Intel’s faster Raptor-Lake refresh CPUs could soon hit the market (rumor)

According to the current rumors, Intel could be planning to launch its Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs as early as October. These processors are expected to be positioned as part of the 14th generation of Intel processors. It is also expected that the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs will be an evolution of the existing Raptor Lake CPUs, offering improved performance and features. However, since these are rumors, this information should be taken with a grain of salt until Intel makes official announcements. The exact specifications, pricing and availability of the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs are unknown at this time. To stay updated and get reliable information about upcoming Intel products, it is recommended to wait for official announcements from Intel or reports from reputable tech news sources.

It seems that ECSM, a Chinese hardware leaker on Bilibili, has provided information about the upcoming release of Intel’s Raptor Lake refresh CPUs. According to ECSM, the beefed-up models of the Raptor Lake CPUs are expected to hit the market in October, with the “K” models, or unlocked chips, appearing first. The standard 14th-generation CPUs, which are not K chips, are expected to appear the following month, possibly in November or even December, according to ECSM. It is also reported that there will be a new SKU (stock keeping unit) with a combination of 8 performance cores and 12 efficiency cores. This SKU will be positioned between the flagship model with 8 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores and the 8 8 processors.

It is possible that with a launch of the K variants of the Raptor Lake refresh CPUs in October, the release of these new processors is not far off. If this is the case, it is likely that more leaks about the expected performance levels will surface in the near future. As for Meteor Lake, there have indeed been rumors that there will be no desktop version and that the Raptor Lake refresh is intended for it. However, it is expected that the first chips of the Meteor Lake laptop series, which presumably also belong to the 14th generation, will hit the market in the fourth quarter. This indicates that Intel is still working on developing and releasing new processors to cover different market segments.

Where does the journey go from here?

According to current information, Arrow Lake is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025. However, there are conflicting reports about the exact configuration of this processor. Some leaks, like the one from Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID), point to the possibility of a supercharged flagship with 8 32 (40 cores). However, MLID itself is not sure and does not rule out a return to an 8 16 configuration for Arrow Lake’s flagship processor model.

ECSM also supports the idea of an 8 16 configuration. Regardless of the exact core count, Arrow Lake is expected to be significantly faster than Meteor Lake. It is assumed that Arrow Lake will be up to 40% faster in multithreading performance, based on comparisons between mid-range processors (6 8) of this generation, as leaked by MLID. Furthermore, Intel could make impressive progress with Beast Lake (possibly a working title) in 2026. Beast Lake is expected to boost performance to 10 cores, as opposed to the current 8 performance cores Intel has achieved since moving to hybrid technology with Alder Lake due to power consumption issues.

Source: TweakTown