INTEL LEVELS UP
Give it up for Intel’s 8th-gen Core processors, urges Jeremy Laird.
Give it up for Intel’s 8th-gen Core i processors!
Intel’s 8th Generation core processors have landed. They’re the most exciting mainstream CPUs from Chipzilla in at least five years — but also the most confusing. In fact, Intel’s 8th-generation Core isn’t really a generation of CPUs at all. It’s more a collection of products with common branding than a distinct ‘generation’ of processors with something approaching a homogeneous feature set.
Eventually, 8th-gen Core will contain CPUs from three generations of processor design, and be manufactured on two silicon production nodes. But even with three generations and two production nodes, 8th-gen Core chips don’t include Intel’s new multicore chips that range from 10 to 18 cores. Those fall under the 7th-gen banner. Intel never makes it easy to understand its product range...
If Intel’s marketing can be utterly baffling at the best of times, 8th-gen Core remains really good news for the most part. For starters, we’re looking at the first major step forward in mainstream desktop CPU performance from Intel for a very long time. In simple terms, you’re getting more cores at every mainstream price point. Hurrah! Mobile performance and battery life are on the up, too.
Where the confusion comes in is that, unlike previous generations, where being a part of a specific generation of Core processor meant something in terms of features and capabilities, the simple fact of a CPU being 8th-gen doesn’t tell you much. Instead, you’re going to have to stay on your toes to keep up with the pros and cons of Intel’s new range.
With that in mind, we’ve drawn together everything you need to know about these new CPUs. From the absolute entry-level chips to mobile masterpieces and desktop killers that set new performance standards at certain price points, we’ve got the full low-down. So now you’ll know what to expect, where the best bangfor-buck is to be found, and which chips fit best with your PC usage.
Let it rip!