New information regarding Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake Desktop CPUs have leaked out from various sources that confirm the new features of the platform and the many configurations we can expect from the new processor lineup.
Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake Desktop CPUs Platform & SKU Details Leak Out - Huge List of CPUs, Platform Positioning, & Features ReportedOfficially launching in the second half of 2021, the Alder Lake CPUs will be the first desktop family to be based on the 10nm process node. The jump to 10nm will mark the end of the 14nm era that has been around since Broadwell all the way back in 2015.
A list of device IDs have been listed by Coelacanth-dream have leaked within Core boot which point out to several Alder Lake CPU configurations and also positioning of these CPUs, the platform and integrated graphics variants. In addition to the Coreboot leak, Videocardz has also received information that Alder Lake which points out DDR5 memory support on the Intel desktop platform by 2021.
Intel 12th Generation Alder Lake CPU
The Alder Lake CPUs are not only going to be the first desktop processor family to feature a 10nm process node but would also feature a new design methodology. From what we know so far, Intel plans to include a mix of CPU cores that are based on different IPs. The Alder Lake CPUs will come with standard high-performance 'Cove' cores and smaller yet efficient 'Atom' cores. This big.SMALL design methodology has been incorporated on smartphones for a while now but Alder Lake will be the first time we see it in action in the high-performance segment.
We don't have any specifics of which generation of 'Cove' or 'Atom' architecture Intel plans to utilize for its Alder Lake CPUs but their roadmap does point to Golden Cove and Gracement architectures availability by 2021. It is possible that we would see these cores in actions first on the desktop CPU platform. However, if Intel was to use an existing architecture for Alder Lake, they would definitely be going with Willow Cove and Tracemont cores.
With that said, let's talk about the SKUs. The Coreboot leak lists down at least 18 CPU SKUs. There are five 8 core processors, seven 6 core processors, two 4 core processors & two 4 core processors. The primary core number is made up of the bigger 'Cove' cores but each variant has a variable core count for the smaller Atom cores. There's at least one variant for all core configurations that do not include any smaller Atom core. The atom cores for all SKUs match up to the same number as the Big cores but the 6, 4, and 2 core offerings are the exception where the smaller core count exceeds the bigger core count. This is mostly due to the fact that they are branded under the Alder Lake-P segment which targets workstations.