Intel outs 21 August launch date for 8th-generation 'Coffee Lake' CPUs

PCs bearing Coffee Lake will be available in good time for Christmas

Intel has revealed that it will launch its 8th-generation Core microprocessors, which it codenames 'Coffee Lake', on 21 August - less than two weeks' time.

The launch comes as the chip-making giant starts to feel the competitive heat from rival AMD, which for the first time in almost a decade has a competitive offering that runs all the way from the entry level to high-end desktops with a consistent architecture.

Intel is planning to stream its launch live on Facebook, and says that punters can expect to learn more about Coffee Lake's "blazing fast" performance and virtual reality credentials, while also catching a glimpse of some of the 'amazing system designs' based on 8th-generation Intel Core processors.

The company also confirms that the first Coffee Lake systems will be available later this year, noting: "Start planning for what new 8th-gen Intel Core processor-based device to purchase in the holiday season and even before."

The impending unveiling unlikely will have too many surprises in store, as alleged specifications for Intel's Coffee Lake CPUs appeared online last month.

If legit, expect Intel to offer a trio of six-core, 12-thread devices, with a leaked CPU-Z screenshot of an engineering sample suggesting they will slot into Intel's standard LGA1151 socket. The leak also indicated a part with a 3.5GHz base clock speed, but capable of boosting to 4.3GHz on at least one core, and a 12MB level-3 cache.

All three parts will support DDR4 with a 2400MHz integrated memory controller frequency. Only the cheaper of the three parts will not offer DDR overclocking.

We also know that Intel's 8th-gen chips, which were originally supposed to be appearing in 2018 on the 10nm fab node, will be produced on current 14nm facilities, but Intel has publicly claimed that these Coffee Lake processors will be 15 to 30 per cent faster than its previous generation Kaby Lake chips.

Kaby Lake, though, did prove to be something of a disappointment, performance wise, but AMD is no doubt forcing Intel to up its game.

According to rumours that surfaced earlier week, Intel will begin production of its 8th-gen CPUs this month.

The Facebook Live launch event will take place on Monday 21 August at 5pm, UK time.

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