A well-known leaker named Golden Pig Upgrade has shared details indicating that the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs will be part of the 14th Gen Desktop Core family, contradicting earlier speculation that they would be included in the 13th Gen. The leaker disavowed rumors suggesting that the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs were associated with the 13th Gen, stating that such claims were untrue. Recent leaks indicate that the 14th Gen will consist of Meteor Lake CPUs, but whether these will be intended for the desktop or laptop market is still being determined.
Intel‘s 13th Gen series of CPUs for mobile and desktop devices included Alder Lake and Raptor Lake, models. The upcoming 14th Gen lineup is anticipated to follow a similar strategy, blending Meteor Lake and Raptor Lake refreshes. However, new details propose that the Meteor Lake SKUs will only be featured in laptops, with desktop versions exclusively using the restored Raptor Lake components. It validates earlier speculations that Intel has no intentions of releasing Meteor Lake CPUs for desktops. The situation has become increasingly complicated, making it difficult for enthusiasts to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.
Intel has announced plans to release its Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs in Q3 of 2023, which is good news for enthusiasts who are eager to upgrade their desktops. Built on the ‘Intel 7’ process node, these CPUs are expected to come with minor improvements, including faster clocks, but will still be compatible with the existing LGA 1700/1800 motherboards. The release of these updated CPUs is designed to serve as a stopgap solution until the actual next-generation parts arrive.
There are also rumors suggesting that the Raptor Lake Refresh lineup will offer a significant boost in multi-threading performance, thanks to larger cache pools and Digital Voltage Regulator (DLVR) technology, which was initially intended for the non-refresh Raptor Lake family. However, it’s important to note that Intel has not yet confirmed these rumors publicly, so we’ll have to wait and see if they come to fruition.
The Raptor Lake Refresh lineup is expected to include 35W, 65W, and 125W SKUs for consumer and entry-workstation platforms, giving users a wide range of options. It’s worth mentioning that these updated CPUs are not intended to be a significant overhaul of the current Raptor Lake CPUs but rather a slight upgrade to improve performance and compatibility with existing motherboards.
Intel’s Vision event on May 9th will likely provide more information about the company’s desktop CPU plans and give us a better idea of what to expect from the Raptor Lake Refresh lineup. Overall, it’s an exciting time for PC enthusiasts, and we can’t wait to see what Intel has in store for us in the coming months.
The Intel Desktop CPU Core Count Progression shows how cores and threads have increased. The Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake had 4 cores and 8 lines. In 2017, Intel released the Coffee Lake with 6 cores and 12 threads. The Coffee Lake Refresh, released in 2018, had 8 cores and 16 threads. In 2020, Intel released the Comet Lake with 10 cores and 20 threads. The Rocket Lake, released in 2021, had 8 cores and 16 threads. Alder Lake was released in the same year with 16 cores and 24 threads, consisting of 8 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores. The Raptor Lake released in 2022 had 24 cores and 32 threads, with 8 performance and 16 efficiency cores. Intel’s upcoming Raptor Lake Refresh is expected to have the exact core count as Raptor Lake. Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake, both expected to release around 2024, are rumored to have 22 and 24 performance cores, respectively, with 28 and 32 threads and 6 performance and 16 efficiency cores.
Following Comet Lake, Intel released Rocket Lake in 2021, which reduced the core count to 8 cores but with higher clock speeds. In the same year, Intel launched Alder Lake, which marked a significant shift in its approach with hybrid architectures, combining high-performance Golden Cove and efficient Gracemont cores.