THE NEWS
Intel goes hybrid
Alder Lake brings big changes to Intel’s desktop chips
WE HAVE been waiting for what seems like ages, but now Intel has finally introduced its Node 7 process, and it has gone hybrid: welcome Alder Lake, the 12th Generation of desktop processors. Intel calls this the “biggest ever leap in our x86 architecture”. Alder Lake uses a mix of high-performance cores (P-cores) using the Golden Cove architecture, and high-efficiency cores (E-cores) using the Gracemont architecture. It’s a sound idea that has served Apple’s M1 chip well.
Meanwhile, AMD has stated that it is sticking to its singlecore type designs, for now. AMD also has patents covering hybrid architecture, so the option is on the table.
Initially, there are six versions of Alder Lake, with another 28 versions to follow. To start though we get the Core i5-12600, i7-12700, and i9-12900. Each comes in two versions: K and KF. Both are unlocked, but the KF lacks the integrated graphics core. The i5-12600 has six performance and four efficiency cores, a base clock of 3.7GHz with a boost to 4.9Ghz. The i7-12700 adds two performance cores and has a base clock of 3.6GHz. The halo i9-12900K has eight of each core, a base clock of 3.2GHz, and a top boost of 5.2Ghz. Each performance core gets 1.25MB of L2 cache, while the four-core block of E-cores shares a 2MB cache. Over this sits either 20, 25, or 30MB of L3cache. All have 20 PCIe lanes, 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes for graphics, and four PCIe 4.0 lanes for speedy storage.
All this technical wizardry costs $264, $384, and $564 respectively for the KF versions, saving $25 over the regular K versions. It’s a small bump over the outgoing 11th-gen chips but compares well to the equivalent Ryzens. Although the top chip looks like an expensive proposition, Intel never seems to have trouble selling its hottest chips.
Alder Lake officially uses the Intel 7 process, which means it equates to 7nm, sort of. Actually, it is a development of Intel’s 10nm process, which is physically similar to other 7nm process chips. Another metric that has changed is the Thermal Design Power numbers, which were always an approximation. Now we have Processor Base Power (PBP), and the Maximum Turbo Power (MTP) for when you are running full bore. All have a PBP of 125W, and MTP numbers of 150W, 190W, and a startling 241W. We also have DDR5 support, with dual memory channels with a maximum of 128GB. DDR4 support is retained. A new chip also means a new board. Alder Lake uses an LGA 1700 socket, and we’ve just one chipset so far, the Z690.