Then, servers and high-end desktops got Cascade Lake CPUs. Instead, Kaby Lake rolled out as a 14nm+ improvement to Skylake.Ĭoffee Lake for desktops started rolling out in 2017, using Intel’s so-called 14nm++ process. These have provided better performance, but base improvements and new features have been rarer.Īfter Skylake came Kaby Lake, which was designed to fill the gap when Intel’s next “tick” (or die shrink) from 14nm to 10nm didn’t pan out. This has led to better processors, as recent generations have brought more cores and higher clock speeds. Since then, Intel CPUs for desktops have all been an optimization of Skylake or one of Skylake’s descendants. Skylake was the last time we saw a “tock” (an entirely new microarchitecture for desktop CPUs). Skylake processors rolled out in 2015, as a follow-up to Broadwell–a 14nm die shrink (tick) of the 22nm Haswell (Intel’s pre-Skylake tock). To discuss modern Intel CPUs, we have to start with Skylake-if you’ve read any CPU reviews in the last five years, you’ve most likely seen it mentioned. RELATED: Decoding CPU Reviews: A Beginner's Guide to Processor Terms It’s All About Skylake for Now An Intel Skylake Die. Generally, a shift from a larger to smaller nm process (also called a die shrink) means better performance and more efficient power consumption. For our purposes, we’ll look at each process as a marketing term to know whether a new CPU has made a leap in chip manufacturing, or if it’s just an improvement on an existing technology.
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A new microarchitecture can bring new capabilities, as well as improvements in instructions per cycle/clock (IPC) that boost performance.Īdditionally, every CPU uses a manufacturing process, such as 14nm, 10nm, or 7nm (the “nm” stands for “nanometer”).
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Every new CPU has either a totally revamped design or an improved version of an existing one. So, what’s a chip’s microarchitecture and die shrink? In the most simplistic terms, microarchitecture is a chip’s design. It also appears the PAO model isn’t a hard and fast rule, as it’s been rumored upcoming desktop CPUs might have a new design (the “A”) prior to a die shrink (the “P”). PAO isn’t necessarily a three-year model, though-the optimization phase can go on indefinitely, as we’ve seen on the desktop since 2015. Then, however, there’s an optimization phase during which the architecture is made better without having to make a leap in the manufacturing process. The die shrink is the first stage of this process, and then a new architecture is introduced, just like the tick-tock model. Tick-tock was replaced around 2016 with the process-architecture-optimization model (PAO). (Yes, that’s actually “tock-tick,” but it’s the simplest way to explain it.) Each year, Intel would introduce a new microarchitecture (tock), and the next, it shrunk it down (tick). For around a decade, Intel developed its processors based on the famous tick-tock model.
INTEL S AFTER NAME CODE
We can’t talk about code names without talking about how Intel makes its CPUs. RELATED: Intel's 10th Gen CPUs: What's New, and Why It Matters Intel’s Development Model An Intel Coffee Lake CPU. It’s not something you should get hung up on, but understanding code names can help you decipher online reviews, as well as marketing materials on store shelves and packaging.
INTEL S AFTER NAME PC
This is why it helps to have at least a cursory understanding of Intel’s various chip generations when heading out to buy a new PC or laptop. However, Intel claims a Comet Lake laptop chip is better for productivity and multithreaded workloads, while Ice Lake performs better for AI and graphics. Most people looking for the “best” would go with the 10510U since it has a higher clock speed.