Intel Comet Lake S CPU dev kits have been registered with the EEC – specifically those with gaming audiences in mind. The software development platform (SDP) registration provides us with direct confirmation from Intel itself that its 10th Gen processors are on their way – and potentially very soon.
Listed on the database of electronic products registered with the Eurasion Economic Commission, Intel’s Comet Lake processors will feature up to 10 cores of 14nm, Skylake-derivative, power. That’s the same process as 8th and 9th Gen Coffee Lake – and a similar architecture, too. Also confirmed in the registration is a 10+2 configuration for Intel Comet Lake, meaning it will follow suit and include integrated graphics on-chip. This will be Gen9 graphics, however, and not the new and improved Gen11 loadout.
What we can gather from the registration, released on September 24, is that Intel’s chips are now heading for qualification, and may even be in the hands of partners ready to test their own compatible kit out with the real deal. It would appear Intel Comet Lake is in the last few steps of product development before retail kit is finalised and shipped out ready for launch.
These SDP kits follow last week’s benchmark debut for Comet Lake. A six-core, 12-thread CPU was spotted in the SiSoft Sandra database, and running on the yet unannounced H470 chipset intended for retail. The chip itself was only an engineering sample, but could see Hyper Threading make a return to some six-core chips.
We also now know that Intel’s partners are preparing 400-series motherboards, further suggesting a launch in the near-future. Plucked off the EEC database a few weeks back, Gigabyte was spotted registering Z490 and B460 motherboards. It also registered WiFi-enabled motherboards more recently. These 400-series boards are expected to utilise a different socket configuration to the Coffee Lake 300-series, and therefore will not be backwards compatible with 8th and 9th Gen chips.
What is the Intel Comet Lake CPUs release date?
We don’t yet know a date for when Intel Comet Lake processors will launch. What we do know is that both CPUs and motherboards approaching their final form ready for retail have been spotted on the EEC and in benchmarking software. These are the usual signs of a swiftly approaching release date.
If following its regular launch cadence, Intel would be gearing up for a vanguard launch of desktop processors around October/November.
However, one oddity that throws a spanner in the Comet Lake launch is the lack of Intel’s 9th Gen Core i9 9900KS. This 5GHz all-core chip is supposed to take the lead against AMD’s Ryzen 9 3900X sometime this year, following its Computex announcement. However, we are yet to see it on the shelves, and Intel Comet Lake’s launch may soon overshadow it.