Intel Expands 8th Gen Core: Core i9 on Mobile, Iris Plus, Desktop, Chipsets, and vPro
by Ian Cutress on April 3, 2018 3:01 AM ESTCoffee Lake with Iris Plus at 28W
Intel recently announced its ‘Intel Core with Radeon RX Vega’ processor line, featuring a H-series processor combined with an AMD graphics chip and a sizeable amount of high-speed HBM2 memory connected via Intel’s proprietary EMIB technology. These parts are designed to service the high-end for integrated graphics, going above and beyond any other integrated graphics solution in the past. That used to be a post held by Intel’s processors that used eDRAM, using the Iris, Iris Pro, and Iris Plus branding. Now the Iris line sits in the middle, acting as Intel’s graphics focused products in the mid-power range.
For the launch today, Intel is lifting the lid on four separate Iris Plus-based processors. These all use the Coffee Lake microarchitecture and are built on Intel’s 14++ process. All four of these processors are in Intel’s ‘GT3e’ graphics configuration, which uses Intel’s Gen 9.5 graphics with 48 execution units (EUs) and 128 MB of eDRAM. This is compared to the GT2 configurations seen on most other processors, that have 24 EUs and zero eDRAM.
AnandTech | Cores | Base Freq |
Turbo Freq |
L3 | vPro | DRAM DDR4 |
iGPU EUs |
iGPU Freq |
|
Core i7-8559U | $431 | 4 / 8 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 8 MB | No | 2400 | 48 EUs | 300 / 1200 |
Core i5-8269U | $320 | 4 / 8 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 6 MB | No | 2400 | 48 EUs | 300 / 1100 |
Core-i5-8259U | $320 | 4 / 8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 6 MB | No | 2400 | 48 EUs | 300 / 1050 |
Core i3-8109U | $304 | 2 / 4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4 MB | No | 2400 | 47 EUs | 300 / 1000 |
Intel has split these new CPUs up into a single Core i7-8559U, which is a quad-core processor with the most L3 cache, two Core i5 parts that are also quad-core but have reduced L3 cache, and a Core i3-8109U processor that is dual core, but with the same amount of L3 cache per core as the Core i7-8559U.
In Intel’s manufacturing parlance, this means that the Core i7 and Core i5 are all ‘4+3e’ units, meaning four cores and GT3 graphics with eDRAM. By contrast, the Core i3 is a ‘2+3e’ processor, with only two cores but the same GT3e graphics with eDRAM as the i7/i5. Based on the design of these processors, the Core i3 sits as the lower binned part: it is manufactured as a 4+3e design, but due to processor defects is only suitable to run two cores. As with most of the other mobile processors, the higher performance parts often get the highest frequency graphics as well. In this case, the Core i7-8559U sits at the top at 1200 MHz.
For the eDRAM, in previous generations Intel has moved from going all parts at 128 MB to having some move down to 64 MB, but now moves back up to all of them having 128 MB again. For the eDRAM implementation, Intel is still using their second generation eDRAM implementation whereby the eDRAM acts as a L4 buffer for supplying the L3 from DRAM through the System Agent – this is compared to the first generation where the eDRAM was a victim cache. This methodology allows the eDRAM to speed up more use cases than just graphics, and the 50 GBps bidirectional bandwidth is certainly a big leap over main DRAM bandwidth (that some OEMs run in single channel mode anyway). Iris Plus processors can also be equipped with discrete graphics, although this is up to the OEM.
The 28W Iris Plus processors will match the other mobile counterparts on chipset, and support the new features such as integrated Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi and native USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) support. We do not know to what extent these are supported, and are waiting on more information. The Iris Pro parts will also support Optane-accelerated storage.
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close - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
Intel's "mobile" branding was always a clusterfuuu. They just relied on the reputation the desktop parts had and used the same branding and very similar model numbers to sell castrated CPUs with lower core count and much lower frequency that delivered nothing like the desktop ones.satai - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
@close - how can anybody with a basic knowledge of HW expect, that a 15W part is going to perform similary to a 90W one?Ratman6161 - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
Because they have no idea that one is 15W and the other is 90W. The other thing they have no clue about is that in my experience most mobile cpu;s are going to spend very little time at the advertised turbo speed. They will start thermal throttling almost instantlyclose - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link
@satai, so you mean the millions of people who go to a store or a website and buy a laptop know that it uses a 15W CPU and not a 65 or 95W CPU? Is this a joke?Most people hear about Intel or i7 and then go for the laptop that has that. And Intel capitalizes on the
close - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link
*Crappy 1997 comment system.Intel capitalizes on the confusion this creates. And it takes more than basic HW knowledge. Most people don't spend their days on tech websites. You would probably make the same mistakes in a field you're not familiar with.
HStewart - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
These statements are confusing, everything here stated that the mobile 6 core CPU's do have Hyperthreading. 6C/12TMarketing wise - AMD does similar tactics calling Ryzen 7, Ryzen 3 .... maybe they will have Ryzen 9 one day.
Ratman6161 - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
AMD is at least a little better on this. Generally speaking the 3/5/7 distinctions hold up...with potentially confusing exceptions of course.HStewart - Wednesday, April 4, 2018 - link
My first computer was an AND composed marking cup- at the time I thought I was getting an Intel 386 25mhz chip and they put Amd clone 25mhz chip. I spent $1700 and that was cheep thenSonic01 - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
Still no Core Y / 4.5W updates... its been 2 years now :/jhoff80 - Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - link
I'm guessing that they're skipping to Cannon Lake / 10nm for the Y-series, but who knows.