Intel’s 10th Gen Comet Lake-S lineup is expected to launch in the coming months with more threads, larger L3 caches and even higher boost clocks. That, of course, means that the thermals will be worse off with top-end i9 parts requiring AIO cooling and the power draw going through the roof. Whatever the case, we have a fairly clear idea of what to expect from the 10th Gen Intel desktop processors.
Intel 10th Gen Comet Lake-S Specs
For the i3, i5 and i7 chips, the core counts are expected to stay the same, but the base and boost clocks will get a +200MHz uplift. All the processors are also going to get hyperthreading, hardware-level security fixes, and increased L3 cache.
The changes are so drastic (courtesy of Ryzen) that the lower-end i3s have become pre-Kaby Lake i7s. The higher-end parts get hyperthreading across the board as well as near 5GHz boost clocks for all the i7s and some of the i5s. The core i7-10700/10700K gets an all-core boost of 4.8/4.7GHz which is quite impressive. The concern here will be the power draw. Recent leaks suggest that the i7 parts will consume as much as 250W under load which is more than a little worrying.
| CPU Name | Cores/Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock | Cache | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7-10700K | 8/16 | 3.8 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 16 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i7-10700KF | 8/16 | 3.8 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 16 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i7-10700 | 8/16 | 2.9 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 16 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i7-10700F | 8/16 | 2.9 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 16 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i7-10700T | 8/16 | 2.0 GHz | 4.4 GHz | 16 MB | 35W |
| Intel Core i5-10600K | 6/12 | 4.1 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 12 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i5-10600KF | 6/12 | 4.1 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 12 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i5-10600 | 6/12 | 3.3 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 12 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i5-10600T | 6/12 | 2.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 12 MB | 35W |
| Intel Core i5-10500 | 6/12 | 3.1 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 12 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i5-10500T | 6/12 | 2.3 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 12 MB | 35W |
| Intel Core i5-10400 | 6/12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 12 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i5-10400F | 6/12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 12 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i3-10350K | 4/8 | TBD | TBD | 8 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i3-10300 | 4/8 | 3.7 GHz | 4.4 GHz | 8 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i3-10100 | 4/8 | 3.6 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 8 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i3-10100T | 4/8 | 2.3 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 8 MB | 35W |
Other than the regular K and non-K editions, all the CPUs will also be getting F and KF variants, along with the low-power T versions. The F models will lack the iGPU as well as an unlocked multiplier. The KF versions will be missing just the former and essentially be the flagship K versions without the integrated graphics, at a slightly lower price tag.
| CPU Name | C/T | Base Clock | Boost Clock | All Core Boost Clock | Cache | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i9-10900K | 10/20 | 3.7GHz | 5.3GHz | 4.9GHz | 20 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i9-10900KF | 10/20 | 3.7GHz | 5.3GHz | 4.9GHz | 20 MB | 125W |
| Intel Core i9-10900 | 10/20 | 2.8GHz | 5.2GHz | 4.6GHz | 20 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i9-10900F | 10/20 | 2.8GHz | 5.2GHz | 4.6GHz | 20 MB | 65W |
| Intel Core i9-10900T | 10/20 | 2.0GHz | 4.5GHz | TBD | 20 MB | 35W |
The Core i9s will be the most interesting chips of the 10th Gen Comet Lake-S lineups and the only family with meaningful changes. These will be Intel’s first 10-core consumer parts with single-core boosts as high as 5.3GHz and all core boosts of 4.9GHz. Ten freaking cores running at 4.9GHz is simply insane. 14nm or not, I for one would love to try these monsters out. Keep in mind that these are the velocity boost clocks, meaning the CPUs will only hit them if the temperatures are within acceptable parameters.
Prices and Launch Dates
Expect the Comet Lake-S desktop CPUs to be priced similar to the present prices of the 9th Gen lineup, with the Core i9 parts costing a notch above their Coffee Lake predecessors. The launch date is uncertain. My best guess would be either April or ending May at Computex if it’s not canceled too.
