Intel launches 10th Gen Comet Lake S desktop processors with up to 5.3GHz clock speed, 10 cores

Intel announced its 10th Gen H series mobile processors for the next generation of gaming laptops at the start of April. Several processors in Intel’s H series offered boost clock speeds upwards on 5.0 GHz. Now, the semiconductor chip manufacturer just dropped its 10th Gen powerhouses for desktops in what is its biggest unveiling of the year.

The 10th Gen Intel Core desktop processors feature its two best cores operating in this mode for improved single and dual-core turbo performance. Intel debuted its Comet Lake-S processors across its Core i9, i7, i5, and i3 lineups. The top-end Intel Core i9-10900K features 10 cores and 20 threads, a boost clock speed of 5.3 GHz and a 125W TDP. Intel claims that its Core i9-10900K is the “world’s fastest gaming processor.”

Similar to its recently announced H series laptop processors, the new 10th Gen desktop processors also rely on Intel’s 14nm Skylake architecture and not the 10m Ice Lake chips. The top-tier Core i9-10900K is priced at $488 (about Rs 36,800). However, the company is also introducing two more unlocked chips, in the form of the 8-core, 16-thread Core i7-10700K (Base Clock – 3.8GHz / Boost Clock 5.1GHz) that will cost $374 (roughly Rs 28,200), while the Core i5-10600K (Base Clock 4.1GHz / Boost Clock 4.8GHz) with six cores and twelve threads is the cheapest of the lot, priced at $262 (about Rs 19,800).

Intel’s new Comet Lake-S processors support up to 2.5gigabit Ethernet, up to DDR4-2933 memory and feature integrated Wi-Fi 6 by default. You also get Intel’s UHD Graphics 630 across the new 10th Gen Core lineup. However, Intel’s Core F series losses the integrated graphics but offers high performance at a much more affordable price, which makes it an ideal choice if you already have a graphics card.

Turbo Boost 3.0 technology and Thermal Velocity Boost allows for faster clock speeds on the high-end chips. Intel will also allow you to disable Hyperthreading on a per-core basis now, but the feature seems more geared towards overclocking for enthusiasts rather than regular users.

Intel is also physically changing its socket configuration with the new processors, which means Comet Lake chips won’t be compatible with Coffee Lake motherboards, which is kind of a disappointment because you will have to look for a new motherboard if you are thinking of upgrading.

Intel compared its Core i9-10900K to the Core i9-9900K with the former displaying an up to 10 percent increase in fps in PUBG while stating an up to 63 percent increase in fps over a 3-year old PC. The 10th Gen Core i9-10900K also offers an up to 18 percent faster 4K video editing time over its predecessor.

While Intel’s Core lineup has always delivered impressive performances, pricing has been its biggest caveat. With the new series, Intel has managed to aggressively price its chips to match its Ryzen rivals. Intel also unveiled new Pentium and Celeron lines that offer dual-core processor with Hyperthreading.