Intel’s “Core i” will soon be called “Core Ultra” – Here’s what’s behind it

An Intel Meteor Lake CPU with the codename Core Ultra 5 1003H was discovered in the Ashes of The Singularity benchmark database yesterday. It is a 14th generation CPU, which was previously suspected and is now confirmed. Intel will use the new “Core Ultra” branding and thus abandon the previous “Core i” series. The chip would be released under the previous branding as Core i5-1003H, but it won’t be.

In a tweet from Bernard Fernandes, the Director of Global Communications at Intel, confirmation was announced for the new branding of Meteor Lake CPUs. This means that Intel will use and market Meteor Lake as the official name for its upcoming processors. The announcement comes from a senior employee at Intel, which of course adds to the credibility and trustworthiness of the information. The Meteor Lake brand, according to Intel, is meant to symbolize the next generation of Intel processors and represent a significant improvement over previous models.

Yes, we are making brand changes as we’re at an inflection point in our client roadmap in preparation for the upcoming launch of our #MeteorLake processors. We will provide more details regarding these exciting changes in the coming weeks! #Intel

— Bernard Fernandes (@Bernard_P) May 1, 2023

Based on the numbering, it can be seen that Intel seems to be making a fresh start here. Although the Meteor-Lake CPUs belong to the 14th generation of the Core family, there is no label that explicitly states this. In contrast, the 13th Gen CPUs have a clear “13” numbering scheme, while the Meteor Lake CPU starts with “10,” suggesting that it is part of the 10th Gen family. Intel has decided to use a mix of Raptor and Alder Lake CPUs for the 13th Gen family, so it makes sense to take a unified and new approach, similar to what AMD has done with its Ryzen 7000 series. However, this has added to the confusion for consumers.

Intel is expected to use the “Ultra” designation to differentiate various SKUs and segments. Although names like Core Extreme, Core Max or Core Pro are also conceivable, it remains to be seen which final designation Intel will decide on. It might even be that some SKUs don’t get a special designation at all. Only Core Super could be difficult, because this term has already been prejudiced by NVIDIA.

• Old Branding: Intel Core i5-13420H (13th Gen Raptor Lake)
• New Branding: Intel Core Ultra 5 1003H (14th Gen Meteor Lake)

It’s possible that the naming scheme of Intel’s next-gen CPUs hasn’t been fully determined yet, but it will definitely be interesting to see what designations are used. The Core Ultra 5 1003H features 18 cores and 18 threads, although it is difficult to determine the exact number of cores due to previous issues with determining the actual core count of ES chips and the use of a multi-chiplet architecture.

Intel has announced that the upcoming 14th generation Meteor Lake CPUs will use a brand new tile architecture that relies solely on chiplets. The Meteor Lake CPUs consist of a total of four main tiles, namely the IO tile, SOC tile, GFX tile and Compute tile. The compute tile contains the CPU and GFX tiles. The CPU tile uses a hybrid core design consisting of Redwood Cove P-cores and Crestmont E-cores. This will provide higher performance throughput while consuming less power. The GPU tile will feature a completely new Xe-LPG graphics card based on the Alchemist architecture.

Intel Meteor Lake Mobility CPU Lineup Expected Features:

• Triple-Hybrid CPU Architecture (P/E/LP-E Cores)
• Brand New Redwood Cove (P-Cores)
• Brand New Crestmont (E-Cores)
• Up To 14 Cores (6+8) For H/P Series & Up To 12 Cores (4+8) For U Series CPUs
• Intel 4 Process Node For CPU, TSMC For tGPU
• Intel ‘Xe-MTL’ GPU With Up To 192/128 EUs
• Up To LPDDR5X-7467 & DDR5-5200 Support
• Up To 96 GB DDR5 & 64 GB LPDDR5X Capacities
• Intel VPU For AI Inferencing With Atom Cores
• x8 Gen 5 Lanes For Discrete GPU (Only H-Series)
• Triple x4 M.2 Gen 4 SSD Support
• Four Thunderbolt 4 Ports

During its recent earnings announcement, Intel emphasized that it will ramp up production of its Meteor Lake CPUs in the second half of 2023. Accordingly, more developments can be expected this year.

Source: Benchleaks