First Alder Lake CPUs without efficiency cores revealed

[midian182]

In context: Alder Lake is proving more popular than many imagined, thanks to the chips’ excellent gaming and productivity abilities. And while they have the distinctive characteristic of mixing both Performance (P) and Efficiency cores (E), the non-K 65W models of the CPUs launching next month will be missing those E cores.

VideoCardz writes that the 12100F and 12400F from Intel’s 12th-gen sub-series will be the first Alder Lake SKUs without Efficiency cores. The Core i3-12100F will have 4 cores and 8 threads and boost to 4.3 GHz, which would place the entry-level chip on par with some of the higher-end models from older generations.

Courtesy of VideoCardz

Next is the Core i5-12400F, a CPU that features 6 cores and 12 threads and boosts to 4.4GHz. This lines up with leaks from November and is said to be the same configuration as the 12500 (4.6GHz boost) and 12600 (4.8GHz boost). The publication claims that the Core i5-12400F will likely fully implement the second Alder Lake desktop silicon variant known as H0.

Some specifications below are unconfirmed.

	12900	12700	12600	12500	12400	12100
P-Cores	8/16		6/12			4/8
E-Cores	8/8	4/4	0
P-Core Boost	5.1 GHz	4.9 GHz	4.8 GHz	4.6 GHz	4.4 GHz	4.3 GHz
P-Core Base	2.4 GHz	2.1 GHz	3.3 GHz	3.0 GHz	2.5 GHz	?
Cache	30 MB	25 MB	18 MB			?

There’s also the non-K version of the i7-12700K. The Core i7-12700F is said to be almost identical to the current Alder Lake CPU, which we awarded joint Best Value Productivity CPU winner, meaning the same 8 Performance Cores and 4 Efficiency cores. However, there are some differences: the boost clock of its Performance cores is 100MHz lower (4.9GHz), and it has a thermal design power of 65W, which is almost half the K version’s 125W.

The chips are expected to launch next month after Intel’s CES press conference that takes place on January 4 at 10 am PST.

We recently heard that although Alder Lake has boosted Intel's CPU-sales market share to its highest point of this year, AMD remains the dominant force.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92636-first-alder-lake-cpus-without-efficiency-cores-revealed.html

 

[Geralt]

The problem is the heat they generate. It's a hot potato. I will stay with Ryzen.

 

[Nobina]

The problem is the heat they generate. It's a hot potato. I will stay with Ryzen.

Ryzens are pretty hot too, they have huge temperature oscillations. They were designed to run that way so it's not an issue, neither it should be for Intel 12th gen unless they are throttling, then it is an issue.

 

[Shadowboxer]

The problem is the heat they generate. It's a hot potato. I will stay with Ryzen.

My 5800X frequently gets to 80C-90C, it’s designed to run at up to 90 so it’s fine. But looking at the numbers from the reviews, if your gaming then the Intel chips will be cooler. Interestingly when playing games the 12th gen uses about the same or less power than Ryzen 5000. It’s only when you stress test the cores that the Intel parts use so much more.

If I were buying today I would buy Alder lake, it costs less and performs faster.

 

[Kosmoz]

As an AMD user I don't mind the 12400F being slightly ahead (5% in leaked benchmarks) of Ryzen 5600X (that I have). It won't make me change my CPU (lol I don't give a flying.... about 5%), but if intel actually manages to get that level performance (which remains to be proven by actual trustworthy reviews when it launches) at a much lower price, than that is good news indeed.

Zen3 prices should drop almost guaranteed if that's the case. Which means Zen3D won't be more expensive than current Zen3 prices, which is also good.

I can't wait for Zen3D, to see it in action.

 

[Geralt]

Ryzens are pretty hot too, they have huge temperature oscillations. They were designed to run that way so it's not an issue, neither it should be for Intel 12th gen unless they are throttling, then it is an issue.

My Ryzen 3950X doesn't move beyond 70°C at full stress. To have a 100°C Alder Lake is a big NO to me.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

My Ryzen 3950X doesn't move beyond 70°C at full stress. To have a 100°C Alder Lake is a big NO to me.

Ryzen 5000 series chips hit 90C in the same AVX benchmarks intel hits 100c. In games alderlake is no harder to cool then ivy bridge or haswell were.

Ryzens are pretty hot too, they have huge temperature oscillations. They were designed to run that way so it's not an issue, neither it should be for Intel 12th gen unless they are throttling, then it is an issue.

Yep, thermal density is an issue on any modern CPU. At least when pushing full boost. A bit of voltage tweaking and a 100-200 mhz downclock, though, cna lead to very cool operation.

5nm ryzens are going to have the exact same issue.

 

[nodfor]

Would have been fun to have an Unlocked SKU with 6 or 8 cores P cores... and no E cores
Currently you are forced to buy 12700K and its ecores to get top P core performance.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

You shouldn't buy a 4 core CPU for gaming in 2022.

 

[Gezzer]

The problem is the heat they generate. It's a hot potato. I will stay with Ryzen.

Every multi-core CPU creates more heat then single cores used to, even dual cores for that matter. But that's also when they're fully loaded which almost never happens. That's one of the reasons that boost clocks work so well performance wise.

As long as the heat and power management is working correctly maximum potential heat isn't a problem. The only real problem is if a user wants to alter the way the CPU performs by default, usually through overclocking. In those cases they use much better cooling (or should) so it becomes somewhat moot.

The heat issue you mention could potentially make it harder to get a really good overclock. But considering the base, boost clocks, and IPC of the last few generations it's not nearly as big a deal as it could be. I pushed my latest (i5 10600FK) to 5Ghz on water and it really didn't make as much of a difference as it use to.