Intel (INTC -0.08%) is set to launch its next-generation Meteor Lake chips in December, complete with dedicated AI hardware and built on the new Intel 4 manufacturing process. While Meteor Lake may eventually find its way into mini-PCs and other specialized form factors, the chips will largely be relegated to laptops.
After Meteor Lake comes Arrow Lake sometime in 2024, but those looking for a desktop PC upgrade won't have to wait until then for something new from Intel. The company officially announced a trio of new desktop CPUs on Monday, all of which are refreshed versions of the company's popular Raptor Lake CPUs. While this launch doesn't change the story much, Intel claims to have closed the gaming performance gap with Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD 0.75%) 3D V-Cache chips.
Going after gamers
When Intel's Raptor Lake chips first launched in late 2022, they generally outperformed AMD's Ryzen 7000 series chips across the board. Here's what Tom's Hardware said in its review: "Intel's 13th-Gen Raptor Lake processors deliver explosive generational performance increases that beat AMD's similarly priced Ryzen chips in gaming, single- and multi-threaded work at every price point."
AMD eventually launched Ryzen CPUs with exotic 3D V-Cache memory, essentially adding an additional layer of ultra-fast memory close to the processor. Gaming tends to greatly benefit from more cache, and these new chips took back the gaming crown from Intel. One big downside, though, is that performance in non-gaming applications suffered.
About a year after Raptor Lake launched, Intel is refreshing its lineup with three new CPUs. The i9-14900K, i7-14700K, and i5-14600K are priced the same as their predecessors and provide slightly higher clock speeds. The i7-14700K is the only chip that comes with major changes, specifically four additional efficiency cores. Those extra cores will help in multi-threaded applications, but the overall performance gains over the previous generation will be modest. Intel is claiming a mid- to high-single-digit percentage gain in performance.
In gaming, Intel is claiming that its new chips outperform AMD's 3D V-Cache chips on average. Beyond the general performance improvements, a new feature called Application Optimization, or APO, helps the cause in supported games. APO detects which game is running and makes adjustments on the fly, potentially unlocking additional performance. In the two games currently supported, Intel touted double-digit performance gains from having APO enabled.
All these performance figures are straight from Intel, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. Third-party reviews, which should be available in the coming days, will determine whether Intel has truly won back the gaming crown.
Waiting for Arrow Lake
While the Raptor Lake refresh won't bring monumental performance gains, Intel's Arrow Lake chips could be a different story. Arrow Lake will be built on the Intel 20A process, a 2nm node, and it will feature advanced technologies including backside power delivery and a new transistor design. Meaningful performance and efficiency gains are on the table as Intel packs Arrow Lake full of innovations.
One downside of trying to do so much all at once is that there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Arrow Lake is expected sometime in 2024, but a successful launch will require the Intel 20A process to be ready on time, and for manufacturing yields to be acceptable. Intel appears to be on track with its manufacturing roadmap, but there's little room for error.
While Arrow Lake could be a disruptive product for Intel, the Raptor Lake refresh chips should hold the line for now, assuming that Intel's claims about performance bear out. AMD is expected to launch its next-gen Ryzen 8000 chips next year as well, and they'll probably launch before Intel gets Arrow Lake out the door. But for now, Intel's new Raptor Lake chips are in a good position to take back some lost market share from AMD and win over gamers.
