Intel at CES 2022: Alder Lake Processor Scattering and New Details on Discrete Arc GPUs

Intel continues to revolutionize the x86 architecture with the latest 12th Gen desktop and mobile processors, expanding beyond gaming, and shipping its Arc discrete GPUs to manufacturers.

12th Gen Intel Mobile Processors (Alder Lake)

At CES 2022, Intel announced mobile Alder Lake chips on a new hybrid architecture. These are the first laptop processors to use the new design. The lineup is headed by the Core i9-12900HK, which the company calls the fastest mobile processor. Intel is taking the same approach as the 12th generation desktop chips, which were incredibly successful last fall, beating the competition. However, now the company is forced to compete not only with AMD Ryzen mobile processors, but also with the Apple M1.

Intel claims that its new mobile Alder Lake processors, in particular the flagship Core i9-12900HK model with an increased frequency of 5.0 GHz, can outperform the Ryzen 5900HX and Apple M1 Max in games and work tasks. According to the company, the Core i9-12900HK is 28% more productive than its predecessor in games, and in PugetBench tests for Premiere Pro it is 44% more efficient.

The new Alder Lake mobile processors offer more cores, split between performance cores for tasks requiring maximum processing power and efficient cores for less demanding or background tasks. The top models i9 and i7 each include 14 cores, 6 of which are productive and 8 are efficient. For less powerful models, the number of cores was reduced to eight (4/4). In addition to increased performance, the new chips have a number of other improvements, including Wi-Fi 6E, Thunderbolt 4, PCIe 4.0, and support for the latest memory standards (DDR5 up to 4800 MHz and LPDDR5 up to 5200 MHz). However, they do not have support for the latest HDMI and PCIe 5.0 standards.

It’s worth noting that Intel’s new mobile processors announced at CES 2022 are only for the H series with 45W PBP, which targets gaming or high-performance laptops. The company has plans to release low-power U-series processors (15 and 9W), which will be equipped with modern ultrabooks, as well as 28W P-series chips. They will appear later this year.

12th Gen Intel Desktop Processors (Alder Lake)

Intel formally unveiled its 12th generation processors last fall, but the announcement was very limited and included only six models (three if not counting options without integrated graphics), which are focused on powerful, expensive systems. Now the company has unveiled the rest of its lineup – 22 new chips from the top-end Core i9-12900 for $ 489 to the simplest Celeron G6900 for $ 42.

The newer models do not have an unlocked multiplier, but they are less energy consuming. The most productive ones have PBP of 65 W, there are also more economical T-series chips, which have this figure of 35 W. In addition, Intel also produces models with the “F” prefix, which lack integrated graphics. Intel’s new desktop processors are now available for purchase.

Intel is also expanding its line of motherboards and coolers. In addition to the top-end motherboards based on the Z690 chipset, manufacturers receive three new chipsets for the 600 series: H670, B660 and H610. They are less functional (fewer PCIe lanes and USB ports), but still support Wi-Fi 6E and PCIe 4.0.

Intel Arc GPUs

The highly anticipated discrete Intel Arc GPUs are one step closer to their debut. The company announced that it has already begun shipping the first generation of Alchemist GPUs to desktop and laptop manufacturers. Intel Arc promises support for high-end gaming and creative features, including hardware accelerated ray tracing and XeSS, as well as AI supersampling. Simply put, Arc is Intel’s powerful attempt to break AMD and NVIDIA’s hegemony in the GPU market for both laptops and PCs.

Unfortunately, there are still no details regarding the characteristics of future graphics cards, as well as the timing of the first computers with Intel discrete graphics. The company only said that the new GPUs will appear on Intel Evo-branded laptops with Alder Lake H-series processors, so it is likely that the mobile Arc GPUs will debut in the coming months.

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