The gloves are off and Intel has deployed what is arguably its biggest and most ambitious CPU architecture overhaul. Its Alder Lake, 12th-Gen Core processors include major enhancements to improve performance and efficiency, with Intel’s first 10nm class (now Intel 7) process technology in a desktop chip. With two new CPU architectures, Golden Cove and Gracemont, this will be the foundation of the next generations of mobile, desktop, and data center processors.
For the past seven years, Intel has watched its processor leadership deteriorate. AMD’s Zen 3 architecture boasts high core counts, high instructions per cycle (IPC), high clocks, and efficiency, thanks to a manufacturing process at least a generation ahead of Intel’s 14nm parts.
Alder Lake aims to change all that. Intel now offers a legitimate 16-core CPU for consumers, and it can go toe-to-toe with AMD’s 16-core offering. What’s more, in workloads that don’t scale well with raw thread counts (for example, gaming), Intel has focused on boosting IPC while maintaining clock speeds of more than 5GHz. Alder Lake provides Intel with a 19 percent boost to IPC on average while using less power than the previous generation Comet Lake. It’s about time we had a compelling upgrade to Intel’s desktop offerings, which had stagnated.
This story is from the February 2022 edition of Maximum PC.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2022 edition of Maximum PC.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
NZXT H6 Flow
Possibly the best budget chassis out there
Intel's crazy plan for 1nm silicon
FIVE NEW CHIP PRODUCTION NODES in four years. That was Intel’s plan to get back to technology leadership. It has now added a new 1nm lithography node to its roadmap, due in 2027. But here's the thing: in terms of products to buy, Intel has achieved little of its original plan. So, what’s going on?
BIG TECH IN TROUBLE IN EUROPE
The EU isn't happy with the big players
THE BUILDS
IT FINALLY LOOKS like prices are stabilizing somewhat, certainly compared to last issue.
Dragon's Dogma 2
A cult classic in the making
NZXT Function 2
Ultra-fast, fully configurable, and relatively affordable
liyama GCB3480WQSU-B1 Red Eagle
The gaming goliath youre after?
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super
The $999 card that’s really $1,200
HOW TO
Ever needed to get rid of your fixed desktop icons, or add them back in? Did you download Minibin because you just hate that Recycling Bin icon on your desktop? Click the Start menu, type
COPILOT PRO & COPILOT FOR MICROSOFT 365
Why Copilot is great, when it’s awful and which version you should buy