 22nm | 4/8 | 35-84W | 8-Series | LGA 1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2013-2014 |
Broadwell (5th Gen) | 14nm | 4/8 | 65-65W | 9-Series | LGA 1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
Skylake (6th Gen) | 14nm | 4/8 | 35-91W | 100-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
Kaby Lake (7th Gen) | 14nm | 4/8 | 35-91W | 200-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
Coffee Lake (8th Gen) | 14nm | 6/12 | 35-95W | 300-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
Coffee Lake (9th Gen) | 14nm | 8/16 | 35-95W | 300-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2018 |
Comet Lake (10th Gen) | 14nm | 10/20 | 35-125W | 400-Series | LGA 1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2020 |
Rocket Lake (11th Gen) | 14nm | 8/16 | 35-125W | 500-Series | LGA 1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 4.0 | 2021 |
Alder Lake (12th Gen) | Intel 7 | 16/24 | 35-125W | 600 Series | LGA 1700 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
Raptor Lake (13th Gen) | Intel 7 | 24/32 | 35-125W | 700-Series | LGA 1700 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
Meteor Lake (14th Gen) | Intel 4 | TBA | 35-125W | 800 Series? | LGA 1700 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2023 |
Arrow Lake (15th Gen) | Intel 4? | 40/48 | TBA | 900-Series? | TBA | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2024 |
Lunar Lake (16th Gen) | Intel 3? | TBA | TBA | 1000-Series? | TBA | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2025 |
Nova Lake (17th Gen) | Intel 3? | TBA | TBA | 2000-Series? | TBA | DDR5? | PCIe Gen 6.0? | 2026 |