- Intel 15th Gen Arrow Lake CPUs to Feature up to 40 Cores, 2nm (20A) Process, and Foveros 3D Stacking [Rumor] Hardware Times
- Intel Beast Lake: 10 performance cores and huge clocks to beat AMD’s X3D CPUs? TweakTown
- Intel Innovation 2023 set for September 19, Raptor Lake Refresh launch? VideoCardz.com
- Intel Arrow Lake Desktop CPUs With Up To 40 Cores & 40% Higher ST Performance, Panther Lake & Beast Lake With Higher MT & More P-Cores Wccftech
- Intel Arrow Lake flagship CPU could be a 40-core monster to destroy AMD Zen 5 TweakTown
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: CPUs
Intel Arrow Lake Desktop CPUs With Up To 40 Cores & 40% Higher ST Performance, Panther Lake & Beast Lake With Higher MT & More P-Cores – Wccftech
- Intel Arrow Lake Desktop CPUs With Up To 40 Cores & 40% Higher ST Performance, Panther Lake & Beast Lake With Higher MT & More P-Cores Wccftech
- Asus Reveals New Mini-PC Packing an Intel Meteor Lake CPU Tom’s Hardware
- Intel’s next-gen Panther Lake CPUs rumored to feature Cougar Cove architecture VideoCardz.com
- Intel 15th Gen Arrow Lake CPUs to Feature up to 40 Cores, 2nm (20A) Process, and Foveros 3D Stacking [Rumor] Hardware Times
- Asus ExpertCenter PN65 mini PC on the way with 28-watt Intel Meteor Lake processor Liliputing
- View Full Coverage on Google News
AMD Ryzen 7045 “Dragon Range” Enthusiast Laptop CPUs Offer Up To 52% Performance Increase Versus Intel 12th Gen Chips – Wccftech
- AMD Ryzen 7045 “Dragon Range” Enthusiast Laptop CPUs Offer Up To 52% Performance Increase Versus Intel 12th Gen Chips Wccftech
- AMD Claims Dragon Range, Rembrandt-R CPUs Are Faster Than Alder Lake Tom’s Hardware
- AMD “Dragon Range” Ryzen 7745/7645HX officially compared to Intel 12th Gen Core series VideoCardz.com
- AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX makes Cinebench R23 debut with impressive performance gains and high power draw Notebookcheck.net
- AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX 20% Faster than the Ryzen 9 6900HX: Octa Core Zen 4 Mobile APU Hardware Times
- View Full Coverage on Google News
AMD Revealed 31 Vulnerabilities Within Its Processor Lines, Ryzen & EPYC CPUs Included
AMD revealed in the most recent January update that thirty-one new vulnerabilities were found in its processors, covering Ryzen and EPYC CPUs.
AMD hit with 31 new vulnerabilities to start 2023, affecting Ryzen & EPYC CPU lines
The company has created numerous mitigations to alleviate the exposed processors and has also disclosed a report from the company in cooperation with teams from three top companies — Apple, Google, and Oracle. The company also announced several AGESA variants listed in the update (AGESA code is found when building the system’s BIOS and UEFI code).
Due to the vulnerability’s nature, the AGESA changes have been delivered to OEMs, and any patching will depend on each vendor to release it as soon as possible. It would be wise for consumers to visit the vendor’s official website to find out if there is a new update waiting for download rather than waiting for the company to roll it out later.
AMD Processors vulnerable to this new attack include Ryzen models for desktops, HEDT, Pro, and mobile CPU series. There is a single vulnerability labeled as “high severity,” while two others are less extreme but still important to patch. All exposures are attacked through the BIOS and ASP bootloader (also known as the AMD Secure Processor bootloader).
AMD CPU series that are vulnerable are:
- Ryzen 2000 (Pinnacle Ridge) series processors
- Ryzen 2000 APUs
- Ryzen 5000 APUs
- AMD Threadripper 2000 HEDT and Pro server processor series
- AMD Threadripper 3000 HEDT and Pro server processor series
- Ryzen 2000 series mobile processors
- Ryzen 3000 series mobile processors
- Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors
- Ryzen 6000 series mobile processors
- Athlon 3000 series mobile processors
Twenty-eight AMD vulnerabilities have been discovered affecting EPYC processors, with four models labeled with a “high severity” by the company. The three of high severity can have arbitrary code that can be executed through attack vectors in numerous areas. Also, one of the three listed has an additional exploit that permits writing data to specific sections leading to data loss. Other research teams found another fifteen vulnerabilities with lower severity and nine with minor severity.
Because of the large number of affected processors exploited, the company chose to disclose this recent vulnerability list that would typically be published in May and November each year and make sure that mitigations were prepared for release. Other vulnerabilities within AMD products include a variant of Hertzbleed, another that acts similarly to the Meltdown exploit, and one called “Take A Way.”
| CVE | Severity | CVE Description |
| CVE‑2021‑26316 | High | Failure to validate the communication buffer and communication service in the BIOS may allow an attacker to tamper with the buffer resulting in potential SMM (System Management Mode) arbitrary code execution. |
| CVE‑2021‑26346 | Medium | Failure to validate the integer operand in ASP (AMD Secure Processor) bootloader may allow an attacker to introduce an integer overflow in the L2 directory table in SPI flash resulting in a potential denial of service. |
| CVE‑2021‑46795 | Low | A TOCTOU (time-of-check to time-of-use) vulnerability exists where an attacker may use a compromised BIOS to cause the TEE OS to read memory out of bounds that could potentially result in a denial of service. |
DESKTOP
| CVE | AMD Ryzen™ 2000 series Desktop Processors “Raven Ridge” AM4 |
AMD Ryzen™ 2000 Series Desktop Processors “Pinnacle Ridge” |
AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Series Desktop Processors “Matisse” AM4 |
AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series Desktop Processors “Vermeer” AM4 |
AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series Desktop Processor with Radeon™ Graphics “Cezanne” AM4 |
| Minimum version to mitigate all listed CVEs | Raven-FP5-AM4 1.1.0.D ComboAM4PI 1.0.0.8 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 PinnaclePI-AM4 1.0.0.C |
PinnaclePI-AM4 1.0.0.C ComboAM4PI 1.0.0.8 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 |
N/A | N/A | ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.8 |
| CVE‑2021‑26316 | Raven-FP5-AM4 1.1.0.D ComboAM4PI 1.0.0.8 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 PinnaclePI-AM4 1.0.0.C |
PinnaclePI-AM4 1.0.0.C ComboAM4PI 1.0.0.8 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 |
N/A | N/A | ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 |
| CVE‑2021‑26346 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.8 |
| CVE‑2021‑46795 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.5 |
HIGH END DESKTOP
| CVE | 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ Processors “Colfax” |
3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ Processors “Castle Peak” HEDT |
| Minimum version to mitigate all listed CVEs | SummitPI-SP3r2 1.1.0.5 | CastlePeakPI-SP3r3 1.0.0.6 |
| CVE‑2021‑26316 | SummitPI-SP3r2 1.1.0.5 | CastlePeakPI-SP3r3 1.0.0.6 |
| CVE‑2021‑26346 | N/A | N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑46795 | N/A | N/A |
WORKSTATION
| CVE | AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO Processors “Castle Peak” WS |
AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO Processors “Chagall” WS |
| Minimum version to mitigate all listed CVEs | CastlePeakWSPI-sWRX8 1.0.0.7 ChagallWSPI-sWRX8 0.0.9.0 |
N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑26316 | CastlePeakWSPI-sWRX8 1.0.0.7 ChagallWSPI-sWRX8 0.0.9.0 |
N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑26346 | N/A | N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑46795 | N/A | N/A |
MOBILE – AMD Athlon Series
| CVE | AMD Athlon™ 3000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics “Dali”/”Dali” ULP |
AMD Athlon™ 3000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics “Pollock” |
| Minimum version to mitigate all listed CVEs | PicassoPI-FP5 1.0.0.D | PollockPI-FT5 1.0.0.3 |
| CVE‑2021‑26316 | PicassoPI-FP5 1.0.0.D | PollockPI-FT5 1.0.0.3 |
| CVE‑2021‑26346 | N/A | N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑46795 | N/A | N/A |
MOBILE – AMD Ryzen Series
| CVE | AMD Ryzen™ 2000 Series Mobile Processors “Raven Ridge” FP5 |
AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Series Mobile processor, 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics “Picasso” |
AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics “Renoir” FP6 |
AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics “Lucienne” |
AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics “Cezanne” |
AMD Ryzen™ 6000 Series Mobile Processors “Rembrandt” |
| Minimum version to mitigate all listed CVEs | N/A | PicassoPI-FP5 1.0.0.D ComboAM4PI 1.0.0.8 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 | RenoirPI-FP6 1.0.0.9 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.8 |
CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.B | CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.B | N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑26316 | N/A | PicassoPI-FP5 1.0.0.D ComboAM4PI 1.0.0.8 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 | RenoirPI-FP6 1.0.0.7 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.4 | CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.6 | CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.6 | N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑26346 | N/A | N/A | RenoirPI-FP6 1.0.0.9 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.8 |
CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.B | CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.B | N/A |
| CVE‑2021‑46795 | N/A | N/A | RenoirPI-FP6 1.0.0.7 ComboAM4v2 PI 1.2.0.5 | CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.6 | CezannePI-FP6 1.0.0.6 | N/A |
News Sources: Tom’s Hardware, AMD Client Vulnerabilities – January 2023, AMD Server Vulnerabilities – January 2023
Intel Meteor Lake-S Desktop CPUs Rumored To Be Cancelled, LGA 1851 Might Support Trio of Core Families
New rumors regarding the Intel Core Desktop CPU family have been stirred up by OneRaichu who states that Meteor Lake may not come to the LGA 1851 socket.
Intel Cans Meteor Lake CPUs For Desktop, LGA 1851 Socket To Support Three Core Families, Alleges Rumor
There were rumors that Intel might cancel Meteor Lake CPUs for desktop release and it looks like those might be coming true. According to OneRaichu who has been very accurate with his leaks in the past, the leaker states that the Meteor Lake-S Desktop CPUs may not be launching on desktop platforms but will still be headed to the mobility segment. A few months ago, we reported original Meteor Lake-S plans which include various SKUs for the desktop LGA 1851 platform. The SKUs list includes:
- Meteor Lake-S 22 (6P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 125W TDP
- Meteor Lake-S 22 (6P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 65W TDP
- Meteor Lake-S 22 (6P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 35W TDP
- Meteor Lake-S 14 (6P + 8E) / 4 Xe Cores / 65WTDP
- Meteor Lake-S 14 (6P + 8E) / 4 Xe Cores / 35WTDP
MTL-S seems maybe canceled.🤔
— Raichu (@OneRaichu) December 23, 2022
But with Intel Meteor Lake-S allegedly canceled, it looks like we have to revise what we know about the Intel Desktop Core lineup. So starting with 2023, Intel plans to launch the Raptor Lake Refresh CPU family which will replace the existing chips with higher core clocks and an optimized process to enable better power delivery. The latest roadmap confirms this and they will be compatible with all existing LGA 1700/1800 socketed motherboards. This would mean that the current socket would last a good three generations of CPUs.
🤔LGA18xx maybe will support three gen products too.
(It just my guess)— Raichu (@OneRaichu) December 23, 2022
But LGA 1700/1800 won’t be the only socket that lasts three generations. Rumors suggest that the next-generation LGA 1851 socket might also support at least three generations of CPUs. Since MTL (Meteor Lake-S) is out of the equation now as far as rumors are concerned, the three families we can expect to see on the next socket would have to be Arrow Lake-S (ARL-S), a possible Arrow Lake Refresh and Panther Lake (PNL-S).
Intel 15th Gen Arrow Lake Desktop CPU Lineup (2024)
The Intel 15th Gen Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs will bring back the 24 cores that we get on Raptor Lake CPUs today. The Arrow Lake-S top die will utilize up to 24 cores which will be a combination of 8 Performance Cores and 16 Efficiency Cores.
According to previous leaks, the lineup will only come in Core i7 and Core i9 flavors. The CPU will retain the Intel 4 (CPU) + TSMC N3 (GPU) SKU node layout. It is rumored that the 20A node won’t make its way to the desktop lineup. The Intel Arrow Lake-S Desktop family is expected to come in the following SKUs:
- Arrow Lake-S 24 (8P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 125W TDP
- Arrow Lake-S 24 (8P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 65W TDP
- Arrow Lake-S 24 (8P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 35W TDP
The Royal Cove maybe will appear in the PTL’s Next product (In the plan).
— Raichu (@OneRaichu) December 23, 2022
Switching from two families per socket to three families seems to be a good move by Intel to keep the desktop battlefield heated with the competition. It has also worked in favor of the blue team in comparison to AMD. It is also reported that the Royal Cove core architecture which is expected to bring massive performance and IPC increases will not come until the generation after Panther Lake which is expected to be Nova Lake and that’s a 2025+ product.
We know from previous reports that Intel is preparing a new socket known as “V” that will offer support for at least two generations of desktop CPUs, Arrow Lake-S, and its refreshes + future products. This LGA 1851 socket will be very similar in dimensions to the existing LGA 1700/1800 socket but will offer more pins and added support for new/enhanced features.
During its recent investors call, Intel said that they are progressing really well on their Intel 4 & Intel 3 products. The 14th Gen Meteor Lake production stepping is scheduled to be delivered this quarter with a volume ramp in 2023 while Intel 3 is also expected to enter the early production phase by the end of 2023. Do note that these are early charts and we are still years away from the launch of Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs.
Intel Mainstream CPU Generations Comparison:
| Intel CPU Family | Processor Process | Processor Architecture | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | TDPs | Platform Chipset | Platform | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Bridge (2nd Gen) | 32nm | Sandy Bridge | 4/8 | 35-95W | 6-Series | LGA 1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 2.0 | 2011 |
| Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen) | 22nm | Ivy Bridge | 4/8 | 35-77W | 7-Series | LGA 1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2012 |
| Haswell (4th Gen) | 22nm | Haswell | 4/8 | 35-84W | 8-Series | LGA 1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2013-2014 |
| Broadwell (5th Gen) | 14nm | Broadwell | 4/8 | 65-65W | 9-Series | LGA 1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
| Skylake (6th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 4/8 | 35-91W | 100-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
| Kaby Lake (7th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 4/8 | 35-91W | 200-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake (8th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 6/12 | 35-95W | 300-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake (9th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 8/16 | 35-95W | 300-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2018 |
| Comet Lake (10th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 10/20 | 35-125W | 400-Series | LGA 1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2020 |
| Rocket Lake (11th Gen) | 14nm | Cypress Cove | 8/16 | 35-125W | 500-Series | LGA 1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 4.0 | 2021 |
| Alder Lake (12th Gen) | Intel 7 | Golden Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) |
16/24 | 35-125W | 600 Series | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake (13th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) |
24/32 | 35-125W | 700-Series | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Meteor Lake (14th Gen) | Intel 4 | Redwood Cove (P-Core) Crestmont (E-Core) |
22/28 | 35-125W | 800 Series? | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Arrow Lake (15th Gen) | Intel 20A | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) |
24/32 | TBA | 900-Series? | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Lunar Lake (16th Gen) | Intel 18A | TBD | TBA | TBA | 1000-Series? | TBA | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2025 |
| Nova Lake (17th Gen) | Intel 18A | TBD | TBA | TBA | 2000-Series? | TBA | DDR5? | PCIe Gen 6.0? | 2026 |
AMD Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache CPUs Rumored To Come In 8 & 6 Core Flavors, A620 Chipset & Next-Gen APUs Planned For Mid To Late 2023
AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPU family will be further expanded in 2023 with the launch of the 3D V-Cache parts along with the entry-level A620 chipset.
AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU Rumors: 3D V-Cache Chips in 8/6 Core Flavors, A620 Chipset & Next-Gen APUs In 2023
As per Enthusiast Citizen at Bilibili, the leaker has reported that AMD has three major products that are planned for 2023.
AMD Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache In 8-Core & 6-Core Flavors
The first and most obvious one is the Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache lineup that was confirmed by us to be unveiled at CES 2023. It is reported that the lineup will have only two parts, an 8-core, and a 6-core variant. So it looks like we will be getting the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the Ryzen 5 7600X 3D more or less. These CPUs will offer a 3D-Stacked chiplet design, featuring larger SRAM & providing users with higher gaming performance in cache-intensive titles. The result will be similar to the first-generation V-Cache chip, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which has become a popular chip due to its amazing performance and even more fantastic value.
APUs on AM5, Ryzen 7000G Planned For Late 2023
AMD won’t just stop at the 3D V-Cache parts, later in 2023, there is a next-gen AM5 Desktop APU lineup planned. This lineup will also fall under the Ryzen 7000 ‘G’ series family but is expected to launch in the second half of 2023. Currently, there’s no information available as to what these line of chips will offer but since they are going to be compatible with the AM5 platform, it is likely that these will be a variation of the Phoenix Point (Zen 4 + RDNA 3) APUs that will start shipping to mobiles in the early half of the year.
One interesting piece of information shared is that these Ryzen 7000 chips will only support DDR5-4800 memory which is a little lackluster considering APUs require all the bandwidth they can get. The chips will be available in 8-core and 6-core flavors too and there’s talk of enhanced models too though no information is provided yet.
A620 Taking AM5 To The Entry-Level
Finally, there’s an update on the A620 chipset platform. So far, AMD has confirmed X670 & B650 chipsets but the leaker states that the A620 chipset will be announced around Q2 2022 and will not offer CPU overclocking support. The entry-level platform would make sense with Non-X and low-end Ryzen 3 chips if AMD plans on launching them. This may solve the high pricing issue of the AM5 platform but given how restrictive the whole A620 chipset platform would be, it wouldn’t make sense to use these motherboards if you plan on benefiting from the longevity of the AM5 ecosystem.
AMD Zen CPU / APU Roadmap:
| Zen Architecture | Zen 1 | Zen+ | Zen 2 | Zen 3 | Zen 3+ | Zen 4 | Zen 5 | Zen 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 14nm | 12nm | 7nm | 7nm | 6nm? | 5nm/4nm | 4nm/3nm | TBA |
| Server | EPYC Naples (1st Gen) | N/A | EPYC Rome (2nd Gen) | EPYC Milan (3rd Gen) | N/A | EPYC Genoa (4th Gen) EPYC Genoa-X (4th Gen) EPYC Siena (4th Gen) EPYC Bergamo (5th Gen?) |
EPYC Turin (6th Gen) | EPYC Venice (7th Gen) |
| High-End Desktop | Ryzen Threadripper 1000 (White Haven) | Ryzen Threadripper 2000 (Coflax) | Ryzen Threadripper 3000 (Castle Peak) | Ryzen Threadripper 5000 (Chagal) | N/A | Ryzen Threadripper 7000 (Storm Peak) | TBA | TBA |
| Mainstream Desktop CPUs | Ryzen 1000 (Summit Ridge) | Ryzen 2000 (Pinnacle Ridge) | Ryzen 3000 (Matisse) | Ryzen 5000 (Vermeer) | Ryzen 6000 (Warhol / Cancelled) | Ryzen 7000 (Raphael) | Ryzen 8000 (Granite Ridge) | TBA |
| Mainstream Desktop . Notebook APU | Ryzen 2000 (Raven Ridge) | Ryzen 3000 (Picasso) | Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) Ryzen 5000 (Lucienne) |
Ryzen 5000 (Cezanne) Ryzen 6000 (Barcelo) |
Ryzen 6000 (Rembrandt) | Ryzen 7000 (Phoenix) | Ryzen 8000 (Strix Point) | TBA |
| Low-Power Mobile | N/A | N/A | Ryzen 5000 (Van Gogh) Ryzen 6000 (Dragon Crest) |
TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
News Source: Harukaze5719
Intel says that both Intel and AMD CPUs can update Arc GPU firmware [Updated]
Enlarge / An Intel Arc GPU.
Intel
Update, 7:35 pm ET: Intel told Ars Technica that it is possible for both Intel and AMD-based platforms to update Arc GPU firmware, and that Intel’s Management Engine wasn’t actually required for firmware updates.
“Intel Arc products do not require the host CSME to update Arc firmware,” an Intel spokesperson told Ars. “Firmware updates will work on both AMD and Intel platforms. Arc products have their own Graphics Security Control for firmware updates and leverage existing Intel technology like the HECI interface protocol to implement the firmware update flow.”
A follow-up from Richard Hughes, the developer who originally discovered the limitation, said that another user had told him that an “HECI-using GSC device shows up in Windows” when an Arc GPU is installed, which ought to allow updates on x86 devices. We confirmed this ourselves on a Windows PC with an Arc GPU installed and saw Intel’s GSC firmware interface listed in the device manager, which ought to work the same way on both Intel and AMD platforms since it’s a part of the GPU itself. (How and whether it will work in x86 Linux is something we can’t confirm at this point.)
Enlarge / The GSC interface that Intel indicates will allow firmware updates, at least on x86 Windows PCs.
Non-x86 platforms, including those based on Arm CPUs and IBM’s Power architecture, still may not be able to update Arc GPU firmware. But the vast majority of consumer-oriented gaming GPUs won’t end up in these systems, making this firmware update issue something that almost no one will actually be affected by.
Original story: In our review of Intel’s Arc GPUs, we were generally impressed by their performance for the price, especially as a first-generation product. But buyers have plenty of potential caveats to consider, including unstable drivers, inconsistent performance, and a couple of weird problems that you need to dig around in your computer’s BIOS settings to resolve.
Linux developers working on Arc support appear to have uncovered another oddity about the cards. According to developer Richard Hughes (as reported by Phoronix), updating the firmware on Arc GPUs appears to be handled by the Intel Management Engine, a small microcontroller that is only included in PCs with Intel processors. Hughes ran into the problem specifically in the context of IBM’s POWER CPU architecture, but it seems to make firmware updates impossible on any non-Intel platform, including those based on AMD or Arm CPUs.
Luckily, these kinds of GPU firmware updates don’t happen all that often, and when they do happen, it’s usually to fix a specific obscure problem or add minor features—using a GPU with outdated firmware isn’t the end of the world. On the other hand, if ever a GPU was going to need important firmware updates somewhere down the line, it would be this first generation of Arc cards, which are Intel’s first widely released dedicated GPUs and have already proven to be exceptionally rough around the edges in a bunch of other ways.
We’ve contacted Intel to ask whether it plans to change how Arc firmware updates are installed, and we’ll update this article if we receive a response.
Intel Desktop Meteor Lake-S CPUs To Feature Up To 22 Cores, Arrow Lake-S Up To 24 Cores, Quad Xe iGPU Cores & 125W TDPs
Detailed configurations of Intel’s 14th Gen Meteor Lake-S and 15th Gen Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs have been leaked, giving us information about the various SKUs, core counts, TDPs & the integrated graphics configuration.
Intel Meteor Lake-S CPUs To Feature 6 Performance Cores, Arrow Lake-S With 8 P-Cores On LGA 1851 Socket
According to an internal Intel chart, the details of their 14th Gen and 15th Gen Desktop CPUs have leaked out. We know from previous reports that Intel is preparing a new socket known as “V” that will offer support for at least two generations of desktop CPUs, the Meteor Lake-S and Arrow Lake-S. This socket will be very similar in dimensions to the existing LGA 1700/1800 socket but will offer more pins and added support for new/enhanced features.
Based on the leaked slides, it looks like Intel’s 14th Gen Meteor Lake-S Desktop CPUs will take a step back and reduce the number of P-Cores while retaining the number of E-Cores. The lineup listed in the charts includes five different SKU configurations with the top variants featuring up to 22 cores in a combination of 6 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores. The P-Cores on the Meteor Lake CPUs are based on the brand-new Redwood Cove architecture while the E-Cores will utilize the Crestmont design. Both of these are new and improved architecture as reported by Coelacanth-Dream a few days back. The full list of configurations includes:
- Meteor Lake-S 22 (6P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 125W TDP
- Meteor Lake-S 22 (6P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 65W TDP
- Meteor Lake-S 22 (6P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 35W TDP
- Meteor Lake-S 14 (6P + 8E) / 4 Xe Cores / 65WTDP
- Meteor Lake-S 14 (6P + 8E) / 4 Xe Cores / 35WTDP
In addition to the SKUs, we also get to learn that all SKUs will feature at least 4 Xe Cores for the iGPU and that’s going to offer 64 Execution Units or 512 ALUs. That’s 2 Xe Cores less than the DG2-powered Arc A310 graphics card which is the lowest-tier discrete board in the family but an integrated GPU with this much capability will be on par or even better than the RDNA 2 iGPU on AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs. Only the top die configuration will have a 125W “Unlocked” SKU range while the rest will come in the standard “Non-K” and “T” series with 65W and 35W TDPs.
Moving on, we have the 15th Gen Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs which will bring back the 24 cores that we get on Raptor Lake CPUs today. The Arrow Lake-S top die will utilize up to 24 cores which will be a combination of 8 Performance Cores and 16 Efficiency Cores. Following is the full list of SKUs to expect from the lineup:
- Arrow Lake-S 24 (8P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 125W TDP
- Arrow Lake-S 24 (8P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 65W TDP
- Arrow Lake-S 24 (8P + 16E) / 4 Xe Cores / 35W TDP
Intel Desktop CPU Core Count Progression:
| Family Name | Total Cores | Total Threads | P-Cores | E-Cores | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Bridge | 4 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 2011 |
| Ivy Bridge | 4 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 2012 |
| Haswell | 4 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 2013 |
| Broadwell | 4 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 2014 |
| Skylake | 4 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 2015 |
| Kaby Lake | 4 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake | 6 | 12 | N/A | N/A | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake Refresh | 8 | 16 | N/A | N/A | 2018 |
| Comet Lake | 10 | 20 | N/A | N/A | 2020 |
| Rocket Lake | 8 | 16 | N/A | N/A | 2021 |
| Alder Lake | 16 | 24 | 8 | 8 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake | 24 | 32 | 8 | 16 | 2022 |
| Meteor Lake | 22 | 28 | 6 | 16 | ~2023 |
| Arrow Lake | 24 | 32 | 8 | 16 | ~2024 |
The difference with the Arrow Lake-S lineup is that all of the configurations feature the top 24 core die and the only difference is the TDP itself. It is likely that lower core count SKUs will be derived from these dies. Intel also seems to have retained the 4 Xe Cores from the Meteor Lake lineup but we expect these to feature a brand new Arc graphics architecture. The 14th Gen Meteor Lake chips are based on a TSMC 5nm GPU architecture while the 15th Gen Arrow Lake CPUs will utilize a TSMC 3nm graphics architecture, as we reported here.
We can’t say for sure if Intel will retain the number of ALUs and EUs as the existing Alchemist chips on its future integrated GPUs but the Arrow Lake-P parts are expected to offer up to 2560 Xe Cores which is a 5x increase over the integrated GPUs on the desktop parts.
During its recent investors call, Intel said that they are progressing really well on their Intel 4 & Intel 3 products. The 14th Gen Meteor Lake production stepping is scheduled to be delivered this quarter with a volume ramp in 2023 while Intel 3 is also expected to enter the early production phase by the end of 2023. Do note that these are early charts and we are still years away from the launch of Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs
Intel Mainstream CPU Generations Comparison:
| Intel CPU Family | Processor Process | Processor Architecture | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | TDPs | Platform Chipset | Platform | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Bridge (2nd Gen) | 32nm | Sandy Bridge | 4/8 | 35-95W | 6-Series | LGA 1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 2.0 | 2011 |
| Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen) | 22nm | Ivy Bridge | 4/8 | 35-77W | 7-Series | LGA 1155 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2012 |
| Haswell (4th Gen) | 22nm | Haswell | 4/8 | 35-84W | 8-Series | LGA 1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2013-2014 |
| Broadwell (5th Gen) | 14nm | Broadwell | 4/8 | 65-65W | 9-Series | LGA 1150 | DDR3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
| Skylake (6th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 4/8 | 35-91W | 100-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2015 |
| Kaby Lake (7th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 4/8 | 35-91W | 200-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake (8th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 6/12 | 35-95W | 300-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Coffee Lake (9th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 8/16 | 35-95W | 300-Series | LGA 1151 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2018 |
| Comet Lake (10th Gen) | 14nm | Skylake | 10/20 | 35-125W | 400-Series | LGA 1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 | 2020 |
| Rocket Lake (11th Gen) | 14nm | Cypress Cove | 8/16 | 35-125W | 500-Series | LGA 1200 | DDR4 | PCIe Gen 4.0 | 2021 |
| Alder Lake (12th Gen) | Intel 7 | Golden Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) |
16/24 | 35-125W | 600 Series | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake (13th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) |
24/32 | 35-125W | 700-Series | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Meteor Lake (14th Gen) | Intel 4 | Redwood Cove (P-Core) Crestmont (E-Core) |
22/28 | 35-125W | 800 Series? | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Arrow Lake (15th Gen) | Intel 20A | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) |
24/32 | TBA | 900-Series? | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Lunar Lake (16th Gen) | Intel 18A | TBD | TBA | TBA | 1000-Series? | TBA | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2025 |
| Nova Lake (17th Gen) | Intel 18A | TBD | TBA | TBA | 2000-Series? | TBA | DDR5? | PCIe Gen 6.0? | 2026 |
Some AMD Ryzen 5 7600X Desktop CPUs Comes With Dual Zen 4 CCDs
AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs come in two flavors, one with a single CCD design and the higher core count variants with dual Zen 4 CCDs. However, it looks like AMD might be shipping some AM5 Ryzen 5 & Ryzen 7 chips with two CCDs.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU Spotted With Dual Zen 4 CCDs, Defective Ryzen 9 Chips or Actually Usable?
Recently, Der8auer posted a video showcasing his latest Delid Die Mate which can be used to delid the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs if you plan on using direct-die cooling. The overclocker used a Thermal Grizzly Direct Die Frame for this demonstration but upon delidding the Ryzen 5 7600X, an interesting discovery was made.
As soon as the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU was delidded, Der8auer noticed that it featured two Zen 4 CCDs instead of one. The 7600X features 6 cores and 12 threads so it doesn’t need the extra CCD. All AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs below the Ryzen 9 segment make use of a single CCD so it’s definitely a bit interesting to see a dual Zen 4 CCD implementation on the PCB.
Since the chip was already delidded, Der8auer put the chip under a thermal probe and checked to see if the other Zen 4 CCD was active or not. Three tiny copper blocks were used that say on each chiplet (two Zen 4 CCDs and a single IOD). When booted, only the IO die, & a single Zen 4 CCD was shown to be active since they started producing heat. This means that the other die is not running.
So that brings us to the question as to why there are two Zen 4 CCDs on this particular AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU. There could be two reasons, first and foremost, AMD may simply be using defective Ryzen 9 chips that only have one working Zen 4 CCD and labeling them as Ryzen 5 & Ryzen 7 parts. This would suggest that the other die is totally defective and not usable. But there is also a small possibility that this die could’ve been artificially locked and there might be a bypass to enable it. It is known that AMD locks several features of its chips artificially such as the Ryzen 7 5800X3D OC that would soon be overcome. But actually enabling a whole CCD won’t be as simple as it looks & even if this was a functional die, it would take someone with a lot of experience to bypass this.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to see AMD shipping dual Zen 4 CCDs on some of its Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 chips. There could be a lot more chips out there but unless you are delidding them (an actual risk that voids the warranty), you’ll never know what lies under the hood of your CPU.
Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake Core i9-13900K, Core i7-13700K, Core i5-13600K CPUs Listed Online
Earlier today, it was discovered that Amazon’s UK site had four listings of the newest Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs. The listings were all listed as “temporarily out of stock,” hinting at placeholders for the newest SKUs from the company. However, the listings have been removed from the online retailer’s site, possibly breaking the embargo date given by Intel. Lucky for us, we have several individuals paying close attention and acquired a screenshot of the Amazon Intel Raptor Lake listings.
Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs, the Core i9-13900K, Core i7-13700K & Core i5-13600K, appear on major online retailer’s site Amazon UK
Thanks once again to Twitter hardware leaker 188号 (@momomo_us) for being vigilant in acquiring a screenshot before the listings were taken down.
With the following Tweet, we now see the pricing for the four newest Intel processors and what will be available on the first release day, which is still unknown. “188号” has also provided pictures of the latest packaging for the Raptor Lake processors, which were recently reported to be slimmer than the previous packaging by Intel in an attempt to ship more processors out each time and increase the company’s chances of outselling AMD’s new Ryzen 7000 series. Also, the i9-13900K SKU will ship with a little plastic wafer inside the packaging.
pic.twitter.com/6rRCUmTjrd
— 188号 (@momomo_us) September 25, 2022
Looking at the listings removed from Amazon UK, it appears that we have four levels of processing power from Raptor Lake, from the introductory Intel Core i5-13600KF CPU with 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores to the premium i9-13900KF, with its 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores. In the middle of the low and high-level SKUs to be released, we have the Intel Core i7-13700 in both K and KF versions, with both variants offering 8 P-cores with 8 E-cores. Prices range between 350 GBP and slightly over 750 GBP for the premium SKU from Intel’s Raptor Lake line.
The Intel Core i9-12900KS was a particular edition variant of the Alder Lake series CPUs with a boost clock of 5.5 GHz. From the UK review sources on the Internet, the pricing is currently increased by 150 GBP compared to the Alder Lake i9-12900K initially launched in the United Kingdom. However, the current price of the Intel Gen Core i9-12900KF is retailing for 609 GBP in the UK. Also, the price of the i9-13900KF is similar in cost to Intel’s previous i9-12900KS on the day of launch.
Both Intel Core i7-13700K & Core i7-13700KF CPUs are as much as 137 GBP higher than the Alder Lake predecessors (the i7-12700K and i7-12700KF). Lastly, the Core i5-13600KF is close to 80 GBP higher than its Alder Lake version, the i5-12500KF CPU. The pricing can change anytime, but at least hints at the possible starting costs of the newest Raptor Lake 13th Gen Core processors from Intel.
To remind readers, we recently reported about Intel setting embargo lift dates for unboxing and reviews of the newest Raptor Lake processors, which may coincide with Intel’s Innovation event on September 27th.
Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S Desktop CPU Family:
| CPU Name | Silicon Revision / QDF | P-Core Count | E-Core Count | Total Core / Thread | P-Core Base / Boost (Max) | P-Core Boost (All-Core) | E-Core Boost (Max) | Cache (Total L2 + L3) | TDP | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i9-13900K | B0 / Q1E1 | 8 | 16 | 24 / 32 | 3.0 / 5.8 GHz | 5.5 GHz (All-Core) | 4.3 GHz | 68 MB | 125W (PL1) 250W (PL2)? |
TBA |
| Intel Core i9-13900KF | B0 / Q1EX | 8 | 16 | 24 / 32 | 3.0 / 5.8 GHz | 5.5 GHz (All-Core) | 4.3 GHz | 68 MB | 125W (PL1) 250W (PL2)? |
TBA |
| Intel Core i9-13900 | B0 / Q1EJ | 8 | 16 | 24 / 32 | 2.0 / 5.6 GHz | 5.3 GHz (All-Core) | 4.2 GHz | 68 MB | 65W (PL1) ~200W (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i9-13900F | B0 / Q1ES | 8 | 16 | 24 / 32 | 2.0 / 5.6 GHz | 5.3 GHz (All-Core) | 4.2 GHz | 68 MB | 65W (PL1) ~200W (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i9-13900T | B0 / ? | 8 | 16 | 24 / 32 | 1.1 / 5.3 GHz | 4.3 GHz (All-Core) | 3.9 GHz | 68 MB | 35W (PL1) 100W (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i7-13700K | B0 / Q1EN | 8 | 8 | 16 / 24 | 3.4 / 5.4 GHz | 5.3 GHz (All Core) | 4.2 GHz | 54 MB | 125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)? |
TBA |
| Intel Core i7-13700KF | B0 / Q1ET | 8 | 8 | 16 / 24 | 3.4 / 5.4 GHz | 5.3 GHz (All Core) | 4.2 GHz | 54 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i7-13700 | B0 / Q1EL | 8 | 8 | 16 / 24 | 2.1 / 5.2 GHz | 5.1 GHz (All-Core) | 4.1 GHz | 54 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i7-13700F | B0 / Q1EU | 8 | 8 | 16 / 24 | 2.1 / 5.2 GHz | 5.1 GHz (All-Core) | 4.1 GHz | 54 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i7-13700T | B0 / ? | 8 | 8 | 16 / 24 | 1.4 / 4.9 GHz | 4.2 GHz (All-Core) | 3.6 GHz | 54 MB | 35W (PL1) 100W (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i5-13600K | B0 / Q1EK | 6 | 8 | 14 / 20 | 3.5 / 5.2 GHz | 5.1 GHz (All-Core) | TBD | 44 MB | 125W (PL1) 180W (PL2)? |
TBA |
| Intel Core i5-13600KF | B0 / Q1EV | 6 | 8 | 14 / 20 | 3.5 / 5.2 GHz | 5.1 GHz (All-Core) | TBD | 44 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i5-13600 | C0 / Q1DF | 6 | 8 | 14 / 20 | TBD | TBD | TBD | 44 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i5-13500 | C0 / Q1DK | 6 | 8 | 14 / 20 | 2.5 / 4.5 GHz | TBD | TBD | 32 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i5-13400 | C0 / Q1DJ | 6 | 4 | 10 / 16 | 2.5 / 4.6 GHz | 4.1 GHz (All-Core) | 3.3 GHz | 28 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
| Intel Core i3-13100 | H0 / Q1CV | 4 | 0 | 4 / 8 | TBD | TBD | TBD | 12 MB | 65W (PL1) TBD (PL2) |
TBA |
News Sources: 188号 (@momomo_us on Twitter), TechPowerUP