At CES 2019, Intel announced news on its 5G wireless strategy, Project Athena, and new 10nm Ice Lake CPUs, but there is more to the story. In what could be a bid to compete with AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 3000 desktop processors, Intel also sneaked new 9th-generation desktop CPUs — without dedicated graphics — into its portfolio for 2019.
In its press material, Intel initially linked to a database containing one new processor, the Core i5-9400, and promised more would roll out through the second half of the year. As we reported, with six cores, a clock base of 2.9 GHz, and a boost of 4.1GHz, the processor is for mainstream consumers and includes UHD Graphics 630 on board. According to TechRadar, however, Intel also listed an additional five new 9th-generation desktop processors as part of a new “F-series” without dedicated graphics. These details weren’t specifically shared in CES material and were instead uncovered in Intel’s ARK processor database.
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The new processors without dedicated graphics include the Core i3-9350KF, Core i5-9400F, Core i5-9600KF, Core i7-9700KF, and Core i9-9900KF.
Intel’s Core i3 option sports 4 cores and 4 threads clocked between 4.0GHz to 4.6GHz. Meanwhile, the Core i5 i5-9400F ups that and comes clocked in between 2.9 GHz and 4.1 GHz, with 6 cores and 6 threads with clock speeds between 2.9GHz to 4.1GHz.
Higher up the processor ladder, the Core i5-9600KF comes with 6 cores and 6 threads and clock speeds of 3.7GHz to 4.1GHz. The Core i7-9700KF, meanwhile, packs 8 cores and 8 threads and comes clocked at 3.6GHz to 4.9GHz. Finally, the most powerful variant, the Intel Core i9-9900KF, is packing 8 cores and 16 threads and is clocked at 3.6GHz to 5.0GHz.
Considering the fact that all of Intel’s offerings come with integrated graphics on board, this would be a new direction. With Intel claiming the previously announced 9th-generation Core i9-9900K as the “world’s best gaming processor,” these new options could be aimed at keeping costs down for consumers shopping for new processors for gaming PCs already equipped with Nvidia or other graphics cards. Intel hinted at that in its press material, mentioning that the new options “expand the options to meet a broad range of consumer needs, from casual users to professionals to gamers and serious content creators.”
