Despite increasingly fierce competition in recent years, Intel remains the CPU maker of choice for laptop makers and consumers.
At the end of 2021, data published by Mercury Research indicated that the company accounted for 74.4% of all traditional processor sales. This was fueled by strong sales of its 11th Gen processors, although the Rocket Lake desktop processors weren’t as impressive. However, the current 12th generation chips have been very well received.
However, Intel must continue to innovate to fend off the likes of AMD, which hit an all-time high of 25.4% in the same report. The upcoming Ryzen 7000 series, based on Zen 4, should be its best effort.
We know the Raptor Lake processors are due out later this year, but this article focuses on the next generation. Intel has already confirmed that its 14th generation processors will be known as Meteor Lake.
We tell you everything we know so far.
Intel Meteor Lake Release Date
Intel has taken the unusual step of already confirming a release date, even if it’s nothing more concrete than 2023.
Meteor Lake officially reached its “tape in” phase in May 2021, according to Intel’s Gregory Bryant:
Great way to start the week! We are currently registering our 7nm Meteor Lake compute tile.
A well-deserved celebration by the team on this important milestone. #IAmIntel #Innovation pic.twitter.com/oHYhFvo3iF
— Gregory M Bryant (@gregorymbryant)
May 24, 2021
This is when all the parts of the chip come together for the first time; the “tape out” is when the final design is ready for manufacturing.
Almost a year later, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger revealed that Meteor Lake had successfully booted Windows, Chrome OS, and Linux. These kinds of internal tests are usually done well in advance, so it’s unlikely we’ll see the first 14th-gen processors until the second half of 2023.
So, as Wccftech reports, Intel has now confirmed that Meteor Lake will begin shipping in 2023. A YouTube video from “Moore’s Law is Dead” suggests it will be Q2/Q3 for laptop chips, before the arrival of the first desktop processors. in the fourth trimester.
Intel Meteor Lake Pricing
Considering that there are still two generations of processors to go before the planned Meteor Lake launch, it’s almost impossible to predict the price. For reference, here’s what current-gen Rocket Lake chips cost in dollars:
- Core i9-11900K: $513-539
- Core i7-11700K: $374 to $399
- Core i5-11600K: $237-262
- Core i5-11400K: $157-182
Prices have gradually increased from generation to generation, so equivalent chips could be much more expensive by the time Meteor Lake arrives.
If Intel also releases embedded chips designed for laptops, their price will depend on the rest of the hardware, and they won’t be available for purchase as standalone components. Which brings us to the next section…
Will Intel release Meteor Lake chips for desktop and mobile?
Most likely, yes, although their releases could be staggered. After Meteor Lake is released, Intel will likely be willing to put 7nm chips in as many PCs as possible.
Intel’s huge device portfolio will make this a challenge, but we don’t expect Meteor Lake processors for desktops and laptops to be available.
Intel Meteor Lake Spec Rumors
As you might expect, concrete rumors about Intel’s 2023 processors are relatively rare. At Intel’s recent “Unleashed: Engineering the Future” event, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger explained that the company has “redesigned and streamlined our 7nm process flow, increasing our use of EUV by more of 100%”.
EUV refers to ultraviolet lithography with an extremely short wavelength of 13.5 nm. Intel appears to have overcome previous issues with the technology that prevented earlier deployment.
Meteor Lake is expected to use the same hybrid processor design that will be introduced in Alder Lake. This includes both high-performance and power-efficient cores, although Intel will combine Gracemount with Ocean Cove instead of Golden Cove. It is not yet known what benefits this will bring.
A Wccftech article from May 2021 then suggested that Meteor Lake would use a new architecture known as Redwood Cove. It will be the successor to Golden Cove (which is expected to debut on Alder Lake processors) and will offer “CPI and architectural improvements”.
Other supposed key specs for Meteor Lake are revealed later in the article. These include the LGA 1700 platform and DDR5 memory, with author Hassan Mujtaba hinting at the possibility of 800-series chips and PCIe Gen 5 support.
Nothing else has been revealed yet, although many more changes are expected between now and the long-awaited release of Meteor Lake. These include PCIe Gen 5 and up to 48 platform PCIe lanes with Alder Lake, plus DDR5.
Then there’s Raptor Lake, which should add DLVR Power Delivery and improved CPU caching for desktop games. This is where some basic changes similar to those mentioned above are also expected.
A June 2022 YouTube video from “Moore’s Law is Dead” claims that several key Meteor Lake specs have been leaked:
Highlights include a new LGA 2551 socket, significant IPC increases over Raptor Lake, and a new architecture to rival AMD’s Zen 4 for desktop processors. However, expect some clock speed setbacks. The video was also unable to reveal clock speeds.
We’ll update this article when we know more about Meteor Lake. If you’re currently on the hunt for new Intel processors, check out our complete guide to 12th Gen Alder Lake chips.
Article adapted from our English sister site TechAdvisor.
Table of Contents