Intel has recently revealed a security vulnerability named Downfall (CVE-2022-40982) that impacts multiple generations of Intel processors. The vulnerability is linked to Intel's memory optimization feature, exploiting the Gather instruction, a function that accelerates data fetching from scattered memory locations. It inadvertently exposes internal hardware registers, allowing malicious software access to data held by other programs. The flaw affects Intel mainstream and server processors ranging from the Skylake to Rocket Lake microarchitecture. The entire list of affected CPUs is here. Intel has responded by releasing updated software-level microcode to fix the flaw. However, there's concern over the performance impact of the fix, potentially affecting AVX2 and AVX-512 workloads involving the Gather instruction by up to 50%.

Phoronix tested the Downfall mitigations and reported varying performance decreases on different processors. For instance, two Xeon Platinum 8380 processors were around 6% slower in certain tests, while the Core i7-1165G7 faced performance degradation ranging from 11% to 39% in specific benchmarks. While these reductions were less than Intel's forecasted 50% overhead, they remain significant, especially in High-Performance Computing (HPC) workloads. The ramifications of Downfall are not restricted to specialized tasks like AI or HPC but may extend to more common applications such as video encoding. Though the microcode update is not mandatory and Intel provides an opt-out mechanism, users are left with a challenging decision between security and performance. Executing a Downfall attack might seem complex, but the final choice between implementing the mitigation or retaining performance will likely vary depending on individual needs and risk assessments.

Intel has published a preview article covering its new AVX10 ISA (Instruction Set Architecture)—the announcement reveals that both P-Cores & E-Cores (on next-gen processors) will be getting support for AVX-512. Team Blue stated: "Intel AVX10 represents a major shift to supporting a high-performance vector ISA across future Intel processors. It allows the developer to maintain a single code-path that achieves high performance across all Intel platforms with the minimum of overhead checking for feature support. Future development of the Intel AVX10 ISA will continue to provide a rich, flexible, and consistent environment that optimally supports both Server and Client products."

Due to technical issues (E-core related), Intel decided to disable AVX-512 for Alder Lake and Raptor Lake client-oriented CPU lineups. AMD has recently adopted the fairly new instruction set for its Ryzen 7040 mobile series, so it is no wonder that Team Blue is attempting to reintroduce it in the near future—AVX-512 was last seen working properly on Rocket and Tiger Lake chips. AVX10 implementation is expected to debut with Granite Rapids (according to Longhorn), and VideoCardz reckons that Intel will get advanced instructions for Efficiency cores working with its Clearwater Forest CPU architecture.

Intel Graphics has introduced feature rivaling NVIDIA VSR (virtual super resolution) for Chromium-based web-browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, which enhances the quality of streaming video, both from lower resolutions to higher; as well as improving the quality at native resolution. This was discovered in the change-log of a Chrome build, which talks about the introduction of a "-features=IntelVpSuperResolution" command-line argument to start Chrome with, to enable the feature.

Apparently, the Intel VSR feature works on Intel iGPUs dating back to the 11th Gen Core ("Tiger Lake" and "Rocket Lake,") based on the Xe-LP graphics architecture. The feature should come particularly handy when trying to upscale online video from lower resolutions (such as SD 360p/480p or HD 720p), up to Full HD (1080p) or higher. It's reported that VSR is enabled by default on Chrome/Edge 110, and doesn't require that command-line argument. To use it, you will need Intel iGPU graphics drivers version 27.20.100.8681 or later.

Intel 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake" desktop processors in the Socket LGA1200 package, the first Intel desktop processor generation in five years to offer an IPC increase, has been marked EOL (end of life) and is formally discontinued from the company's product stack. This comes in the latest product-change notification (PCN), dated February 6, 2023, and is consistent with a normal product lifecycle for Intel. A product marked EOL and discontinued can no longer be ordered from Intel, although there are still plenty of 11th Gen Core processors in the market, which Intel will fully honor product warranties for; so those on entry-level 11th Gen processors such as the i5-11400 still have a certain amount of upgrade headroom to the 8-core i7-11700/K or the faster i9-11900/K. The PCN covers pretty much the entire 11th Gen Core desktop product stack.

Intel tends to send out elaborate media kits with their pre-launch processor review samples. One such kit landed with Caseking, which posted a reveal of what it could look like. A large cardboard box roughly the size of an ATX motherboard box shimmers with holographic film on all its sides. You open its lid to reveal a giant picture of a "Raptor Lake-S" (8P+16E) die. In real life, this die is roughly 260 mm² in area (about that of a postage stamp). The bottom end of this "die" opens out in two segments, one reveals an acrylic memento with another enlarged "Raptor Lake" die, which you can hang on a wall or as a backdrop in your streams; while the other half reveals two paperboard jewel-cases, one contains the Core i9-13900K (8P+16E), and the other a Core i5-13600K (6P+8E). Fancy media kits aren't new, and most hardware companies send them with their major product releases, so sites can optionally do an unboxing preview at a date before that of the review. You can watch Caseking's unboxing video from the source link below.

The popular PlayStation 3 emulator for PCs, RPCS3, just received a major update that lets it take advantage of the AVX-512 instruction-set on processors based on the AMD Zen 4 microarchitecture (the recently launched Ryzen 7000 series). RPCS3 emulates the PS3's CELL Broadband Engine SoC entirely on CPU, and does not use your GPU to draw any raster graphics. To emulate both a CPU and GPU of that time entirely on a multi-threaded CPU of today is no easy task, but is helped greatly by leveraging the latest instruction-sets. RPCS3 supports an AVX-512 code-path on Intel processors such as the Core i9-11900K "Rocket Lake," but the company has been fidgeting with AVX-512 support on its client processors since 12th Gen "Alder Lake." The developer of RPCS3 in a tweet confirmed that they have enabled AVX-512 support for AMD Zen 4 with the latest build.

Intel Graphics, with its latest Graphics Drivers 31.0.101.3222, changed the coverage of its latest driver updates. The company would be providing game optimizations and regular driver updates only for its Gen12 (Iris Xe), and Arc "Alchemist" graphics products. Support for Gen9, Gen9.5, and Gen11 iGPUs integrated with 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th generations of Intel processors, namely "Skylake," "Kaby Lake," "Coffee Lake," "Ice Lake," and "Cascade Lake," will be relegated to a separate, quarterly driver update cycle, which only covers critical updates and security vulnerabilities, but not game optimizations.

Intel's regular Graphics Driver cycle that includes Day-0 optimizations timed with new game releases, will only cover the Gen12 Xe iGPUs found in 11th Gen "Tiger Lake," "Rocket Lake," and 12th Gen "Alder Lake" processors; besides the DG1 Iris Xe graphics card; and Arc "Alchemist" discrete GPUs. Version 31.0.101.3222 appears to be a transitioning point, and so it has drivers from both branches included within a 1.1 GB package (the main branch supporting game optimizations for new GPUs, and the legacy branch for the older iGPUs). You can grab this driver from here.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the handy graphics sub-system information and diagnostic utility for gamers and PC enthusiasts. Version 2.44.0 adds support for several new GPUs, feature updates to the Resizable BAR detection, and a handful other fixes. To begin with, GPU-Z adds support for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, RTX 3080 12 GB, RTX 3070 Ti Mobile, RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, RTX 2060 12 GB, MX550, and a number of other mobile GPUs from NVIDIA. On the AMD front, you get support for Navi 24: Radeon RX 6500 XT, RX 6400, RX 6300M, RX 6500M, PRO W6300M, PRO W6500M, and PRO W660M. Support is also added for Intel "Alder Lake" non-K processors, "Alder Lake" mobile processors, and Xeon processors based on "Rocket Lake."

TechPowerUp GPU-Z can now report the exact base-address register (BAR) size when Resizable BAR is enabled. Find it in the Advanced Panel, under Resizable BAR. Detection of Resizable BAR has been improved. Detection of LHR in certain RTX 3060 cards has been improved to weed out misreporting of LHR. Vendor detection was added for Vastarmor. The internal Screenshot hosting utility now uploads screenshots over HTTPS. The 64-bit Windows Vista name will now include a space character, so "Vista 64" instead of just "Vista64." Grab GPU-Z from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.44.0

It took a while for this discovery as it's probably rare for people with modern PCs to also have Blu-ray optical drives. Apparently PCs with Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake," and older 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake" processors, as well as the latest Windows 11 OS, are unable to playback protected 4K Blu-ray video discs, as the DRM component is broken in the absence of Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX). Intel introduced SGX with 6th Gen Core "Skylake," and deprecated it with "Rocket Lake." To be clear, playback of Blu-ray discs at 1080p isn't affected.

CyberLink, makers of the PowerDVD software that's bundled as an OEM application with optical drives to play back protected Blu-ray video; put out a statement on its website confirming that they're unable to help with this situation, as they don't control the DRM, the Blu-ray Association does. "The removal of the SGX feature, and its compatibility with the latest Windows OS and drivers, has caused a substantial challenge for CyberLink to continue supporting Ultra HD Blu-ray movie playback in our player software," it stated. Just to clarify, this only affects playback of Blu-Ray content at 4K—1080p is not affected.Many Thanks to Steevo for the tip.

Intel is reportedly disabling the rudimentary AVX-512 instruction-set support on its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors using a firmware/ME update, reports Igor's Lab. Intel does not advertise AVX-512 for Alder Lake, even though the instruction-set was much publicized for a couple of its past-generation client-segment chips, namely 11th Gen Rocket Lake, and 10th Gen Cascade Lake-X HEDT processors. The company will likely make AVX-512 a feature that sets apart its next-gen HEDT processors derived from Sapphire Rapids, its upcoming enterprise microarchitecture.

AVX-512 is technically not advertised for Alder Lake, but software that calls for these instructions can utilize them on certain 12th Gen Core processors, when paired with older versions of the Intel ME firmware. The ME version Intel releases to OEMs and motherboard vendors alongside its upcoming 65 W Core desktop processors, and the Alder Lake-P mobile processors, will prevent AVX-512 from being exposed to the software. Intel's reason to deprecate what little client-relevant AVX-512 instructions it had for Core processors, could have do with energy efficiency, as much as lukewarm reception from client software developers. The instruction is more relevant to the HPC and cloud-computing markets.Many Thanks to TheoneandonlyMrK for the tip.

Intel's upcoming Core i3-12100 and i3-12300 quad-core processors that form the value-end of the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop processor family, pack an incredible mix of performance for their segment, which puts them ahead of six-core parts from the previous-generation, according to performance testing on the ChipHell forums. The two chips are based on the "H0" silicon, and feature four "Golden Cove" P-cores with HyperThreading enabled; no E-cores, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. From what we can tell, the i3-12100 and i3-12300 are segment only by a 100 MHz maximum boost frequency value, and possibly at the iGPU-level.

Among the tests run by ChipHell are Cinebench R20, Cinebench R23, CPU-Z bench, CS:GO; and power/thermal testing using AIDA64. Right off the bat, we see the two chips flex their high IPC in the CPU-Z bench, scoring 687 points (i3-12100), and 702.5 points (i3-12300). An AMD "Zen 3" based quad-core chip, such as the OEM-only Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G, should score roughly 620 points, while the slowest "Rocket Lake" part, the i5-11400, only does 566 points. The multi-threaded test sees scores ranging between 3407 to 3482 points for the two.

Today marks the simultaneous launch of three XPC cubes on the market on the European continent. The "XPC" series from the Taiwanese Mini-PC manufacturer has been impressing users since 2001 with its compact design and wide range of possible applications. The SH570R6, SH570R6 Plus and SH570R8 models are based on the Intel H570 chipset, which is suitable for Intel Core processors of the 11th generation (Rocket Lake) and 10th generation (Comet Lake). Shuttle states that the current top-performing model is the Intel Core i9-11900K with 125 Watt TDP, 8 cores, 16 threads, 16 MB cache and a turbo frequency of 5.3 GHz.

To match the comprehensive processor support, up to 128 GB of RAM, spread across four slots, can be installed. There are also very few upper limits when it comes to suitable mass storage devices. Fast NVMe SSDs can be fitted in the M.2-2280 slot and, thanks to the four SATA ports, so can the corresponding number of hard drives or SSDs. The R6 chassis provides space for two 3.5" data carriers (one internal, one external) and a 5.25" drive; the R8 model, by contrast, can be fitted with four internal 3.5" data carriers - with a corresponding adapter 2.5" formats are of course also suitable.

According to some testing performed by the team behind RPCS3, a free and open-source emulation software for Sony's PlayStation 3, Intel's Alder Lake processors are enjoying a hefty performance boost when E-Cores is disabled. First of all, the Alder Lake processors feature a hybrid configuration with high-performance P-cores and low-power E-cores. The P-cores are based on Golden Cove architecture and can execute AVX-512 instructions with ease. However, the AVX-512 boost is only applicable when E-cores are disabled as software looks at the whole package. Officially, Alder Lake processors don't support AVX-512, as the processor's little E-cores cannot execute AVX-512 instruction.

Thanks to the team behind the RPCS3 emulator, we have some information and tests that suggest that turning E-cores off gives a performance boost to the emulation speed and game FPS. With E-Cores disabled, and only P-cores left, the processor can execute AVX-512 and gets a higher ring ratio. This means that latency in the ring bus is presumably lower. The team benchmarked Intel Core i9-12900K, and Core i9-11900K processors clocked at 5.2 GHz for tests. The Alder Lake chip had disabled E-cores. In God of War: Ascension, the Rocket Lake processor produced 68 FPS, while Alder Lake produced 78 FPS, representing around 15% improvement.

Intel's upcoming Alder Lake-S lineup of processors is shaping up to be a rather good generational improvement. With wonders of the Intel 7 process, previously called 10 nm Enhanced SuperFin (10ESF), the processor lineup will deliver new hybrid technology, mixing new big and small cores into one package. Today, some new CPU-Z validation tests have shown up for the Intel Core i5-12600K CPU, which directly replaces the previous Core i5-11600K Rocket Lake model. With six high-performance Golden Cove and four efficient Gracemont cores, the Core i5-12600K CPU is a ten-core design with 16 threads. And compared to the 6C/12T i5-12600K CPU, the performance is much higher.

According to CPU-Z scores, the new Alder Lake processor scored 7220 and 7156 points for a multi-threaded benchmark in two tests. Compare this to the previous-generation model, which scores 4731 points, and the new chip is almost 50% faster. According to CPU-Z, the new CPU achieved this while running at a boost frequency of 4.5 GHz to 4.7 GHz.

Well, that was a short one. Just last week we released GPU-Z 2.42.0, this week we have 2.43.0, which fixes a crash on older Radeon cards, including Radeon HD 5000. After last week's release people fired up these cards in masses, to see the change from AMD to ATI logo. This new activity helped uncovered a few problems, which are fixed with this update. We also fixed a screenshot feature bug that appeared since v2.39.0 on machines with Windows XP. GPU-Z adds the ability to read power limits of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series Laptop GPUs ("Ampere"), which will help you to find out exactly which Ampere Mobile SKU you have, what its power limits are, and whether you could flash its VBIOS to increase the limits. You can find these values in the "NVIDIA BIOS" section of the "Advanced" tab. The ability to report power limits for Ampere Mobile has been added to our VGA BIOS Database, too. The execution unit (EU) count of Intel Xe LP iGPUs on "Rocket Lake" processors has been fixed. Support is added for NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 series based on the TU106-B silicon. Grab GPU-Z from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.43.0

Intel today released the Xeon E-2300 series enterprise processors for entry level servers, based on the 14 nm "Rocket Lake-E" silicon. These are slightly different from the Xeon W-1300 series processors targeting workstations. The E-2300 has a more server-relevant feature-set, and is designed for high uptime. You get ECC memory support, as well as vPro, SGX, and MPX (memory encryption). You still get only client-relevant AVX-512 instructions found in 11th Gen Core processors, as well as DLBoost AI acceleration.

The "Rocket Lake-E" silicon comes with up to 8 "Cypress Cove" CPU cores, each with 512 KB of dedicated L2 cache, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor features a 2-channel DDR4 memory interface that supports up to 128 GB of DDR4-3200 memory. It puts out 20 PCI-Express 4.0 lanes that can be segmented in a number of ways; as well as the Intel C250 series chipset puts out 24 PCI-Express 3.0 lanes. Chips in this series come with TDP of up to 95 W.

The 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" microarchitecture will see Intel unify its desktop- and mobile processor IP, back to the way things were up to the 9th Gen. With its post-14 nm silicon fabrication nodes in their infancy, Intel had diverged the client processor IP across its 10th and 11th Gen Core. With 10th Gen, the company introduced "Ice Lake" for ultra-portable platforms (28 W and below), while retaining 14 nm "Comet Lake" for mainstream notebooks (28 W to 45 W); while keeping desktop exclusively with 14 nm "Comet Lake." For 11th Gen, the story is mostly similar. Cutting-edge 10 nm "Tiger Lake" now covers all mobile categories, while desktop receives an IPC upgrade, thanks to the 14 nm "Rocket Lake." The 12th Gen will see a common microarchitecture, "Alder Lake," span across all client segments, from 7 W ultra mobile, to 125 W enthusiast desktop.

This, however, doesn't mean that Intel has a one-size fits all silicon that it can carve SKUs out of. The company has developed as many as three physical dies based on "Alder Lake," which vary in CPU core counts, the size of the iGPU, and other on-die components. "Alder Lake" is a hybrid processor with a combination of larger "Golden Cove" P-cores, and smaller "Gracemont" E-cores. The P-cores are spatially large, and along with their L3 cache slices, take up a large share of the compute portion of the silicon. The E-cores come in clusters of 4 cores each.

Intel's upcoming Alder Lake family of processors, more specifically the desktop ALD-S SKUs, are supposedly going to require a higher peak current for the upcoming processors. In the table provided by the Chinese tech media outlet, FCPOWERUP, we are seeing that ALD-S processors have different power requirements for the ATX12V rails on their power supplies. The listed table shows the previous generation of Intel processors, the 10th and 11th generation, as available in 165 Watt variants. Even though there are no 165 Watt Comet Lake and Rocket Lake SKUs, this is only a placeholder for their PSU recommendations in case those SKUs were to be released.

According to the table, the peak current recommendation for the upcoming Alder Lake is higher at least 5 Amps across all SKUs. The 165 Watt SKUs have the requirement of 45 Amps (compared to the 40 A of Comet Lake and Rocket Lake), while the 125 Watt SKUs require 39 Amps, which is higher than the previous 34 Amp requirement. For 65 Watt models, the new peak recommendation is 38.5 Amps, a jump from the previous 30 Amp choice. The lowest rated 35 Watt SKUs are recommended to use 20.5 A, while the previous generations used 16.5 A current. It should be noted that the continuous rating has not been changed (new generation 35 Watt models actually use less current), which indicates that Alder Lake could have higher peak usages of power, meaning that PSU choice should be made with a 50-100 Watt higher rating.

Regardless the hype surrounding the impending DDR5 memory and boards, Neo Forza (the gaming arm and brand of Goldkey Technology Corporation, TAIWAN) firmly believes DDR4 systems to still be the de-facto choice for the gaming community for some time to come, due primarily to both budget considerations and the large pool of DDR4 community forums. Would not be surprised for DDR4 versions of Alder Lake boards and Zen 4 boards to appear in the near horizon.

Entrenched in this belief, Neo Forza proudly announces release of readily available DDR4-5000 and DDR4-4600 memory. Neo Forza's frequency segmentation; 3000-3600 MHz | 3600-4400 MHz | 4400-5000 MHz is acknowledgement of bulk of PC gamers and enthusiasts to having systems one to two generations behind very latest CPU and mainboard offerings. Neo Forza's frequency segmentation practically matches DDR4 motherboard chipset tiers and CPU configurations, thereby eking out every last drop of performance from the system, maximizing budgets across all tiers of enthusiasts.

The recently announced flagship Intel i7-1195G7 11th generation Tiger Lake mobile processor with a 5.0 GHz single turbo clock has recently been tested in Geekbench V5. The processor achieved an extremely impressive score of 1700 points in single-core performance which puts it above many desktop-class processors including the Ryzen 5000X lineup and only just below Intel's Rocket Lake-S desktop processors. The benchmarks come from a pre-production CLEVO NV4XMJ unit with the processor scoring between 1662 to 1700 points across three samples. We expect further benchmarks for the new processor to be available imminently as the CPU is already available in select products.

The EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 has unmatched levels of upgradeability through the Mobile Supercomputer's modular slots, allowing the safe removal and replacement of important hardware components such as the laptop's CPU, GPU, Memory, Storage, LCD, and more. Having slots or sockets allows the Sky Z7 R2 to customized, upgraded and modified with compatible parts- giving this Eurocom Mobile Supercomputer the ability to run the most demanding applications and perform high level tasks for a very long time. As newer and improved technologies emerge within the same chipset, the EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2's hardware components such as the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, LCD, to name a few, can all be upgraded and replaced relatively easy in order to acquire more power as desired. Having modular components greatly increases the laptop's lifespan for many years and prevents the cycle of having to buy new laptops every few years, which can be the case with most laptops that have non-upgradeable components.

Eurocom's Sky Z7 R2 is one of the few laptops that utilizes modular GPU technology based on the MXM 3.1 version 2.0 socket technology. This means the Mobile Supercomputer's high performance GPU can be replaced at any time as long as it is compatible in the chipset, allowing the EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 to perform at an extremely high level throughout the duration of its long lifespan. This Mobile Supercomputer can be configured up to the GeForce RTX 3080 which delivers twice the performance as its previous generation counterpart (GeForce RTX 2080). The EUROCOM Sky Z7 R2 offers seamless and stutter-free 4K gaming at 60 FPS, as well as 8K video editing, rendering and gaming.

NZXT, a leading designer of computer hardware, software, and services for the PC gaming community, today announces the release of the NZXT N7 Z590 motherboard, their latest Intel-based ATX motherboard with both the features and seamless aesthetic that builders love.

The NZXT N7 Z590 brings the sleek design and simplified building experience to Intel's newest chipset, supporting Intel's 11th generation Rocket Lake CPUs, PCIe gen 4, and the latest wireless connectivity standards which includes Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth V5.1. Community feedback was the inspiration for adding additional rear I/O, as well as improved thermal performance with more power phases and layers to the printed circuit board.

Famous chip photographer Fritzchens Fritz has always surprised us with some awesome die shots of the latest processors. Today, he has prepared another interesting surprise for all technology enthusiasts. Mr. Fritz has managed to run Intel's Core i5-11400 "Rocket Lake" processor without any type of colling solution, and use a thermal camera to capture what is happening inside the silicon. As the Rocket Lake design is impossible to run at any low-power setting, the author has made some changes to get a sustained run from the CPU. For starters, he set the operating clock speed to the constant 800 MHz, with iGPU, AVX, and HyperThreading disabled. The VCCSA was offset by -0.200 mV and the memory speed was lowered to DDR4-1333 speed.

The results? Well, the CPU has managed to run some tests without a cooler, and the thermal camera shows us just how the CPU works. As a CPU core gets in use, a thermal camera picks it up and we can see a core sort of spiking. Its temperature increases and it becomes distinctive from the rest of the die. After some time, the CPU became unusable, which is to be expected given that Rocket Lake's power-hungry design managed to survive quite a long time without any sufficient cooling.You can check out the YouTube video below and see the magic happen.

XMG introduces an additional configuration variant to the high-end NEO range of gaming laptops with Intel's new Tiger Lake H45 processors. The eight-core CPUs from the 11th Core generation not only offer higher performance compared to their predecessors, but also boast the advantages of a completely updated platform. These includes support for PCI Express 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4 - features that the AMD version of the XMG NEO cannot offer. In addition, the models utilising the new Intel processor also benefit from a slight performance increase on the graphics card side. The GPU in the XMG NEO 15 and NEO 17 (M21) now operates with a TGP of up to 165 instead of 150 watts.

Intel today announced the 11th generation Core "Tiger Lake-H" mobile processors for notebooks of conventional thickness, gaming notebooks, and mobile workstations. This is the first scale-up of the "Tiger Lake" microarchitecture, with the introduction of a brand new die that has up to 8 "Willow Cove" CPU cores. These processors typically come with TDP of 35-45 W, but the flagship part ships with TDP as high as 65 W. Unlike "Rocket Lake," this chip is built on Intel's latest 10 nm SuperFin silicon fabrication process. With it, Intel is announcing ten processor SKUs—five each for the consumer and commercial notebook market segments. These span across the Core i9, Core i7, and Core i5 brand extensions.

The 10 nm "Tiger Lake-H" silicon measures roughly 190 mm², and has several changes compared to the 4-core "Tiger Lake-U" silicon the company debuted the 11th Gen with. The biggest change is the CPU core count of 8. This lets it not only achieve parity with AMD in mobile CPU core counts, but also purportedly beat it on the back of a higher IPC. Each of these 8 "Willow Cove" cores has 1.25 MB of dedicated L2 cache, and share 24 MB of L3 cache. You get the same "Willow Cove" ISA as the "Tiger Lake-U," including AVX-512 and DLBoost. Next up, the chip features an integrated graphics based on the Gen12 Xe LP graphics architecture, only that the execution units have reduced to just 32 on this silicon, compared to 96 on the 4-core Tiger Lake-U. The new chip enjoys a bigger power budget to run the iGPU at higher clock speeds. There is also a 20-lane PCI-Express Gen 4.0 interface, and a dual-channel DDR4 memory controller.