Every thing it’s essential to learn about Intel’s Meteor Lake CPU launch

Intel formally announced its Meteor Lake CPUs on Dec. 14, 2023. It is the 14th technology of Intel CPUs, and it is a fairly large deal for the corporate. There’s loads of hubbub across the launch, however there aren’t any larger surprises than the truth that Intel will not provide a socketed model of its new processors. Which means they will not be obtainable for particular person resale and can solely exist inside laptops and the occasional all-in-one PC.

The opposite large change is the branding. Beforehand, Intel CPUs used Core i-Quantity branding, like Core i7 or Core i9. This new technology adjustments that to Core Extremely. Thus, the Core Extremely 5 is the brand new branding for the Core i5. We’ll be utilizing the brand new branding on this article shifting ahead.

Like with any CPU launch, there are loads of issues to interrupt down, together with structure and efficiency. Intel has additionally included loads of new issues with Meteor Lake, together with enhanced AI capabilities and even a brand new chiplet design. We’ll discuss that and extra beneath.

Structure

Intel / Pocket-lint

Meteor Lake is the primary CPUs constructed on the Intel 4 course of, which is the corporate’s 7nm fabrication process. Intel has additionally gone with a tile-based chiplet structure the place every tile is stacked on high of each other in a 3D stacked chiplet design. That sounds very fancy, and it’s, however the premise is straightforward.

As a substitute of a single, monolithic-style CPU that homes all of the components collectively, Intel is separating the varied parts into tiles after which stacking them on high of one another. Apple and AMD make use of chiplet designs of their M-series and Ryzen CPUs, though they use completely different designs.

Intel’s design consists of separate GPU, IO, and SoC dies alongside the compute tile, a low-power island (the place the low-power cores, or LP-cores, dwell), and another high-tech stuff. Intel makes use of varied optimizations, together with Intel Thread Director, to make it possible for every little thing runs easily regardless of the additional complexity.

Intel / Pocket-lint

Intel is utilizing its Redwood Cove cores for the efficiency cores (P-cores) and the Crestmont cores for the effectivity cores (E-cores). Which means Intel is constant its large.LITTLE strategy that we have seen within the prior two generations of the corporate’s CPUs. As well as, Intel is utilizing its Arc GPU structure for the built-in GPU together with a devoted AI processor, also called a neural processing unit (NPU).

There are execs and cons to chiplet designs. Chiplets are considerably simpler to fabricate and provides chip designers extra freedom to customise the CPU as a complete. It will possibly additionally result in sooner manufacturing instances, higher yields, and consequently, decrease prices. We’ll see if that interprets to shoppers, however we doubt it. For negatives, chiplets are extra difficult to place collectively since interconnects should be as quick and as environment friendly as doable. Plus, knowledge that should journey by a number of chiplets can introduce latency, which may have an effect on efficiency in purposes like gaming.

Specs

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Intel has introduced 11 complete Core Extremely processors in complete with each core counts and clock speeds. We’ll checklist them out on your searching pleasure. If you would like extra detailed specs, they’re within the picture above.

Intel Core H-series

• Core Extremely 7 165H – 5.0GHz / 16 cores (6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 2 LP E-cores) / 22 threads
• Core Extremely 7 155H – Identical because the 165H besides with a barely decrease CPU and GPU clock pace.
• Core Extremely 5 135H – 4.6GHz / 14 cores (4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 2 LP E-cores) / 18 threads
• Core Extremely 5 125H – An identical to the 135H besides with a barely decrease CPU and GPU clock pace.

Intel Core U-series

• Core Extremely 7 165U – 4.9GHz / 12 cores (2 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 2 LP E-cores) / 14 threads
• Core Extremely 7 155U – Identical because the 165U besides with a barely decrease CPU and GPU clock pace.
• Core Extremely 5 135U – 4.4GHz / 12 cores (2 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 2 LP E-cores) / 14 threads
• Core Extremely 5 125U – Identical because the 135U besides with a barely decrease CPU and GPU clock pace.

Coming later

• Core Extremely 9 185H – 5.1GHz / 16 cores (6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 2 LP E-cores) / 22 threads
• Core Extremely 7 164U – Identical because the 155U besides with a barely decrease GPU clock pace.
• Core Extremely 5 134U – Identical because the 135U besides with a barely decrease GPU clock pace.

By way of objective, the H-series is supposed for efficiency purposes. You will doubtless see these in gaming laptops and extra highly effective productivity-oriented laptops and all-in-one PCs. In the meantime, the U-series is spec’d out for battery efficiency, and you may doubtless see these on extra consumer-oriented laptops.

Efficiency

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We do not have official efficiency numbers but, however there have been a number of leaked benchmarks for the brand new Meteor Lake CPUs. If the leaks are correct, it places Meteor Lake someplace between the Intel twelfth and thirteenth technology cellular chips by way of efficiency. A lot of the leaked benchmarks come from laptops that Intel sent to reviewers, such because the upcoming Acer Swift Go 14.

In accordance to leaks, the Core Extremely 9 185H scored 1,873 on single core and 13,796 multicore exams on Geekbench’s laptop computer benchmark.

That offers it an almost equivalent rating to the Core i9-13900HK single core exams and scores close to the Core i9-12950HX in multicore testing. In the meantime, the Core Extremely 155U scored 1,750 on single core and 12,191 on multicore exams, which places it within the neighborhood of the Core i7 13700H in single core efficiency and the Ryzen 7 7745HX in multicore.

In a separate leak, the 155U-equipped Acer Go scored competitively towards the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air, the Framework 13, and the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 whereas totally demolishing the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 in multicore benchmarks.

These are pretty respectable scores total. These scores are prone to go up put up launch as Intel continues to enhance and optimize its drivers. Official benchmarks are coming quickly. We’re all simply ready for the embargo at this level.

The predictable addition of AI

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AI is a giant deal and Intel is positioning Meteor Lake to be a stable CPU for AI workloads. There are two spots within the CPU the place AI is included. The primary are the Xe cores from the Intel Arc GPU that help AI-based Tremendous Sampling. Intel additionally features a devoted NPU that the corporate calls Intel AI Enhance. The NPU is constructed to deal with longer-running AI work hundreds at low energy to go with the AI capabilities of the CPU and GPU.

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Intel talked about AI 43 instances in its official press release for Meteor Lake. By way of {hardware}, Intel has fairly run-of-the-mill AI help. Nonetheless, it’s working with over 100 software vendors to optimize varied AI workloads for Core Extremely CPUs by effectively splitting work between the CPU, GPU, and NPU. Thus, whereas Meteor Lake might not seem like an AI rockstar on paper, it’ll get the software program help it must be aggressive in that area.

Sadly, there aren’t some ways to check this, however there are a couple of. PCMag tested the Acer Swift Go 14 with the UL Procyon AI Interface Benchmark the place it scored 215. The one different Intel-powered laptop computer within the take a look at, a Framework 13 powered by a Core i7-1370P, scored a 75. Thus, it is truthful to say that the AI capabilities are a lot better in Meteor Lake. We simply do not know by how a lot, as a result of AI benchmarks are nonetheless quite shaky and unreliable.

Worth and availability

As we stated earlier, Intel is not providing a socketed model of Meteor Lake, so they will not be obtainable for particular person buy. Desktop builders should keep on with the Raptor Lake refresh if they need a 14th technology Intel CPU of their desktops. That means you will solely be capable of get Meteor Lake CPUs in laptops and probably some all-in-one PC. You will see these laptops begin to launch within the coming weeks and months. Here’s a brief checklist of some of the laptops which are coming quickly with Meteor Lake.

• MSI Status 16 AI Evo
• MSI Status 13 AI Evo
• Lenovo IdeaPad Professional 5i (2023 mannequin)
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12
• Acer Swift Go 14 (2023 mannequin)
• Acer Predator Triton Neo 16
• Asus Zenbook 14 (2023 mannequin)

After all, extra are coming, however these are among the ones which have already been introduced.