Intel has something big coming on September 2 – but what could it be?
Intel is teasing “something big” for a virtual event its holding on September 2nd, hinting that it’s preparing to launch its long-awaited Tiger Lake CPU lineup.
The teaser, which landed in TechRadar’s inbox today, all but confirms that Intel is gearing up to launch its 11th-generation processor lineup, with the company promising to showcase how it’s “pushing the boundaries of how we work and keep connected.”
What’s more, previous rumors had suggested that Intel would launch its Tiger Lake lineup at Computex in September, but the show was cancelled last month due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Tiger Lake lineup was first shown off at CES 2020. At the time, the chipmaker boasted that the new processors will deliver “double digit performance games”, improved AI performance and better graphics, no doubt due to the processors’ Intel Xe-based GPU.
As well as a new GPU architecture, the Tiger Lake processors – which are expected to arrive in dual-core and quad-core configurations – will also be built on Intel’s new 10nm+ Willow Cove architecture.
A mobile battle to watch
Once official, Tiger Lake will face off against AMD Ryzen 4000 mobile processors. Leaked benchmarks show the as-yet-unannounced Intel Core i7-1165G7, a quad-core, eight-thread CPU, falling short of AMD’s Ryzen 7 4800U in performance tests.
However, the Intel CPU managed to outperform AMD’s Ryzen 7 4800U in the graphics tests, with Team Red’s Vega iGPU falling short of Intel’s Iris Xe graphics. This suggests that even though it’s still in its early stages, Intel’s Xe architecture will give AMD a run for its money – at least until Big Navi shows up.
Intel’s September 2 virtual event could also see the arrival of the chipmaker’s Rocket Lake-S desktop processors. These are expected to be built on the same Willow Cove architecture that Tiger Lake will be, but still manufactured on a 14nm node.
These CPUs will also have AMD to contend with, as Team Red will launch its 7nm Ryzen 4000 desktop CPUs later this year.
