Coffee Lake Desktop Processors

The final part of the launch is focused around filling out the processor line-up for the desktop. Intel launched six Coffee Lake-based desktop processors back in October, so we have had almost a five month wait for the rest of the line to see the light of day. In this batch of processors we see the regular and low powered processors that normally sit in Intel’s strategy, as well as a number of Pentium and Celeron parts.

AnandTech Cores TDP Freq L3 vPro DRAM
DDR4
iGPU iGPU
Turbo
Core i7-8700K $359 6 / 12 95 W 3.7 / 4.7 12 MB No 2666 24 EUs 1200
Core i7-8700 $303 6 / 12 65 W 3.2 / 4.6 12 MB Yes 2666 24 EUs 1200
Core i7-8700T* $303 6 / 12 35 W 2.4 / 4.0 12 MB Yes 2666 24 EUs 1200

For the Core i7 family, the new entrant is the Core i7-8700T. This will be the only six-core processor, with hyperthreading, to fall into the 35W bracket. It features the full L3 cache support, dual channel memory up to DDR4-2666, and is eligible for vPro support. It is worth noting that the 35W TDP value is only valid when the CPU is at its base frequency, which in this case is 2.4 GHz. At the peak turbo of 4.0 GHz, or for all-cores somewhere in the middle (again, Intel won’t specify), the power will obviously be higher.

AnandTech Cores TDP Freq L3 vPro DRAM
DDR4
iGPU iGPU
Turbo
Core i5-8600K $257 6 / 6 95 W 3.6 / 4.3 9 MB No 2666 24 EUs 1150
Core i5-8600* $213 6 / 6 65 W 3.1 / 4.3 9 MB Yes 2666 24 EUs 1150
Core i5-8600T* $213 6 / 6 35 W 2.3 / 3.7 9 MB Yes 2666 24 EUs 1150
Core i5-8500* $192 6 / 6 65 W 3.0 / 4.1 9 MB Yes 2666 24 EUs 1100
Core i5-8500T* $192 6 / 6 35 W 2.1 / 3.5 9 MB Yes 2666 24 EUs 1100
Core i5-8400 $182 6 / 6 65 W 2.8 / 4.0 9 MB No 2666 24 EUs 1050
Core i5-8400T* $192 6 / 6 35 W 1.7 / 3.3 9 MB No 2666 24 EUs 1050

In the Core i5, most of the parts are new. As with the Core i5 desktop parts that are already launched, these have six-cores but do not have multithreading. They have a reduced L3 cache per core compared to the Core i7, and it is worth noting that the base frequency for the processors does not actually get that high – only 3.1 GHz for the Core i5-8600. All of the parts support dual channel DDR4-2666, and all but one processor supports vPro.

AnandTech Cores TDP Freq L3 vPro DRAM
DDR4
iGPU iGPU
Turbo
Core i3-8350K $168 4 / 4 91 W 4.0 8 MB No 2400 23 EUs 1150
Core i3-8300* $138 4 / 4 65 W 3.7 8 MB No 2400 23 EUs 1150
Core i3-8300T* $138 4 / 4 35 W 3.2 8 MB No 2400 23 EUs 1100
Core i3-8100 $117 4 / 4 65 W 3.6 6 MB No 2400 23 EUs 1100
Core i3-8100T* $117 4 / 4 35 W 3.1 6 MB No 2400 23 EUs  1100

There are only three new members of the Core i3 section, all of which are quad-core processors. The two Core i3-8300/T parts have the peak 2MB L3 per core, while the Core i3-8100T only has 1.5 MB L3 per core. These parts are all reduced in memory frequency as well, supporting dual-channel DDR4-2400. Intel has no vPro parts in the Core i3 line, but all the Core i3 SKUs will support Optane.

AnandTech Cores TDP Freq L3 DRAM
DDR4
iGPU iGPU
Turbo
Pentium Gold G5600 $86 2 / 4 54 W 3.9 4 MB 2400 UHD 630 350 / 1100
Pentium Gold G5500 $75 2 / 4 54 W 3.8 4 MB 2400 UHD 630 350 / 1100
Pentium Gold G5500T $75 2 / 4 35 W 3.2 4 MB 2400 UHD 630 350 / 1100
Pentium Gold G5400 $64 2 / 4 54 W 3.7 4 MB 2400 UHD 630 350 / 1050
Pentium Gold G5400T $64 2 / 4 35 W 3.1 4 MB 2400 UHD 630 350 / 1050

The Pentium Gold processors fit in where the older Core i3 processors once stood: dual core with hyperthreading. Intel rates the ‘full speed’ models at 54W, while the lower-power T-models are at 35W. One of the bigger disadvantages of these parts is the lack of Optane support, plus also the DDR4-2400 memory support, however they do fill up the lower cost market. Intel differentiates the Pentium Gold as having the latest Core microarchitecture compared to Pentium Silver which uses the Atom core design.

AnandTech Cores TDP Freq L3 DRAM
DDR4
iGPU iGPU
Turbo
Celeron G4920 $52 2 / 2 54 W 3.2 2 MB 2400 UHD 610 350 / 1050
Celeron G4900 $42 2 / 2 54 W 3.1 2 MB 2400 UHD 610 350 / 1050
Celeron G4900T $42 2 / 2 35 W 2.9 2 MB 2400 UHD 610 350 / 1000

No real fancy words for Celeron here: these are Intel’s dual core designs for the cheapest Intel-based PCs. Just pair one up with a H310 motherboard, a single stick of memory, and a cheap HDD, and there’s a PC. What is different is that Intel has dropped the 'G' in the SKU name in the document they gave us (such as G4920). We have seen other documents from Intel that have the G, so we need see why there is a discrepancy.

Update: ARK confirms that all the Celerons have 'G' in the name.

* New Parts

** Blank spots in tables will be filled in as we get information

Per-Core Turbo Ratios

Due to some sleuthing, and despite Intel's insistence these are proprietary information, we have all the official per-core turbo ratios for this processors.

The most interesting element to these values are the 35W low-powered T processors. In each case, the all core turbo is much, much higher than the base frequency. For example, the Core i5-8400T has a base frequency of 1.70 GHz, but the all-core turbo is set at 3.0 GHz - almost double. Given the fact that TDP is defined at the base frequency, it is quite clear that the all-core turbo mode suggested to motherboard manufacturers is going to blow that 35W limit on the i5-8400T.

High-Performance Mobile: Coffee Lake with Iris Plus at 28W New Optane Branding: Core i9+, Core i7+, Core i5+
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  • satai - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link

    When you buy Core, you just buy the number of cores you want. Ignore everything else (unless you have some niche needs such as ECC).
  • close - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link

    @satai, stop being a shill. You already use some arguments that don't make sense (like insisting that everybody who buys a laptop knows the TDP of the CPU and can make the difference for performance based on that - which is asinine but here you are claiming it).

    Intel has been muddying the waters when it comes to branding for at least a decade. Dozens of SKUs meant only to confuse even people with more than basic knowledge. Mixed model numbers and random feature allocation that even this article confirms. Unless you walk around with the slide deck or learned the ARK website by heart you'll never know what model does what and what the numbering represents.

    The Ryzen naming scheme is pretty clear and understandable at least by comparison. And while it could create some confusion between mobile and desktop specs, that's minor. There's a very solid overlap in corecount between mobile and desktop (like 4/4 and 4/8 models in the in the 3 and 5 ranges).

    And I'm pretty sure it was done simply because it's the only way to fight a company that sold you the same crappy advancements YoY for a boatload of money. If even AT kicks Intel to the curb you know that whoever is defending them is either paid to do it or needs some adult supervision.
  • satai - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link

    "nsisting that everybody who buys a laptop knows the TDP of the CPU"
    I don't say or think such a thing.

    "Dozens of SKUs meant only to confuse even people with more than basic knowledge"
    google with site:ark.intel.com
    If you are not able o do this...

    "The Ryzen naming scheme is pretty clear and understandable at least by comparison. "
    Partly because AMD competes only in some segments...

    "There's a very solid overlap in corecount between mobile and desktop (like 4/4 and 4/8 models in the in the 3 and 5 ranges)."

    So you need to have apriori knowledge that this is about 5 and 3 and not for 7 anyway...
  • ToTTenTranz - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link

    This update seems to put Microsoft in an awkward position for their high-end Surface Pro.

    They've been using the 15W Iris Pro part for high-end for quite a while. All of a sudden Intel only has 28W parts with Iris Pro. A visit to the ark website tells us all these Iris Pro 655 models only have a cTDP down to 20W, which is may not be nearly enough for Surface Pro's cooling system.

    One would think the Ryzen 2700U would be the perfect replacement candidate for Microsoft, but the lack of LPDDR support may prove "mortal" for tablets, as we're yet to see a single 12" tablet with detachable keyboard based off AMD's 15W offerings.

    But most of all why the hell are all these new sub-35W APU offerings not coming with LPDDR4 support? Looks like such a waste..
  • Gunbuster - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link

    You make it sound like MS is not already in an awkward position on Surface after hitting a brick wall trying to get into Enterprise business and having on average eight daily visitors to their brick and mortar stores.
  • PeachNCream - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link

    "Many people expect Apple to be Intel’s biggest customer with these parts, however the future of the product line is unclear, with Intel unwilling to discuss the roadmap on what is being called ‘Kaby Lake-G’."

    There's already been recent news about Apple possibly moving to a different CPU supplier in Macintosh systems in 2020, so less than 2 years from now. Maybe in the short term, Apple will be a customer for such chips, but the mid- to long-term future appears to be quite different. Here's a link to a source article about that:

    http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-t...
  • Ratman6161 - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link

    Apple has been hovering around 8% - 10% market share in laptops and a bit lesser share for desktops for a very long time. 10% is certainly enough for Intel to take notice but not enough for them to be coming out with CPU's specifically for them.
  • satai - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link

    Apple sells/buys with above average prices. That makes them pretty valuabe customer.

    Intel did some tweaks of CPUs for them before (smaller packaging for C2D for Air and possibly others).
  • 12Parsecs - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link

    https://ark.intel.com/products/77912/Intel-Xeon-Pr...
    ;-)
  • tipoo - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link

    There we go, ULV quads and Iris Plus were probably what the 13" rMBP was waiting on.

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