Intel’s new 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh desktop CPU launch is near. However, only the top-tier CPUs (SKUs) will launch in the Core i9, i7, and i5. Before launch, a few slides were leaked from Japan, which show some basic details of Intel Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K, and Core i5-14600K.
In the slides, CPU model names are missing. However, this is not challenging and can be guessed through the core numbers. The 24-core CPU is the Intel Core i9-14900K, the 20-core CPU is the Intel Core i7-14700K, and the last 14-core CPU is the Intel Core i5-14600K. The “KF” non-GPU variant of these CPUs will also launch along with them.
Intel Core i9-14900K
Let’s come to the slide, the first CPU listed here, which can go up to 6 GHz has 24 cores (8 Performance-cores and 16 Efficient-cores). Undoubtedly, it’s the Intel Core i9-14900K or KF. So, no special edition CPU is required to get out-of-the-box 6 GHz.
Intel Core i7-14700K
The second one has 20 cores (8 Performance-cores and 12 Efficient-cores). In Core i7-14700K, Intel added four more Efficient-cores compared to the 13700K. The CPU can boost up to 5.6 GHz, 200 MHz more than the 13700K.
Best Budget Range Gaming CPU – Intel Core i5-14600K
The last one is the most interesting, and the favourite of most gamers is the Core i5-14600K. It has 14 cores (6 Performance-cores and 8 Efficient-cores). The slide shows that the maximum frequency is 5.3 GHz which is unchanged from the previous generation 13600K. I thought Intel would keep it at 5.4 GHz or thereabouts, but the official launch hasn’t happened yet.
Launch is Near
Expecting a significant performance difference between Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake and 14th Gen Raptor Lake refresh CPUs would be unfair. I am saying this because there is no architectural difference between the 13th and 14th Gen. With some tweaks, Intel will achieve higher frequencies across 14th Gen desktop CPUs to boost performance.
The launch of the Intel 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs is expected in mid or end October 2023 (expected launch date is October 17, 2023). At present, we will not comment on leaked performance benchmarks. As the launch date is close, commenting on performance would not be great as the CPU may perform aggressively or could be mediocre or less appealing. But of course, the 14th generation will be a step forward compared to the previous generation.
