Do I really need... an eighthgeneration processor?

What does it do?

The eighth generation of Intel’s Core processor line brings more powerful i3, i5 and i7 chips. Confusingly, while previous generations have been given one geographical codename, this has three: Kaby Lake R, Coffee Lake and, some time in 2018, Cannon Lake.

Why would I want it?

Kaby Lake increased speed by a few per cent, but the new processors promise much bigger gains, largely thanks to extra cores. Desktop i3 processors were dual-core; now those with i3-8 numbers are quad-core, boosting performance in demanding tasks (see page 20). The i5-8 and i7-8 chips have six cores. For laptops, four new quad-core i5-8 and i7-8 chips with the ‘U’ suffix, standing for low voltage, promise to beat their predecessors by a huge 40 per cent in overall performance while helping to increase battery life.

What’s the catch?

The new six-core processors require new motherboards, so PCS featuring them won’t be cheap, and you can’t put them into existing PCS. AMD’S rival Ryzen processors (pictured), with six or eight cores, have set a high bar for desktop CPUS, and Intel will struggle to match their performance per pound. Ryzen laptops are available now.

So can I do without it?

For now, yes. Over the next few months, there should be a few bargains among PCS with 7th-gen chips (numbers starting i3-7, i5-7 or i7-7), but it’ll be worth paying a bit more for the new ones. Competition with AMD should help bring prices down.